(part of our Tales of the WLBOTT series)
When Elder JP met with Sister Magdalena, the discussion drifted to their new hire, Kennetta Kornerstone. Elder JP mentioned an odd entry on the second page of her resume – femme fatale.
Elder JP: “I asked her about this later. She just said, ‘ask anyone that’s messed with my brother.’ “
Stephan, Kennetta’s younger brother had joined WLBOTT at the same time as Kennetta. Stephan has Down Syndrome.
Sister Magdalena, this week’s Mayordomo de Semana, was thoughtful for a moment. “I have an idea.”
Soon Sister Magdalena posted the day’s work schedule. She’d secured booth space in the farmers’ market at the Round Rock town square. Grønk, Fred, and Stephan were going to man the booth. Kennetta was given her usual assignment – managing the Ladle & Lube.
A short time later, Kennetta knocked on the Mayordomo de Semana’s office. Sister Magdalena was expecting her. “Come in!”
Kennetta, in her chef’s apron and toque blanche sat down across Sister Magdalena. She noticed that Sister M didn’t immediately reach for the Hourglass of Destiny – the timer that kept Mayordomo visits short. Kennetta didn’t know if this was a good sign or bad.
A quick semi-sequitur:
“Good morning, Sister. I wanted to see if we could make a change to today’s schedule. I’d like to join the guys at the farmers’ market.”
“Why’s that?” Sister Magdalena asked.
“Well, I’ve never been to Round Rock, and I can keep an eye on Stephan.”
“Oh, Stephan is in good hands. Grønk will keep an eye on them, and get them out of any trouble Fred gets them into.”
“Oh, I know they are in good hands, but I must insist. I’d like to go with Stephan.”
Sister Magdalena looked at Kennetta for a moment. “No.”
Kennetta was confused. Rarely was Sister Magdalena this blunt. After a moment, Sister Magdalena reached for the Hourglass of Destiny. “Stephan will be fine. How are things at the Ladle & Lube?”
“Fine, Sister.” Kennetta considered appealing to the Elders, but was pretty sure it would result in a week cleaning the chicken coup.
Around 8:00, Grønk, Stephan and Fred loaded up the WLBOTTmobile with 14 bushels of okra and other produce that had been recently harvested.
They set up the booth in the Round Rock town square, surrounded by dozens of other vendors. After unloading the pickup, Grønk let Stephan and Fred take a walk around the square before things got busy. Twenty minutes later the guys came back, chomping on a pound of jalapeno bacon fudge that Fred just bought. “Where’d you get that?” Grønk asked Fred. “Hill Country Herring and Confections. Their booth is at the south corner.” Grønk grunted with a smile. “Gotta check that out later.”
Grønk gave the guys some training. “Most people are friendly, but you’re going to get some of folks that just walk by, not even making eye contact. Don’t take it personally. Others will talk your ear off. Just be polite. Now let me show you how to make change.”
“There’s a trick to it, ” Grønk continued, getting out the cash box. “Just start with whatever the produce costs, then count out loud up to whatever they’ve given you. Let’s say their tomatoes cost $4.95 and they hand you a twenty. A nickle makes five, then a five dollar bill makes ten, and then a ten dollar bill makes twenty.” They practiced a while, with Fred picking it up pretty easily, and Stephan, with a little more practice, caught on.
The customers started trickling in. Grønk greeted the customers and made the sales for the first half hour, then let the guys take over while he rested his eyes in his folding chair.
Mid-afternoon, it was getting warm. Grønk said, “Guys, I noticed a Dairy Queen just up the road. Have you ever had a dip cone?” To Grønk‘s surprise, neither had tried this treat. Grønk said, “We need to fix this. Fred, I’m gonna need your help carrying the cones. Stephan, you’ve been doing a great job. Okay with being in charge for a few minutes?” Stephan was nervous, but he didn’t want to disappoint Grønk. “I’ve got it, Mr. Grønk!”
This little side trip was actually Sister Magdalena‘s suggestion. She pulled Grønk aside before they loaded the pickup. “Think about how excited he’ll be to tell Kennetta how he ran the booth! But keep an eye on him.”
Grønk and Fred headed toward the DQ, with Grønk looking over his shoulder every few steps. Ten minutes later they were back at their booth, and they took a break to eat their dip cones. For Stephan and Fred, their first dip cone was a pivotal and transformative experience. “How’d things go at the booth?” Grønk asked. “Great!” replied Stephan. “I sold four tomatoes and six peppers. Someone wanted to buy your folding chair, but I said ‘not for sale!’ “
Peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants were selling well, but okra sales were slow until late afternoon, when the booth was visited by siblings
Lochlan and Lyra Herrera, of the Loving County Higginbothams.
The Herreras were young entrepreneurs, flush with cash from the recent AI bubble. They had a new business model: artisanal candied okra, okra jelly (a hair care product), okra essential oils, okra nuggets, okra loaf (frozen foods aisle), okra scented candles…. Their creativity was matched by their enthusiasm, and they bought all 14 bushels of our okra.
The Herreras shared a bit of Texas trivia: Loving County, their county of birth, is the least-populated county in the entire United States, with a population of just 64.
On the drive back to WLBOTT HQ, Fred and Stephan were discussing candied okra. Stephan: “I can’t think of anything grosser.” Fred: “I can.” This led to a spirited competition between the two:
Okra pop-tarts
Menudo slushy
Jalapeno bacon fudge
Grønk’s socks
At this point, Grønk called for a 10 minute reflective silence. Stephan looked out the window at the mesquite and fields of corn. Fred was busy scrolling, and at exactly the 10 minute mark, he announced, “I’ve got WLBOTT’s Okra Word-of-the-Day!”
By the time the WLBOTTmobile pulled into the barnyard, the sun was getting low. Kennetta was waiting on the porch. Stephan climbed out of the truck, carrying the empty cash box. “How’d it go?” Kennetta asked.
“Great! We sold almost everything!”
“Did you have fun?”
“Yep! And Mr. Grønk went to Dairy Queen. I had a dip cone! And I ran the booth all by myself!”
Kennetta looked over at Grønk. “You did?”
“Yep! Mr. Grønk and Fred went to get the ice cream, and I was in charge. I sold four tomatoes and six peppers. And this man wanted to buy Mr. Grønk’s chair, but I told him it wasn’t for sale.”
Kennetta smiled. “You told him that?”
“Yep. I told him he’d have to talk to the manager.”
“Who’s the manager?”
“Me!”
Kennetta laughed. Then she looked at Grønk again. Grønk shrugged. “He did a fine job.”
Then Stephan said, “Kennetta, do you think I could go again next Saturday?”
Kennetta looked at her brother, then at Grønk, who was suddenly very interested in examining the WLBOTTmobile’s left rear tire. “I don’t see why not,” she said.
“Good! Because I think we need a sign that says the chairs aren’t for sale.” And with that, Stephan headed toward the house.
Kennetta watched him go. After a moment, Grønk walked over. “Good guy, your brother.”
“I know,” she said.
“He can do more than you think.” Kennetta nodded slowly.
