A Bridge for Christmas by William Schwenn

Author:William Schwenn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: solitude, dog adoption, stray dogs, lifes journey, heart rendering
Publisher: Brighton Publishing LLC

More silence. Then Tom said, “And what’s involved getting another low-water deal up and running?”

“Three to six weeks after we clear the path,” Jerry said. “We should have the old bridge and supports out by the end of this week, maybe sooner.”

The rest was now up to Tom, he knew. Impose a really nasty year on the people trapped behind a busted bridge, and risk a lawsuit over serious injury or death in the process— OR build a new low-water bridge with newer technology and better materials that could easily last a good twenty years, with the bonus of saving the state considerable money now. Constructing a new low-water bridge would be paid from the state’s annual maintenance budget, which flies under radar in the legislature’s Finance Committee, whereas a proposed new bridge requires funding from New Projects, a notoriously difficult category to attract congressional approval. True, this particular replacement bridge proposal had finally received a tentative green light, but deals reaching that stage had failed at the last minute before. Plus, removing a costly venture from the books would put a feather in Tom’s cap, and invite a future return of favor for his department— factors not at all lost on the veteran state employee.

Jerry knew Tom had long ago familiarized himself with the costs of all types of bridges, and could do the math easily here. Add to that everything else in play in this specific set of circumstances, Jerry figured, Tom would probably endorse his suggestion to build a completely new low-water bridge, and kick its heretofore proposed replacement model onto the next generation’s to-do list. Life was too short to look a gift horse in the kisser. He waited patiently on his end of the phone, confident he’d said everything he needed to, to bring Tom around— but crossed his fingers, nevertheless.

“Well,” Tom finally said, clearing his throat, “if the alternate route is as bad as you say it is— and I believe you— , we probably have no choice but to get another quick-build going, and if we can get assurances from your local maintenance fellas that it will last a good fifteen to twenty years, I’ll take it to the Board for approval.” He went silent, then resumed, “how long you think it will take to get a firm assessment from your boys there?”

“I’ve asked them that, and they told me two three days, tops,” Jerry answered.

“All right. This is Monday. See if you can get that to me by Wednesday so I can review it, and if it looks okay, I’ll personally walk it upstairs. The Board meets every Friday afternoon— we can probably have our answer by the weekend. If it’s a ‘go’, you can order materials by the first of next week. We’re getting into holiday season again, you know, so you’re going to have to push your suppliers.”

When he stopped, Jerry sensed that Tom had something else to say, so he waited. He knew the signs— one of the perks of having worked with someone closely and often for years.

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