Metafire

But the family wasn't close. Her mother was a secretary and her father was an insurance salesman who spent his weekends in golf. Her natural tendencies to show concern, to help, were berated by her mother and ignored by her father. She would get her brother some ice for a hurt knee, and her mother would tell her to mind her own business and go outside. She learned to be silent at home, and to help her sisters and brothers in private without her mother knowing. She dreamed of leaving the house and finding a husband and how they would spend their lives travelling. She didn't want to have children. They would be disappointed.

Now in her early twenties, her job was to search county documents for buried pipes and cables. Even though her job was to read the county maps, her success and her enjoyment were the guys, the utilities crews, the contractors, and the firemen, she got to help. She would tell the guys to dig for the gas pipe, and, oops, it wasn't there! She would tell the guys to dig because the map showed nothing, and oops, there was a cable line there! Although it didn't sound like much, everyone was appreciative of her light, helpful, attitude, and she thrived knowing that she made their lives more enjoyable.

Erisa was happy. Job preservation was assured. The guys really liked her and liked working under her guidance. In fact, all the grandious thinking that was left in her was a bit of regret that she sounded disingenuous about her goal in life, to get off the planet, and her favorite quip, that worry was a waste of imagination.