“I know! A visitor’s center.”
“Just so.”
I made a note and then grinned.
“Is this amusing?” he asked, intrigued rather than irritated.
“No, sir. But… I know what you just did.”
He gestured for me to explain.
“You didn’t tell me what to do. You guided me to my own solution instead. Still, it was the one you’d already thought of.”
“Mmm.”
“You did the same thing with this project. Instead of telling us to think about our designs in terms of systems and structures, you’re showing us what happens when we don’t.”
“You’re learning,” he said.
“How to be an architect or how to be a good teacher? Or… how to be a mentor?”
“Perhaps all three.” He sized me up. “You might not believe it, but I was once a young man such as you. And my mentor took the time to guide me instead of forcing me down a certain path.”
“Would you have rebelled?” I teased gently. “Like I do?”
He flashed a wry smile. “Perhaps.”
“Was he as critical and demanding as you are?”
“Oh, much worse.”
We shared a moment of camaraderie.
“Since you’re in a helpful mood,” I ventured, “I’d like to ask you something. It isn’t school-related.”
“Go on.”
“I have this project… for a friend.” I gave him an overview of Susan’s camp renovation.
Joska sat back and steepled his fingers when I finished.
I waited as long as I could before I said, “Do you think it’s too much?”
“Absolutely,” he said immediately. “You cannot manage a project of this scale.”
“Oh, no! Sorry. I should’ve mentioned… Trip and I are doing it together. He’ll be in charge.”
“You and Mr. Whitman? Ah, that is different.” He fired a series of questions at me, about the phases and what type of work they entailed.
I answered them as well as I could, but some of my replies raised more questions than they answered.
“We have someone else to advise us,” I said at last. “Trip knows him. He’s a retired project manager for a big construction company. We also have a consultant lined up in South Carolina. He worked for the WPA— Sorry, the Works Progress Administration.”
“I’m familiar with them,” Joska said. “Part of Roosevelt’s New Deal. A very ambitious series of public works. Parks, schools, and the like.”
“Exactly. And even though the guy’s in his eighties, he should be able to offer lots of advice.”
“And now you would like my advice?” Joska asked.
“Yes, sir. We have a meeting with the owner this weekend. Trip and I’ll be looking at the site and the buildings and everything else. We have a fairly good idea of the overall requirements, but we need specifics before we can move forward. Still, we know it’s a big job. A huge one, really. Maybe not for a big company, but we’re just two college students.”
“Yet you have experience with this sort of project.”
“Not really.”
“You renovated houses the past two summers, did you not?”
“Yes, but this isn’t the same. We’ll be doing more management for this project.”
“Similar to what you did recently? With the houses in Fort Sanders?”
“You know about those?” I asked in surprise.
He smiled. “I like to follow the careers of my students. The most promising ones, at least.”
“Oh. I… didn’t know. Still, how’d you find out about the houses?”
“The architect is a former student of mine. She called and asked if you were serious or just meddling.”
“What did you tell her? Never mind. I think I know.”
“Yes,” he replied succinctly. “And about this new project, for your friend. It sounds very ambitious, but you already know what I would say to you.”
“That I should aim too high and maybe fall short. Better than aiming too low and hitting the mark.”
“Just so. Still, you must work very hard if you wish to succeed, and you mustn’t neglect your studies.”
“No, sir.”
“You might have to give up some of your extracurricular activities.”
For a panicked moment I thought he was talking about my sex life, but then I realized that he meant dance class and the ballroom team.
“That isn’t going to happen,” I said with a laugh. “Christy loves dancing, and I love her. So I’ll have to find more hours in the day.”
“The number is finite, I believe.”
“Then I won’t sleep. It’s overrated anyway.”
“I thought so myself once.”
“And…?”
“The project was successfully completed. Eventually. But you cannot maintain such a pace for long.”
“My candle burns at both ends. It will not last the night. But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends, it gives a lovely light!”
He frowned in thought.
“Something my mother used to say. She was quoting a poet. Edna St. Vincent Millay, I think.”
“Ah. But she is right, your mother and this poet of hers. The candle gives a lovely light… for as long as it burns. So you mustn’t let it burn out before you finish.”
“The project? It’s only two years,” I said.
All of a sudden he laughed.
I thought he was mocking me, but then he smiled fondly.
“Not many people think in such terms,” he said. “Not at your age, certainly.”
“I’m not like people my age.”
“No,” he agreed, “you are not.” We fell silent for a moment before he pointed to my Japanese building plans. “You have your immediate answers?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“And you’ll learn more about your long-term project this weekend?”
“I hope so.”
“Come discuss it with me next week.” He shifted papers on his desk until he found his calendar. “Perhaps… Wednesday after your lab period?”
“Sorry, I can’t. I have dance class and then ballroom practice.”
He gave me a pointed look.
I ignored it and said, “I’m free Tuesday, late afternoon.”
“Mmm, no. I will be terrorizing first-year students.”
“Huh?”
“I have a class,” he said dryly.
“Ha! Okay. Architecture is a serious business for serious people.”
“Yes. I still hope that some of them might take it to heart.”
“Only the best,” I agreed. “How about after your class?”
He glanced at his calendar. “Five o’clock?”
“Isn’t that when you normally leave for the day?”
“I believe I can stay late for a student with an ambitious project.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“You’re welcome.” Then he smiled, a conspirator rather than mentor. “But please don’t tell the others. They mustn’t think me soft.”
* * *
Trip stuck his head out of his office when Christy and I returned from dance practice on Friday evening.
“Hey, come in here,” he said to me. Then he paused and looked at Christy instead. “Sorry, do you mind if I borrow Paul for a few minutes?”
She stiffened in surprise but recovered quickly. “No, of course not.” She touched my arm. “I’ll be upstairs when you’re done.”
“Sure.” I kissed her and sent her up with a pat on the bottom. Then I dropped my backpack and duffel bag on the dining room table as I walked by. I stepped into Trip’s office and sank into the side chair. “What’s up?”
“I was talking to Susan and going over the to-do list for tomorrow. Wanted to run it by you to see if we’d missed anything.” He handed me three pages of neat notes on yellow lined paper.
I started reading and asked a few questions, but he had most of it covered. The list was daunting, to say the least.
“Can we really do all this in two days?” I asked.
“I hope so. The cabin inspections alone will take most of the day tomorrow, but they’re the biggest unknown.”
“What about the clubhouse?”
“Susan wants to build new, so we don’t need much of an inspection.”
I nodded. “I’ve also been thinking about the motel buildings.”
“How to add the plumbing?”