Birding with Yeats: A Mother's Memoir Read Online Free PDF Page B

about practically nothing but books.
    Rupert worked in the store full-time for the first four years. Titus helped out at events for a while and then worked full-time in the store for about a year while he was between careers. Danielle worked in the store during the summers when she was home from university, and Yeats worked as many outside events as Ben would give him. It was a family business, and it didn’t take long before publicists and editors got used to seeing us everywhere.
    But it was a big change for the family. Ben was working long hours and it was a whole new schedule for me. I said that if I didn’t work in the shop, I’d never see my husband. I said it as if it was a joke, but it was true.
    “And how is that?” people asked. “How is it having your husband as your boss?”
    “I compartmentalize,” I said. “He’s my boss at work and I’m the boss at home.”
    The truth was a bit more complicated, however. I tried not to step on Ben’s toes but sometimes I just couldn’t help but stick my nose into the running of the store. One of my pet peeves was the lighting. The ceiling was so high in the shop that we needed a 15 -foot ladder to change the bulbs. The building maintenance guys did this for us but only when they had the time, since it wasn’t really in their job description. Sometimes fifteen or more light bulbs would be out around the shop and it drove me crazy. It was dark in the corners and a lot of our customers were older than me. If I was having trouble seeing things, they sure would be. Would you buy a book you couldn’t see?
    I got on Ben’s case about the bulbs. I asked him every time I was in if he’d called Scott. He reminded me that Scott couldn’t just come; he had to wait until there were two of them with nothing else to do. Someone had to hold the ladder. Then another couple of bulbs went out and I nearly lost my mind. I had to bite my tongue or risk having Ben lose his temper. Would he really do that? When was the last time he really lost his temper at me? I couldn’t remember, but I didn’t want to risk it.
    The light bulbs were just one example. Staffing was another. We had four full-time staff in the beginning: Rupert, Lisa, Rachna, and Simone. Over the years we lost Lisa and Rachna, and then Rupert. Ben didn’t replace any of them. Business wasn’t as busy as we would have liked, but there were times when we needed more staff in the shop. By the time we had consistently hectic days, we were chronically short-staffed. Ben was often the only person there in the morning, which meant he couldn’t catch up on his administrative business. The way he saw it, though, he was saving money on wages.
    I wasn’t the boss. I tried not to interfere, but sometimes I walked a fine line. If he was in a good mood while I was razzing him, Ben would cock an eyebrow at me and say, “Really?” If he was pissed off for some reason, or just exhausted, he’d say, “Yes, dear.” That was my cue to shut up. He never used the word “dear” as an endearment.
    If Ben was particularly annoyed about something, a shipping or billing problem for example, I’d say to Simone, “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure we fool around tonight and he’ll be better tomorrow.” She’d groan and say, “Too much information.” Or we’d wait until Ben was in the office downstairs and we’d go on a clearing spree behind the cash. (Ben never threw anything out.) Simone and I developed all kinds of eye signals and facial expressions to help one another get through Ben’s moods. Actually, Ben wasn’t really a moody man, but he was full of colourful expressions and sudden bursts of disapproval and frustration. During those fourteen years at home, I hadn’t seen much of this side of him, so I told myself I’d have to find a way to navigate around his humours.
    This was a whole new episode in our lives together, and it did take a bit of figuring out. I can’t count the number of times I bit my tongue,