Perfect Partners

declared from inside the wavering tent, “if this is any example of how the rest of the manual is written, we’ll just have to insist that the entire thing be revised. Nobody who was not already an expert could get one of these tents up in less than two hours. And even then I’m not sure it would stay up.”
    “I’ll, uh, mention the problem to Mr. Blackstone, if you like,” Cal volunteered uneasily. He was still staring at Letty’s foot and still unaware of Joel’s presence. “He approved the new line of tents, himself.”
    “Never mind. I’ll talk to him about it. In the meantime we might as well keep going. Read the next instruction.”
    Joel propped one shoulder against the frame of the door and folded his arms across his chest. “Forget the next instruction. You’re going to have to start all over again. You haven’t got the ridgepole in place.”
    There was a sudden commotion inside the tent. “What are you talking about? Is that you, Mr. Blackstone?”
    Joel had found her insistence on office formality humorous at first. Now it was getting to be irritating. “Right. It’s me, Ms. Thornquist.”
    Cal Manford swung around, startled. Joel could have sworn he looked both relieved and disappointed. “I was just helping Ms. Thornquist field-test one of the new tents.”
    “So I see.” Joel eyed the listing tent. “I take it there’s a problem with the instructions?”
    “You can say that again,” Letty called out. The side of the tent bulged as she shifted position and in the process apparently rammed her elbow into the strong nylon. “Mr. Manford says this new line is designed to sell to novice campers. I asked him if it had been tested on any novice campers and he said no. So I thought I’d run an experiment. It’s been a very educational experience.”
    “Obviously.” Joel shook his head and gave Manford a wry man-to-man, what-can-you-do-with-‘em smile. It was the sort of smile men had exchanged among themselves when discussing female mechanical competency for several thousand generations. Cal returned it fleetingly, but he still looked worried.
    “I want to see how far I can get following the instructions. It’s best to document the problems with them as we go along,” Letty said. She changed position inside the tent once more. Her foot vanished.
    Joel eyed the wobbling upright pole. “Come on out, Ms. Thornquist. I’ll show you how to pitch a tent, if you really want to learn.”
    “No, no, no. That’s the whole point. If I, a typical novice camper, can’t do it myself using the manual, we’ve got a major problem with the new line. Don’t you understand?”
    The rebuke took Joel completely by surprise. For one single, exceedingly unpleasant instant, he felt a wave of embarrassed heat singe his cheekbones. He was aware of Cal Manford watching him with an expression of uncertainty.
    Anger flashed through Joel, driving out the embarrassment. It was bad policy for the company’s chief executive officer to be taken to task by the president of the firm in front of another member of the staff. Manford, like everyone else around the place, had to be reminded of just who was in charge.
    “If you’ll get yourself out of that tent, Ms. Thornquist,” Joel said evenly, “I’ll go over the manual personally with you. Step by step, if you like. We can see if there are any major problems with it. If so, they can be taken care of easily enough. Isn’t that right, Manford?”
    Cal coughed and swallowed. “Yes, sir.”
    At that moment one of the wavering aluminum poles fell over. There was a small scream from inside the tent as the entire structure collapsed.
    “Oh, my God,” yelled Letty. “Joel, do something. Get this thing off me!”
    So much for office formality.
    Joel eyed the writhing mass of yellow nylon. Letty was neatly trapped beneath it, floundering about like a netted fish. Cal Manford looked horrified and baffled by this new development.
    “Uh, Ms. Thornquist? Are you all right, Ms. Thornquist?” Cal called anxiously.
    “No, I am not all right.” Letty’s voice was muffled by the tent fabric.
    Joel straightened and held out his hand. “I’ll handle this, Manford. Give me that manual. I’ll help Ms. Thornquist complete her
field test
.”
    “Yes, sir.” Cal shoved the manual into Joel’s fingers. He summoned up a nervous smile. “If you don’t need me any longer, I’ll get back to my office.”
    “Do that.” Joel dismissed him with a glance and walked