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Back A Penny for Your Thoughts Save as PDF
Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. A PENNY
  3. Dedication
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. One
  6. Two
  7. Three
  8. Four
  9. Five
  10. Six
  11. Seven
  12. Eight
  13. Nine
  14. Ten
  15. Eleven
  16. Twelve
  17. Thirteen
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. Sixteen
  21. Seventeen
  22. Eighteen
  23. Nineteen
  24. Twenty
  25. Twenty-One
  26. Twenty-Two
  27. Twenty-Three
  28. Twenty-Four
  29. Twenty-Five
  30. Twenty-Six
  31. Twenty-Seven
  32. Twenty-Eight
  33. Twenty-Nine
  34. Thirty
  35. Thirty-One
  36. Thirty-Two
  37. Thirty-Three
  38. Thirty-Four
  39. Thirty-Five
  40. Thirty-Six
  41. Thirty-Seven
  42. Thirty-Eight
  43. Thirty-Nine
  44. Forty
  45. Forty-One
  46. Forty-Two
  47. Forty-Three
  48. Forty-Four
  49. Forty-Five
  50. Forty-Six
  51. Forty-Seven
  52. Forty-Eight
  53. Forty-Nine
  54. Fifty
  55. Fifty-One
  56. Fifty-Two
  57. Fifty-Three
  58. Fifty-Four
  59. A Sample Chapter of Don’t Take Any Wooden Nickels
  60. About the Author
  61. Other Books by Mindy Starns Clark
  62. About the Publisher

She hesitated a moment, then finally stepped back and let me in. Once we were both inside Wendell’s office, she closed and locked the door behind us.

“I’m not really here,” she said. “At work, I mean. I took the day off, but then I was going crazy around the house. I came up the back stairs into Wendell’s office. I tried to do some filing, but it’s no use. I can’t seem to concentrate.”

She did look genuinely distraught, I decided. I made my way to the couch along the wall and sat, tucking one leg under me, knowing that this might be a good time to throw a few questions at her.

“Why don’t you tell me about your boss?” I said warmly. “It seems he was very much loved. What was it that made him so special?”

Gwen seemed eager for the conversation. She settled tiredly onto the couch, leaning back against the cushions.

“I assume you’ve known him a long time,” I added.

“I met Wendell Smythe almost 40 years ago,” she said. “He and I started working at the same company on the same day—I in the steno pool, he in the distribution department. Textiles, it was. Wendell was fresh out of college, full of energy and big plans, very popular. All of us stenographers loved it when we were assigned to him. Six months later, he had worked himself into an administrative position, and he asked me if I would like to transfer out of the steno pool to become his personal secretary.”

“Was he married then?” I asked.

“No, but I was.” She glanced at me and frowned. “I know what you’re thinking, but it was nothing like that. Wendell and I were always just friends—like brother and sister, you know. My husband was never jealous.”

“I see.”

“Of course, that was a lot of years ago. Eventually, Wendell left the textile company to begin his own business. A year later, he came back and hired me to be his office manager.”

“For Feed the Need?”

“Oh, no, that happened much later. We were just a clothing manufacturer in the early days. Very successful. Made a small fortune.”

I told Gwen that I had already read their brochure and that I had recognized some of their labels.

“We’re all over the place,” she replied, nodding. “From Wal-Mart to Saks and everywhere in between.”

“So where did the nonprofit side of the business come from?” I asked.