Rules of the Road

After meeting Elden, Jenna calls Harry to update him. Harry lets slip that he is in AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) while giving Jenna some advice, “‘in AA we say, ‘God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference’” (99). This makes Jenna respect Harry even more than she already does from stories Mrs. Gladstone told her about him. Jenna shares with Harry that they only managed to get her alcohol-addicted father to one meeting. Harry promises Jenna that he’ll help Mrs. Gladstone (whom he calls Maddy) save her company. He explains that he’s gathering support among the other stockholders and that he’ll meet Mrs. Gladstone and Jenna in Texas. Over the next few days Mrs. Gladstone holds meetings in her hotel room. One day, Alice Lovett, a retired shoe model and old friend of Mrs. Gladstone, shows up. Alice, who is fiery and forthright, has been close friends with Mrs. Gladstone for 41 years and has come to help. Alice insists that Mrs. Gladstone get a wheelchair so she can get out of the hotel room and make it to Texas. Jenna watches happily as Alice squashes each of Mrs. Gladstones protests, thinking to herself that “Mrs. Gladstone had met her match” (103). Before leaving the hotel for the next leg of the trip to Kansas City, Alice turns her attention to Jenna and suggests that she wear more green (something her grandmother also used to say) and get her hair cut with bangs. These observations make Jenna feel ugly and self-conscious. Jenna is not sure how to take Alice. When Jenna, Madeline, and Alice emerge from the elevator, Elden is there to greet them.

Elden expresses frustration rather than sympathy upon seeing his mother in a wheelchair and immediately starts to talk about his plans to sell Gladstone’s Shoes to Ken Woldman. Since Mrs. Gladstone is still in charge, he is asking for her permission to go ahead with the deal and frames it as a golden opportunity. Mrs. Gladstone is furious and accuses him of trying to “change the very fabric of the company” (105). Jenna sees that Mrs. Gladstone, in a fury, is about to do something rash, so she gets Mrs. Gladstone away to the bathroom under the false pretense of needing to take medication. In the bathroom, Jenna and Alice encourage Mrs. Gladstone to just smile, be polite, and not give away any information. They tell her to just think about Harry Bender and how he is trying to help her. Mrs. Gladstone follows their advice. She smiles and postpones the conversation about the company and blames the medication for making her feel woozy. Elden storms out for a second time.

As Jenna drives the Cadillac toward Kansas City she thinks about her father and how he used to talk about being on the road as a travelling salesman. Her father loves cars, and as a salesman he believes they are important since they’re the first thing someone sees when you pull up to their house. Jenna reminisces. “He took better care of those cars than he did his family. I guess people take special care of things that are important to them” (108). She thinks about all the times she tried to be important to him in the hope that he would notice her. Her thoughts take her back to times she would wait on the stairway for him to come home. He was always drunk. “Daddy’s home” (109).

In Kansas City Mrs. Gladstone attends meetings at the downtown Gladstone’s Shoe store while Jenna waits in a coffee shop, reading an article about the meteoric rise of Ken Woldman in a copy of Business Week magazine. Jenna reads details of the record-breaking sales and profitability Ken has achieved as president of Shoe Warehouse and notes the absence of any mention of quality. Jenna waits 20 minutes before investigating the Kansas City Gladstone’s Shoe store, as Mrs. Gladstone suggested, to ensure that no one saw them together. Jenna finds the store has low energy and products that are “passable, but not great” (112). Only the manager, Cynthia, was on the shop floor, and she was busy at the register. Mrs. Gladstone eventually tells Cynthia that Jenna is with her and that Jenna can help out with the customers. Jenna jumps at the chance, switching into shoe sales mode, and promptly sells five pairs of shoes in under 10 minutes.

After Kansas City, Jenna, Mrs. Gladstone, and Alice visit stores in Topeka, Wichita, Oklahoma City, Fort Smith, and Little Rock with Jenna spying for Mrs. Gladstone in each store while she attends meetings. Jenna picks up little life lessons on the way, such as don’t eat at a restaurant with the sign “GOOD EATS” (114) She persuades Alice and Mrs. Gladstone to try “down-and-dirty” diners and truck stops, and they take time to look at historic sites along the way (114). Meanwhile, Harry Bender is busy calling stockholders. Unfortunately, he is having no luck getting stockholders to turn away from the promise of soaring profits with Elden in favor of sticking with Mrs. Gladstone and her assurance of a quality product, albeit with lower profits. Elden keeps calling Mrs. Gladstone, and she keeps putting him off. Jenna notices Mrs. Gladstone gaining her strength back with each store they visit, fueled by the love and appreciation she receives from the managers who value her training and philosophy of quality. Soon Mrs. Gladstone doesn’t need the wheelchair, and both her and Alice are discussing how underappreciated seniors and all their accumulated knowledge are in America. At the Shreveport store, the manager, Bob Capshaw, wilts under questioning by Mrs. Gladstone. When she uncovers his system of buying low-end goods and selling them for more than they are worth but less than the quality goods, he crumples and says “it’s just […] business” (118), to which she replies “It’s immoral! Shame on you! Shame on you all!” (118) before storming out leaving a shaking Bob behind. When Jenna, Alice, and Mrs. Gladstone eventually cross into Texas, they are all fired up and raring to go. As Jenna is driving, she thinks to herself that they “had more horsepower in the backseat than we did under the hood” (119).

Jenna feels exhilarated driving in Texas where everything is bigger, faster, and fiercely Texan. They arrive at Mrs. Gladstone’s huge ranch house with its beautifully manicured garden at the same time as Elden. Elden coldly tells his mother that he is sick of playing games and they need to talk. They go inside and Elden asks Jenna to leave him with his mother in private. Mrs. Gladstone sharply puts Elden in his place, telling him that all his devious moves to try and overthrow her have stripped him of his right to privacy, and Jenna stays. Elden is furious and tries to convince his mother that what they are selling are “just shoes,” and the only thing that matters is the bottom line. Mrs. Gladstone is equally furious and coolly asks Elden about quality, to which Elden says “‘Decent sells well enough’” (125). This is too much for Mrs. Gladstone, who quietly but firmly tells Elden to get out. Jenna escorts him to the door. Before leaving, Elden childishly insults Jenna, calling her a giant and hissing that no one pushes him around.