The last time I visited Lucky’s Billiards, Hank Slater was bragging about a job his niece had just gotten at the new Chevy dealership outside of town.

“She’s the first person you see when you walk in the showroom,” Hank said. “She’s got a desk and there’s a table with coffee and doughnuts right next to the desk.”

“What type of job is she doing at the Chevy place?” JJ Potts asked.

“It’s got a real fancy title. Let me see if I can remember it.”

The boys were quiet while Hank tried to recall the name of his niece’s job.

“It’s the Director,” Hank said. “The Director of…First Impressions.”

Roy Johnson said, “That does sound important.”

“What kind of work does your niece do?” Delano Purvis asked.

“Well, first she asks you if someone can help you,” Hank said. “Then she asks you if you want some coffee and doughnuts. If you look like you are trying to decide, she tells you some have jelly in them and others that are covered with sugar.”

“Does she do anything else?” JJ asked.

“I think she makes the coffee if it runs out. And there’s some brochures there, that she will give you if you ask about any of the cars or trucks.”

“She sounds like a receptionist,” Delano said.

“Well, come to think of it,” Hank said, “I guess that is what she does. She sort of acts as a receptionist.”

“I was in Charlotte recently,” Pete Tubbs said, “and my truck broke down. I had it towed to a place and the feller who worked on it called himself an ‘automotive internist.’ Had a business card and everything. A ‘automotive internist!”

“What did he do to your truck, Pete?” asked JJ.

“Replaced the alternator. I could have done it myself if I’d had my tools with me.”

“So what you’re saying is—he was a mechanic?”

“That’s about the size of it,” Pete said. “Won’t no difference between him and a regular mechanic, other than the name.”

“My cousin applied for a job in Memphis,” Delano said. “Job was advertised as a ‘transporter of learners.’ He was right surprised when he got the job. But what surprised him more than anything else was what was the job required.”

“What is “a transporter of learners?’” Hank asked. “I ain’t never tell of such as a job as that.”

“It means he will be driving a school bus,” Delano said.

“Lord have mercy,” said Pete. “Abner, what do you think about these here fancy titles for ordinary jobs?”

Abner Sessoms, who was getting ready to take a shot at the nine ball, stopped and leaned against the pool table. Being that he was a retired court bailiff, the boys looked to him to bring clarity to issues murky and mysterious.

“The creators of these fancy titles know they ain’t paying their people much,” he said,”so I reckon they are trying to compensate them for low wages.”

Abner tapped the nine ball in and added, “They are putting their faith in the ordinary human’s boundless capacity for self-deception.”