Chapter 102: A Brief Trip

Tuesday, May 28, 1985

We spent much of the day hanging out with Camille. Francis was back to work and she was happy for the company. Most of our far-flung friends were not back in town. Marshall was doing some sort of summer football thing, Connie was doing an internship at a clinic (unpaid likely, but good experience), Amit and Sheila had come and gone, and Sue and Gene were in New Orleans. Janet, Lizzie, and Jess hadn’t even had finals yet, though they were happening this week.

We caught up with some of them, though, which was nice. In person would be better, but we made the most of our time on the phone.

At bedtime, Jas said, “It’s good catching up with people.”

“It is,” I said.

“I miss Jess, which I still really find ironic. And funny! But it’s a good sort of missing. She’s where she belongs and we’re where we belong. We’re still close friends, we’re just ... apart.”

“That’s how I see it, too.”

She chuckled, and said, “You’ve lived that much more than I have, though.”

“I have,” I said, nodding. “It’s easy to lose track of people when they’re far away, but it’s certainly possible to keep them as friends. We’re doing a good job. This is proof.”

“It is,” she said, nodding. “Marshall, too, and the others.”

“Definitely!”

“We should get some sleep. Driving tomorrow! And sightseeing!”

“I agree!”

We hugged and kissed, then snuggled up and went to sleep. Tomorrow, Austin!

Wednesday, May 29, 1985

We got a bit of a late start after a leisurely lunch with Mom. That was fine, since we didn’t have to be anywhere until breakfast tomorrow at eight. That would let Michael get into the office early enough to suit him, though not as early as he would usually get there.

We talked about him a fair bit during the drive. Both of us agreed: Michael was right in being concerned about risking burnout, and he really should take some time off soon. He was trying to do too much and it would eventually kill him and the company. I knew a lot about how he’d managed things in my first life, and Angie had added more pieces, but we needed him to find many of these solutions himself. I couldn’t simply toss names and suggestions to him. He’d have to mostly stick to the path. If he deviated too far, we were in uncharted territory.

Mind you, we were already in ‘uncharted territory.’ I was pretty certain P.C.’s Limited was bigger and growing faster in this life than in my first life. Still, it was on a similar path and would face similar issues. If we got through those, the sky was the limit. Fail, and it would all implode.

After a while, the topic switched to our friendship.

Jas said, “It’s funny. I pretty much consider him a ‘friend,’ but I still don’t know him all that well.”

“I’m glad you do,” I said. “I’d say Michael and I have become much better friends since the investment than we were before it. We were close enough, obviously, but more now.”

“Me, too!” she said. “Which is good. I’d really hate for things to get uncomfortable.”

I nodded, and said, “That was my biggest fear. My little investment is trivial compared to the cash flow they have now...”

“But it wasn’t then, and it’s not trivial compared to his investment,” she said.

“Absolutely!” I said. “Both of those are the key, I think. Michael put in far less money but far more time. I put in money, not time, but I put it in when he needed to get past a real cash flow problem. He obviously can’t know this, but I’m certain they’re growing faster in this universe. That worries me, because what if it’s ‘The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long?’ Still, I think he’ll weather the growing pains and go public.”

“Me, too,” she said. “He seems very level-headed and focused.”

“There’s a reason he was the only ‘computer wunderkind’ still running his company thirty-five years from now. Mind you, Jobs could have been, it’s just that he died. Nothing I can do to do help him, I’m pretty sure, even if I wound up in a position where that was possible. Anyway, Gates and the rest all burned out on running their companies and went on to other things. My first-life Michael was like Warren Buffett. He was doing what he loved and he was good at it. This one has all of that potential and I think it’s developing the right way.”

“It’s a weird perspective. It’s ... well, this is your life, I guess. You’re younger, but you’re in a position to very quietly play ‘mentor’ and ‘coach’ and all of that.”

“As long as it’s subtle and as long as I don’t blow it,” I said. “Guide him too far off the path and I’ll have no idea how to correct it.”

“You’re good at subtle,” she said, giggling.

After a stop for lunch at an old diner in Giddings (Jas bopped my shoulder when I mentioned I’d passed it dozens of times when it was an even older diner), we arrived in Austin mid-afternoon. Our destination was the tried and true Howard Johnson. I’d considered other places, but it was inexpensive, still reasonably nice, and fairly convenient to P.C.’s Limited’s office space. There were, as yet, few motels any closer, though many would fill in the highway frontage roads over the ensuing decades.

Once we’d checked in and called home, we had little to do until dinner, so we went out on a driving tour. I wound up taking Jas to the Texas Memorial Museum, which Mom, Dad, Ang, and I had visited a few years ago. Like Ang, she was surprised to find out it was a natural history museum. We paused for a while over the gemstone display (technically, it was a geological exhibit), which had a side benefit for me of confirming some of Jas’s preferences. Not that I was buying jewelry anytime soon, probably, but these are good things to know.

Dinner was at the Nighthawk. I was probably going to take most opportunities I had to eat there while it still existed. It was odd for me eating at a restaurant I ‘knew’ to be ‘doomed,’ and it might have been even more odd for Jas since she only knew it via my observations.

We headed back to the motel after dinner. There was plenty we could have done, but little we had to do, and it’d be nice to get some sleep before seeing Michael.

Perhaps not right away, though...

Thursday, May 30, 1985

We packed our bags, checked out, and hit the road in plenty of time to get to Kerbey Lane before eight. Michael was waiting out front when we arrived. For me, this was another odd moment: ‘the calm before the storm.’ Three or four years from now, most people in Austin would recognize Michael Dell, which would likely present a problem for him just hanging out waiting in front of a local restaurant. I couldn’t tell him to enjoy the relative anonymity while he could, but I hoped he was.

We shook hands, and Jas hugged him as well as shaking hands, before heading in.

Once we were seated, he said, “So, how’s your trip been so far?”

“Good!” Jas said. “We went to the Texas Memorial Museum and the Nighthawk.”

“I still haven’t made it to the museum,” he said, shaking his head. “Saw the outside once, but that’s it. I’ve only been on campus once since I left. We participated in a job fair on campus this year.”

“Find anyone good?” I said.

We paused to place our orders. After that, he chuckled, and said, “Where were we? Oh, the job fair! Honestly, the thing was a bit of a mess. Still, yeah, we’ve hired two people and might hire a couple more, I think. I’ve officially decided I’m not interviewing anyone in a junior role after this month. The managers have to be able to manage or we won’t get anywhere.”

“Makes sense,” I said, with Jas nodding along. “At the size P.C.’s Limited is becoming, you can’t really know everyone, and an interview with you might be counterproductive.”

“Yes,” he said, sighing. “Oddly bittersweet. Sometimes you get what you want and you find out there are downsides. I’m glad — don’t get me wrong, this is amazing! — but I’ve gone from a dorm room to a condo to a building to several small buildings to a big building and a few small buildings in a bit over a year. When you signed on, we fit in my dorm room. I saw everyone every day. Now, there are people I never see — lots of them! — and some I might never see except in the back of the room during an ‘All Hands’ meeting. Two of them not even then — they’re remote salespeople.”

“The price of growth,” Jasmine said, nodding. “Not much you can do, though.”

“Nothing,” he said, nodding. “Grow or die — that’s where we are right now. We can’t stand still. We’ve got a ‘product roadmap’ and people working on things that won’t be ready to ship for six to nine months. To justify that, we have to ship a bunch of them, which means growth. More production techs, more quality control people, more inventory people, more everything. More managers to manage all of the new people.”

“It sounds exciting, though,” she said.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong!” he said, chuckling. “It’s very exciting! I love it, really, all of it. I just ... well, it’s my baby, and I feel like ... well, maybe like a parent who’s sent their child off to elementary school. Suddenly they’re not just ‘mine.’ Other people are there for the milestones and I hear about them later. I have to trust the people who are doing the work and the people who are hiring the people who are doing the work to not mess up my baby.”

“Policy, procedures, control, oversight, all of that business stuff,” I said, smiling.

“You and your business school!” he said, still chuckling a bit.

“Nah,” I said. “That’s just me, or maybe stuff Dad taught me. All I’ve learned in business school so far is basic accounting.”

“That sounds terribly exciting!” he said.

“It’s ... necessary,” I said. “Gotta be able to read a balance sheet, financial statements, and all of those things and at least have an idea of what ‘doing it right’ means.”

“I’m trying to pick up a lot of that,” he said, “but there’s not a lot of time.”

“Warren Buffett...” I said, keeping an eye on Michael to see if he recognized the name.

He nodded a bit, so I figured he did.

“ ... says much of his job is reading,” I said. “You’re not there, but you might get there.”

“I can see that,” he said. “Much more of it is than I ever thought it would be. Reports, memos, proposals — there’s a lot of paper.”

“Make sure you’re delegating well,” Jas said.

“Trying!” he said, grinning.

“Speaking of,” I said, “You’d mentioned a vacation?”

“Finally got it planned,” he said. “I kicked around a lot of ideas. This is my first real vacation as an adult, and I’m going solo, so ... guess.”

We were interrupted by the waiter bringing our order, then kept up the conversation over pancakes and omelets.

“Hawaii?” Jas said.

He laughed.

“I’m not much for just hanging around a beach by myself.”

“How about ... Washington, D.C.?” I said. “Museums, government, all of that.”

“D.C. made it to the shortlist,” he said. “Close! I’m heading to New York City. Maybe a show, probably the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, museums, and so forth.”

“That sounds really cool!” Jas said. “I want to go there.”

“I’ll tell you all about it!” he said.

“It’s definitely on the list,” I said, nodding.

“What’s next for you?” he said.

“Ang picked out a Caribbean cruise, so we’re doing that in a week and a half or so. They’re surprisingly affordable.”

“Sounds like fun!” he said. “You get some of the ‘lying around on the beach’ stuff without being tied to one.”

“I’m sorry if we make you jealous with all of the traveling,” Jas said.

“Nah,” he said around a bit of omelet. After he’d finished, he said, “I’m doing exactly what I want to be doing and I love it. Nice vacations will come in time. Dad’s said again and again, ‘Everyone needs time off. If you don’t work hard, you’ll never prosper, but if you work too hard and miss out on life, what was the point of prospering?’”

“Your dad needs to talk to mine,” I said, chuckling. “Honestly, he’s not that bad, but he’s been one of those people who only takes his vacation time when someone pushes him to, aside from the summer family trip. Loyal to a fault, but you have the time for a reason and you should take it. I think he’s slowly getting better, but it’s a work in progress.”