Chapter 2

I thought for a moment. “You used to work with him at Somerset Labs, didn’t you? He went to the company picnics. He’s about your age, but kinda paunchy and bald. Funny guy, kicked everyone’s butt playing quoits.”

“That’s him. After old Mr. Somerset died, his kids sold the company. The new owners started replacing management with men from the home office. Cliff got fired about two months before I did. He walked right into an equivalent job at Tompkins Technologies. When Somerset terminated me, I called him.

He hired me the following day. I started at a higher salary than I had been earning, they give a raise every six months and an extra two weeks’ pay as a Christmas bonus, and the benefits are about the best around. I told him about you.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re expanding. We need more product testing technicians on second shift, one now, and probably another soon. They haven’t advertised it yet, but they posted an opening on the bulletin board in the lunch room today. You could get that job. It would be perfect for a night owl like you.”

“I don’t know anything about product testing except what I learned here at the dinner table.”

“You had math and science classes in high school and college.”

“Yeah. So?”

“You passed them all, didn’t you? The main qualification for this job is a college degree.”

“Cool, but I don’t have a degree in any kind of scientific or technical field.”

“You don’t need one. You’re a smart kid. You used to read science magazines for fun in high school. You translated a German technical paper for that one class in college.”

“Right, but I was an English Literature major. I took as few math and science courses as possible. German class was easy for me in high school, so I minored in German in college to keep my grade point average up. I’m not sure how much any of that has to do with product testing.”

“It doesn’t matter, Ed. They’ll teach you everything you need to know. It’s simple quality control where you compare samples to standards. You could probably have a degree in basket weaving and still get this job. The girl they hired for day shift a couple months ago was a business major. She’s working out great. Cliff interviewed her for about fifteen minutes and hired her. He goes a lot on first impressions, and he’s usually right.”

“I wonder what his impression is of me.”

“He thinks you grew up a lot in college and need a decent job.”

“He’s right about those things.”

“Son, all they want is people who can pay attention to detail. The guy who will train you is a character. Everyone calls him Crazy Frank. He’s funny, he’s easy to get along with, and he knows what he’s doing. He was a high school history teacher, but his bad back won’t let him stand all day, so now he does this.

For you, it would be a good entry-level job. There’s room for advancement in the company. A lot of people have been there for decades. They promote from within when they can. The only reason they hire new people is to grow, because no one quits the place. It’s a good company, maybe the start of a career. At the very least, it’s something to put on your resume for later.”

“Not exactly what I pictured myself doing when I was in college, but my degree prepared me for jobs that pay about as poorly as flipping burgers, and what I’m doing now isn’t much better. This could be okay, I guess.”

“How much do you make now, if you don’t mind me asking?”

I told him my hourly rate.

“Call Cliff as soon as you can. After your two-week training and probation period, you’d earn almost twice that.”

I applied and got hired, no doubt because of a good reference from Dad. I gave notice at my old job and started at Tompkins Tech two weeks later. The work was easy, or at least I thought so. Crazy Frank’s nickname fit him. We got along well, and his stupid jokes and antics made the nights fly by. My folks encouraged me to keep living at home while saving for a newer car and furniture for an apartment. They charged me minimal room and board to help me get on my feet financially.

When I cashed my Christmas bonus check, I went out to buy presents. I was in the men’s furnishings department of an anchor store at the huge new mall that opened the previous summer, shopping for winter dress gloves for my father. It was a weekday morning, which meant the place wasn’t crowded. I found a pair exactly like Dad’s shabby old favorites. I was busy fishing in my wallet when I walked to the cash register, so I only glanced at the slender girl behind the counter.

“Ed?”