Best Friends Forever
Chapter 6

 

She must have seen my reaction on my face.

“Becky, I care for you very much. When I said, ‘Love you’ in that text, I meant it, but I don’t really know how to express how much I care.”


“We are preparing to taxi, everyone in their own seat, with their seatbelt on, please?” came over the speakers.

She grabbed my hand as the plane started to roll forward. I put the spec sheet away, and we smiled at each other, as the plane got up to speed. That ... moment when it leaves the ground is really something else.

After reaching our cruising altitude, there was an announcement.

“Welcome to Google’s newest power couple Rebecca Knowles and Richard Summers. Our flight today covers 1,411 statute miles at a cruising speed of 480 mph or Mach 0.70. We will be landing at Moffat Airfield in approximately 2.9 hours from now. Thank you!”

“Mr. Knowles!”

“Yes, Ricky.”

“This plane can fly at 600 mph, Mach 0.88.”

“Yes, son - So?”

“It seems we’re wasting time flying so slow. We could get there thirty minutes sooner.”

“Here comes the navigator, Ricky – make your point to him and see what he says,” Mr. Knowles said.

“Hello, I’m John Randall, your navigator – how is everyone doing so far.”

“Mr. Randall, why are we flying so slow?” I asked.

“Oh, you read that we can go 600 mph, but we announced we are only 480 mph?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“To tell the truth, we aren’t in any hurry, so we set the speed to our usual standard.”

“But aren’t planes wind-tunnel-tested for their optimal speed, and not a ‘usual standard,’ as you call it?” I asked.

“I see your point Mr. Summers – we can crank it up, if you like? All right, Mr. Knowles?” John asked.

“Certainly, I have got a gut hunch we all may be working for Mr. Summers here before too long,” Mr. Knowles said.

A couple of minutes later I heard a change in the rumble of the engines, indicating we’d speeded up. Mr. Knowles and I shared a look of satisfaction on our faces. Becky crawled into my lap and fell asleep, with her head on my chest.


“We will be on the ground in ten minutes, everyone buckle-up, please?”

Becky got off me and moved silently to her seat and buckled up.

We landed at Moffett Airfield, where Google keeps its fleet of Gulfstreams along with a Boing 767-200. As we landed, I noticed what was called ‘Hangar One,’ a huge hangar that held the USS Macon, a rigid airship back in the 30s.

Due to the time change, we arrived only thirty minutes later than we’d left Omaha.

We were taken by limousine to Google Headquarters. I remembered I was supposed to call when I landed.

“Hello Mom?”

“Hello honey, everything OK?”

“All is well, landed five minutes ago. Just pulled up to Google International Headquarters. Call you when I can, bye?”

We all walked in and Mr. Knowles was quite proud of me, introducing me to everyone he could along the way as I proudly held the hand of his daughter.

Standing at the counter, talking to two different people was Larry Page, the co-founder of Google. He turned to notice Mr. Knowles and looked over to Becky and me, smiling.

“So ... this is the young man I have been hearing so much about. You wouldn’t believe the things Marvin Minsky said about you, including that you have a higher IQ than I do,” he said.

“Mr. Page, IQ is one thing, but the brains to use it to make money and power is another,” I responded.

“Exactly right, young man ... Ricky, isn’t it?”

“Yes, sir – and this is my girlfriend, Becky. She’s Mr. Knowles youngest daughter. Thank you so very much for allowing us this chance to visit with you,” I replied.

“Larry,” Mr. Knowles said, “Ricky, amongst other things, has a brain like a sponge and an Eidetic memory. What year were you born?”

“1973, why?”

“Ricky?”

“George Steinbrenner bought the New York Yankees for $10 million dollars; the last living soldier leaves Vietnam and the Soviet Mars Probe is launched.”

“Cute trick, Ricky – 1967?” Mr. Page asked.

“The Doors self-titled Album is released; there’s a 10-thousand-person march against the Vietnam War in San Francisco and the 25th Amendment is added to the Constitution of the United States of America.”

Another gentleman stepped up and said, “1955, please?”

“The board game Scrabble debuts; SATO, the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization is established and on April 27th, 1955 the current Executive Chairman of Google Incorporated was born. Nice to meet you, Mr. Schmidt,” I said.

Everyone within earshot applauded my knowledge and chuckled at my method.

“Nice to meet you as well, Ricky. I hope you are not after my job here?” he said with a chuckle.

“No sir, I’ll settle for Mr. Knowles job in a couple years, after I become his son-in-law.”

Uh-oh!

I turned to Becky who was blushing up a storm. I held her and said, over and over, “I’m sorry? I ... don’t know why I said that?”

The conversation effectively broke up at that point, as Becky calmed back down.


“So, you want my job, do you?” Mr. Knowles said as we stepped away from the crowd.

“Sir, I’m sorry ... I ... overstepped. I guess I was trying to show off a little. Not many fourteen-year-olds get the ear of Larry Page or Eric Schmidt. Besides when you get kicked upstairs, somebody will need to take your job in Omaha, won’t they?” I said.

“Sounds like you might have a long-term goal after all, young man. I mean besides the possibility you might just end up my son-in-law,” he said.

“DADDY!” Becky said.


We spent a couple more hours there, looking around, talking to employees. I was keeping a firm hand on my girlfriend, as some twenty something’s kept looking at her much too lasciviously. Usually as soon as they realized who she was the daughter of, they backed off.

I actually sat down and talked to some of the guys, finding out they were recruited just like I had been. They all seemed impressed that I was only fourteen, but that didn’t seem to keep them from being friendly and open.

 
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