Chapter 5

New Pittsburgh, Mars

Tuesday, April 24, 2136, 6:00pm

Standing in his new kitchen, David sighed with relief. The movers finally left an hour ago. They spent all day stacking boxes in various rooms, assembling and positioning the furniture. Tom Nichols allowed David to take all day Tuesday off to supervise the movers.

David was trying to sort through all his kitchen utensils and supplies. There were still six boxes left marked "Kitchen." He had not unpacked any of the pots, saucepans, china, or flatware. So far he had put away all the coffee and other staples. He was beginning to realize that his hope of cooking the first meal in his new home tonight was not realistic. At least the bedroom was complete, including unpacking all his clothing. The last time David moved was when his ex-wife Sheila threw him out. That time he had only his clothing, his books, his kitchen knives, and a few pots and pans. No wonder it was taking him so long this time. He accumulated a lot of possessions in the last four years. David decided to break for dinner. If the kitchen was ready for breakfast, everything would be fine.

David signed the lease Saturday after looking at the apartment. Since it was already vacant, he could move in immediately. He spent the previous Saturday and Sunday walking around the neighborhood, including going through the lobbies of several of the nearby buildings. Saturday night David stayed in instead of going out partying. He searched the internet for information on the neighborhood. He even searched the local internet provider, MarsGroup Information. Now David knew the location of most of the grocery stores, restaurants, and services within a kilometer of his apartment. Like most engineers, David believed in research and preparation. It did not matter if it was planning a new production line or finding out about your neighborhood.

Looking back, Monday was a blur. First thing Monday morning David talked to Tom about taking time off to supervise the movers. Tom told him to set a date with the moving company then take paid administrative time that day. David contacted the storage firm who said they could deliver everything on Tuesday.

Later that morning he contacted Rufus to make sure he would cover any problems that arose on Tuesday. David still remembered the look of surprise on Rufus' face when he said. "I trust you to handle anything that comes up. If you have a problem, solve it and I will support your solution one hundred percent." Because of the look on Rufus' face David added, "If I can't trust your judgment I need a new general operations manager."

Rufus responded to the last statement by saying. "I keep forgetting you definitely are not Ms Johnson. She always insisted on reviewing every one of my decisions."

If anything important happened the rest of the day, David could not remember it. It seemed as if he spent the entire time filing reports, approving someone else's reports, or cross checking this weeks orders of material against next weeks production schedule.

The research David performed on Sunday revealed there was a Mama Rosa's on the top floor of the Iron City Tower next door to David's building. Tonight he was playing it safe. Mama Rosa's served pretty good food for a chain restaurant. He was still looking around hoping to find some restaurants in the neighborhood not owned by a major corporation. These restaurants might not be The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas, Chez Paul in Chicago, or Pittypat's Porch in Atlanta, but at least their food would be unique.

David really did not want to eat alone. He pulled out Will Powell's card and called his PC. Will answered on the second ring. "Will speaking, may I help you?"

"Hello, this is David, we met the other day?" David waited for Will to acknowledge him. It was possible that Will would be unable to acknowledge recognizing David. If so, Will would simply say "I'm sorry, you have a wrong number."

"Hello David, it's good to hear from you again. How are you doing?"

"Will, are you free this evening? I would like to take you out to dinner."

"I was just about to start my supper," Will responded. "Where did you want to go?"

"Do you know how to find the Mama Rosa's in the Iron City Towers?"

"Yes. That's about half a kilometer from my apartment."

"It's just across the street from my new apartment," replied David. "If you'll meet me in the lobby of the Iron City Tower, I'll buy you dinner."

"That sounds like an excellent idea," replied Will. "I'll meet you there in about thirty minutes."

"Good. I'll see you then," said David.

Mama Rosa's was a division of DrinkCorp Food and Beverages, a subsidiary of Interplanetary Food Products. Each Mama Rosa's served upscale Italian style food in an atmosphere designed to attract diners who were dating, celebrating special events, or people seeking a quiet atmosphere to discuss business. The chain controlled 18 percent of the market in its target demographic.

Every Mama Rosa's used a standard layout. The central dining area consisted of deuces and four top tables. On both sides off the main dining area were a total of ten recessed dining areas. Each of these seated up to four people. The side facing the dining room had two floor-to-ceiling drapes that the diners could close at their discretion. The drapes were thick enough to muffle a normal conversation within the secluded dining area. Behind the main dining room were two small banquet rooms with full privacy screening. Each of these seated up to eight people. The restaurant charged two hundred dollars for the use of these two rooms in addition to the cost of the meal.

The chairs were a standard design, simulated dark oak with red padded seats. The seat padding was just thick enough to start causing discomfort after two hours. Each wall had murals with grapes and grape vines forming a border. In the center was a small village that looked like an Italian hill town from the nineteenth century. The company covered the floor with a plush red carpet over a thick pad designed to absorb any sound. The sound system played nineteenth and twentieth century Italian songs on a two-hour loop.

David walked in wearing slacks, button down shirt, casual tie, and a sport coat. Will was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. At first David was afraid they would not seat Will. On Earth if you did not have a coat and tie they would not admit you to a Mama Rosa's.

The maitre d' quickly seated them near the back corner of the main dinning room. Tuesday was obviously a very slow night as there were only about fifteen people in the dinning room. David did notice that although two other men wore sport shirts with slacks, everyone else wore brief pullover shirts and shorts. David made a mental note that dress was definitely more casual on Mars. He would need to purchase more shorts and T-shirts.

When the waitress arrived, David ordered an antipasto platter for two. He then said to Will, "Would you like to split a bottle of Napa Valley Chianti?"

"That sounds like a good idea to me; I enjoy a good red wine with Italian food."

David and Will studied their menus determining what to order for dinner. By the time the waitress returned with the antipasto platter, they were both ready to order. David ordered the pasta primavera, and Will ordered the chicken scaloppini.

Placing a couple of slices of cheese and a slice of salami on his plate David said, "I'm glad you could join me for dinner tonight. I wanted to invite you over for dinner, but I didn't realize how much work it is to unpack everything you own. The last time I moved was when my ex-wife threw me out of our house. I moved into a small furnished apartment and then purchased a house less than six weeks later. Except for my books and some cooking utensils, I purchased everything after moving into the house."

"Yes I remember moving into my second apartment on Earth," replied Will. "I didn't realize how much junk you could accumulate in two short years. It was even worse when I moved into my apartment here on Mars. Fortunately, the company covered the cost of my move. Otherwise, I would have left everything on Earth and gradually replaced it here."

"I know what you mean. Yesterday the bill for shipping everything from Earth to Mars arrived and it was over $27,000. Even on what they pay me at the plant, I don't make enough to pay the cost of moving everything." David stopped abruptly, thinking Ok just how much do I want to reveal about my life?

As if reading his mind Will looked at him saying, "You and I will be spending a lot of time together. I think it's time to tell each other a little more about ourselves. I think I can trust you, I know you can trust me. We both have too much to lose if we betray each other."

"That sounds reasonable to me," replied David. "If I can trust my administrative assistant surely I can trust you."

"What do you mean if you can trust your administrative assistant?"

"Remember the other night I said there was a woman who held my life in her hands?"

Will looked at David with a quizzical look. "Yes I remember you making that comment. Are you saying that the woman who holds your life in her hands is also your administrative assistant?"

"Actually, Will it's worse than that. I have only known her for a week, but I am falling in love with her. Seeing her smile when I walk into my office in the morning makes the whole day brighter. Yesterday I even made an excuse so she had to eat lunch with me. I know the cafeteria where I work is not very good. If I can finish unpacking my kitchen tonight, I will make a simple lunch and invite her to join me in my office. The worst of it is I don't even know if she is dating someone. I guess tomorrow I need to find out about her social life."

"You sound like you are starting to fall in love alright. What are you going to do if she tells you she is already dating someone else?"

"Then I back off and wait to see if it works out for her. If it works out, I will dance at her wedding. If it doesn't then I'll ask her to date me. I will remind her that because of what she knows, if she does not feel comfortable dating me, she can just say no without any possible problems. Normally I would not even consider dating a fellow employee, especially my administrative assistant."

"I know what you mean David," said Will. "I don't date anyone where I work either."

David then said, "As we are being open and honest with each other, let me tell you a little about my life. I am originally from Plano, in North-Southern. My mother is an attorney, and my dad is a doctor. Mom works for North American Instruments. I graduated from The University of Texas with an Engineering degree. What about you?"

Will looked around and saw the waitress bringing their salad. He waited until she left before inquiring. "David, why do they still call it The University of Texas? I attended North-Central State University in East Lansing. They changed the name from Michigan State University right after the State of Michigan ceased to exist."

"There is a difference," David responded. "Anyone who grew up there knows that Texas was an independent country before it was a state. Just changing the name of Texas and making it part of North-Southern doesn't change anything. Some names like The University of Texas and Texas A & M are sacred to people born and raised in the Texas portion of North-Southern. We would be as likely to change the name of Dallas or Fort Worth as change the name of UT or A & M. UT and A & M have over 200 years of rivalry, the only thing all Texas Exes and Aggies agree on, is removing the name Texas from the name of either school would be an insult."

Will replied. "I thought that the University of Texas mascot was the Longhorn. Why did you say Texas Exes?"

David said, "The Longhorn is the University of Texas mascot. Texas Exes is the UT alumni association. Those of us who graduated from UT sometimes refer to ourselves that way."

"Oh I didn't know that," replied Will. "I was born in Cleveland." When I was ten, my father's company transferred him to the home office in Memphis in the state of South-Eastern and my parents still live there. My Mother runs the house and handles the company parties. My Father is now a Senior Vice-President of Pharma Brands."

"What is Pharma Brands? I don't think I have heard of them."

"You haven't heard of them but I bet you know their products. They make Bronze Tone sun tan oil, the entire Lady Silvia line of cosmetics, and produce over a hundred other brands of cosmetics, perfumes, and colognes."

David was impressed. Lady Silvia was the largest selling brand of cosmetics in WestHem. Bronze Tone was practically an icon in the sun tanning market. "You're right I have heard of the products they make. I didn't realize they were headquartered in Memphis."

"They have been in Memphis for over two hundred years. When we moved to Memphis, Dad enrolled me in the best private school in the city. My parents were disappointed that I decided to study accounting at North-Central State University in East Lansing instead of going to Harvard like my Father. He was even more disappointed when I went to work for a computer company instead of being the fourth generation to work for Pharma Brands. I just did not want my every action reported back to my Father."

"I know what you mean," David said. "For the last eight days, I lived in a temporary apartment at my company's Martian headquarters building. I could not stand the thought of having my every move reported back to my Father or Mother. If you're like me, your privacy is something you value."

"Yes I definitely like having my privacy," Will answered. "Since arriving on Mars I feel liberated because other than my own company, no one cares who I am or what I do away from the job."

The main course arrived at this point. David and Will were too busy enjoying their meal to do anything except compliment the cooks.

An hour later, David and Will left the restaurant. Will went home for a good night's sleep and David returned to his apartment to finish unpacking the kitchen.

The food at Mama Rosa's had been exactly what David expected. The menu was the same as the Mama Rosa's in Texarkana and it tasted exactly the same. David suspected that if he ate there once or twice a week for the next month he would be able to place his order without even looking at the menu. That was a depressing thought.

Maybe Will knew of some unusual restaurants in the area. Part of the reason David started cooking for himself, was to add variety to his meals. Along the way, he discovered that all the things involved in preparing a meal allowed him to relax after a hard day at work. The few people who had eaten his cooking told him it was very good. All David knew for sure was he cooked food he liked to eat.

The beeping of the alarm shook David awake. With one touch, David changed it from alarm to music. The radio was set to a classical station. The music started in the middle of "Penny Lane," the original Beatles version, not a cover by a modern group. The next song was "Rhapsody in Blue" with a full orchestra.

On Earth, he always preferred listening to the news and weather after the alarm woke him. Inside New Pittsburgh the weather was a given. The temperature was always 22 degrees and it never rained. During his commute on MarsTrans, David had time to read the news on one of the internet services. Starting today, he would need to be more observant. The commute to the plant required changing trains one time in each direction. He also needed to remember to pick up a transfer slip when he entered the first train.

Forty minutes later David was pouring the remaining Guatemalan Antigua coffee into his travel mug. David reached into the refrigerator and pulled out the lunch he hoped to share with Marilyn. Closing the apartment door behind him, he headed for the MarsTrans station and the plant.