Chapter 17

SANDY -- MAY 1961

I went in to see Paul a week before the Memorial Day weekend, and he didn't have any problem with my taking the Friday and half of Tuesday that I wanted for my drive to Washington. He then said, "You'd better take some more vacation time by July; we'll be hooking the Reaper box up to Stretch that month, and I want you to take on the job of bringup test coordinator. It's a big job, and demanding, but I know you are very capable and the best person for the job. There won't be much time for vacation once the test starts, and I'm afraid you'll be working a lot of overtime."

"Are you sure that you want me doing this? After all, I'm still relatively new here, and, except for a few sessions when we were debugging the VFL unit, I don't really have a lot of experience with this."

"That may be true, but what's more important for this assignment is the way you plan and organize your work, as well as your outstanding technical judgment and analytic ability."

"OK, then. I'll do the best I can, but I'm going to need some help."

"I knew that you would, and I've arranged for a couple of experienced guys from the field to come in and work with us on the test. They are both really sharp, and have been outstanding Customer Engineers for several years. We're lucky to be getting them."

"That sounds good. When do they get here? I'd like to spend some time with them in June putting together a plan and strategy for the test process."

He said, "They should be here in early June, depending on how long it takes them to move to Poughkeepsie. Miguel Santos is from IBM Puerto Rico, but speaks excellent English. Pierre LaPlanche is of French Canadian ancestry. Fortunately, he's a US citizen; this means that there should be no problem with the clearance process for either of them."

"I'll look forward to working with them come June. It sounds like I shouldn't have a problem if I want to take some time off around the July Fourth weekend. Will that be OK?"

"That's good. It will be a week after that before the mechanical and cabling work is done and we can begin with the Reaper testing. Sandy, this is a very big job, and it will certainly seem overwhelming at times. Don't let it get the better of you."

As I went back to my office and thought about the test coordination job, I started to panic because of the magnitude of it. I got a grip on myself, and decided that I needed to develop a careful plan, starting with the definition of the tools we would need and some major checkpoints we could define to track our progress. I spent the next week reviewing the test plan for Stretch and talking with the people who had been heavily involved with it. I knew that we would need diagnostic programs, and talked to Sarah about what we might need; she had some good ideas. She said that not only would she have some tools ready in time for the test, but also that someone would be available when there was a problem and a diagnostic program needed to be modified or extended. On that score, at least, she set my mind at ease.

Steve and I had agreed that I would get a very early start on Friday, which would get me to Washington ahead of the worst part of the weekend traffic jam. He had mailed me a map and a key to his apartment, so I could drive directly there and call him at the agency when I got there. He also told me that one of his neighbors was away, so there would be an extra parking spot for me.

I was on the road before seven on Friday, eager to see Steve again. It was a gray day, but the rain held off, and I made good time, without a lot of traffic hassle until I got near Baltimore. I was beginning to appreciate the relative roominess and comfort of Steve's TR3; my Sprite was fine for the driving I had been doing, but I was somewhat apprehensive about the heavy traffic on the interstates. Finally, I got to his apartment, parked, took my bag up the stairs, and let myself in. There was a note for me on the phone, with a loving welcome message, and the number of his office at the agency. I called, and when he answered, "Steve McCall speaking," I said, in what I hoped was a sexy voice, "Dear Steve, I'm here!"

He must have had someone in his office, because he said,"OK thanks. I'll be there in a few minutes," and then hung up.

Soon I heard him on the stairs, and rushed to the door to greet him. He wrapped me in his arms in a big hug, and we kissed for a long time. He said, "Sandy, darling, I'm so sorry I was so abrupt with you on the phone; Murray was in my office."

"I realized that someone was there, my love! Now kiss me again to make up for that!"

I told him about the assignment that Paul was giving me, and he said, "Sandy, I'm so proud of you! I guess it means that we won't be seeing much of each other for a few months, when it goes into high gear."

I said, "I know, but you'll be in Poughkeepsie next month running the simulator. Even if you are working nights, you can sleep during the day while I'm at work, and we'll have the evenings before you go to work and I go home to sleep. Also, Paul suggested that I take vacation before the middle of July, so we can take as long as you can get off when we go camping in the Adirondacks."

"I think I can manage a week then. I don't have that much vacation, but I'm sure that Murray will give me time off to make up for working nights when I'm up there in June. That will give us time for a good long trek in the woods!"

"That sounds very nice! I don't think I have much camping gear. What will I need?"

Steve said, "Not all that much, actually. I have some kit. You'll need a backpack; make sure to get one with a frame like mine that's comfortable," as he went to a closet and got his pack out to show me. He went on, "Also, a sleeping bag; it should be warm but compact and lightweight, because you'll be carrying it around on your back all day long! You'll definitely need a good waterproof poncho, and plenty of socks. You should be all set!"

I said, "I'm looking forward to this, even if we won't be able to shower for a week!"

"Well... we'll freeze our asses off, but there are some mountain pools where we can get in for a quick wash! Better add a couple of towels to your list. Take a look at my sleeping bag. If you can get the same model, we can zip two together!"

"Oh goody! I think I'm liking this idea more and more, except for the icy baths!"

Steve gave me a lewd grin, saying, "It's invigorating and stimulating!"

I jumped in his lap and hugged him, growling, "Let's see about stimulating!" as I undid his shirt and started touching him all over. Needless to say, he retaliated! He pushed up my blouse, unfastened my bra, and started caressing me. This quickly caused us to end up in bed for a proper and joyful celebration of our reunion.

When we had taken full advantage of the shower and Steve had dried me off, we slipped on some casual clothes. He said, "I have a surprise! I'm cooking for you tonight!"

"Can I help?"

He said, "In a few minutes, you should come into the kitchen and make a salad."

He was true to his word. He prepared a beef stew using the recipe that Mom had given him, along with some noodles. All I had to do was the salad, along with setting the table and pouring the wine. I tasted the stew. "Not bad! You've learned well! This is as good as Mom's!"

"Well, almost. If I may say so, I don't think it's too bad for a beginner."

"Dear, it's very good! We'll get some provisions, and I'll cook for you one night. Tomorrow I want us to go back to that Indian restaurant; I loved that curry we had last time, and want to try it again. Maybe I'll find a recipe and make it myself sometime."

We had another wonderful long weekend, and Steve's shower got a lot of use! Sometime over the weekend, he started to call me 'Kitten'. I think it was because of that thing I did with my hands! I retaliated by calling him 'Tigger'; I don't quite know where that came from, but he didn't mind.

All too soon, the alarm went off very early Tuesday morning, before daybreak. Steve gave me a hug that almost crushed me, along with a warm kiss, and bounded out of bed. He pulled on a pair of sweatpants, telling me to get a quick shower while he fixed breakfast for us. I was going straight to work when I got to Poughkeepsie, so I dressed for the office and packed my bag, putting it by the door. By then, Steve had breakfast ready. He'd fixed grapefruit, poached eggs and toast, and coffee.

We sat sharing breakfast. We didn't need to say much, but frequently one of us took the other's hand and gave it a loving squeeze. We finished, and I visited the bathroom. I came back out and gave Steve as hard a hug as he had given me when we woke up, kissing him fiercely as I said, "Tigger, my dear! I do love you so much! I'll call you when I get home tonight, you can count on that!"

He walked down to my car with me, carrying my bag and putting it in the trunk of my Sprite. He gave me one last kiss, and said, "Sandy love, do drive carefully and have a good trip. I'll be here, waiting for your call."

I drove off, blowing him a kiss as I turned out into the street. I had a good trip back, and was at work by early afternoon.

Sarah happened to pass by my office, and when she saw me, she came in to talk for a few minutes. She said, "You look tired, Sandy. Is everything OK?"

"A lot better than OK! I'm just a bit road weary; I drove up from Washington this morning and just got here a little while ago."

"Ah, I see. Well, I was going to call Steve and let him know that he should plan on being here in another week. The simulator is ready for testing, and the machine is in excellent shape. They will be taking it down at the end of June to modify it for the Reaper attachment, but some other customers have booked the last two and a half weeks of June. I'll need this week to debug the simulator, and it should be ready for him to try in a week. Why don't you use my office where you'll have some privacy, and I'll let you make the call!"

"Sarah, you are a real friend!" I hurried to her office, shut the door, and called Steve at work. When he answered, I said, "Steve, I hope you are alone this time!"

I could almost hear his face light up as he said, "Yes, Kitten, nobody is here this time. But why the call now?"

"Sarah was going to call you and tell you that you should be here in about a week to use the simulator. She saw me first. I must have looked tired from the drive, because she asked me if I was OK. Of course, I told her that I was more than OK, just tired from the drive. Bless her heart, she told me that I should call you myself and give you the news about the simulator. She even told me to use her office so that I could have some privacy to call you!"

Steve thought for a minute, and said, "She certainly was nice to do all that. I think she's a very good caring friend!"

"I certainly agree!" Now it's only a week, Tigger! Let me know when you're coming, and I'll join you for supper and whatever before you have to head to the test cell. I'll still call you tonight when I get home!"

STEVE - Tuesday MAY 30 1961

What a wonderful surprise! Sandy called me at the office to pass on the message from Sarah. I was elated that I would be seeing her in just another week, and also excited at the prospect of running my Reaper program on the simulator. I went to see Murray and told him that the next week, I would be in Poughkeepsie, running my acceptance test program on the Reaper simulator. I said, "Look, I know I don't have a lot of vacation time, but I'm going to be working nights up there next week. Do you think that maybe I could take a few extra days over the July Fourth weekend to make up for the night shifts? I want to do some extended backpacking in the Adirondacks, and the long weekend isn't quite enough for what I have planned."

Murray said, "OK, I guess so. You've certainly put in a lot of extra time on this project already."

I thanked him, and went back to my office. I needed to take my Reaper program and use it as the basis for an acceptance test that wouldn't be classified. This meant I had to exercise all the functions I needed for the real program without exposing the algorithms or computational specifics.

I got home that evening, and it wasn't long before my phone rang. I answered, hoping that it was Sandy, and it was! I said, "Sandy, what a nice surprise that you called me today! Please tell Sarah that..." - I paused, and went on, " that I'm so very grateful for her kindness and thoughtfulness in suggesting that you make that call. I can't believe it! Just another week, even if we will be working different schedules! I'm going to be working hard this week to get my acceptance test ready, since you know I can't let my real program out of this building."

Sandy said, "I know that by the time you get here, your program will do a very thorough job of exercising the simulator. I'm going to want you to leave a copy with me; I'll want to use it when we get near the end of the Reaper test process."

"I'll certainly do that, darling, but I'll probably be making a lot of changes and additions to it by the time we're ready for the real acceptance test. In any case, I'll help in any way I can."

"I know you will, Tigger! I'm nervous and more than a little scared about what is going to happen between this July, when we start testing, and when we are finally at the point where we can run your test with no problems." We talked a little bit longer, and finally she said, "Mom just called me for dinner. I'd better go now, but I'll talk to you soon, before you come up next week. Oh, Steve, I do love you so much!"

"Sandy, my dear Kitten, so do I," and we hung up.

The rest of the week, I was working furiously on my Reaper program and on the unclassified derivative of it that would be the acceptance test. I talked to Sandy several times, and to Sarah on Friday, who told me that I should plan on being there Tuesday evening. She would meet me at the lab at 10:30 PM, and show me how to get to the test cell. In addition, she said that she would be there until I had learned how to use the simulator. I told her, "Sarah, letting Sandy call me Tuesday was a very kind and thoughtful thing to do. We both really appreciated it!"

"Sandy is one of my favorite people, and I know how good you are to her. By the way, don't even think of wearing a suit and tie in the test cell! The normal dress is jeans and a comfortable shirt. You'll have to take off your watch and any jewelry."

When I got home, I called Sandy, and told her that I would drive up Tuesday, and that I planned to be at the motel by five o'clock. The next day, Saturday, instead of my usual hike on the Canal trail near Cabin John, I drove out to Knoxville, Maryland and parked where the Appalachian Trail met the Canal Trail near Harper's Ferry. I hiked along South Mountain and had a great day until near the end of the trip back, when it started to get warm and humid. I picked up my pace and got back to my car just before a heavy downpour hit.