Chapter 37

The doorbell had been four installers from Play it Again Sports. It took a couple hours with them to get the equipment assembled and configured properly. They had a diagram based on the photo and measurements I'd given Billy back at the store.

While they were working I went looking for something to offer them in the way of refreshments, but I was out of beer and couldn't find any soft drinks. There were a few more cans of frozen lemonade concentrate in the freezer, but I was out of lemons to add to the pitcher, so I passed on that idea too. In the end, I gave the guy who seemed to be in charge the last sixty bucks I had in my wallet as a tip. He had passed along the message from Billy that the other half of the equipment was on order and would be here sometime late next week.

I looked at the clock and felt a little pressure from Bud to go get in some more training, but the lack of beer, soft drinks or anything in the way of refreshments to offer company beyond tea or coffee headed me for the Wrangler and a quick shopping trip.

I drove to a little town called Hacienda, where a bridge crossed the Russian river. It was actually closer than Guerneville, and on the way back to Santa Rosa. It was almost completely residential, with a single market and espresso stand in a wide spot in the road leading to the bridge. I did my shopping at the little place called Berry's Market. I bought a case of Corona and some limes to go with them. I'd had a lot of similar beer in the Philippines, and bought it more as a thirst quencher than anything else. I bought a bunch more cans of the frozen lemonade concentrate and a case of bottled iced tea with lemon.

I found a bunch of nice fruit, surprising for a small market in the middle of nowhere, and bought a huge bag of fresh ultra dark, ultra sweet Bing cherries and several bags of very sweet, crisp green grapes. For a little more mundane snacking I bought a couple jars of 'gourmet' popcorn and some commercially packaged trail mix that was mostly a mix of peanuts, cashews, almonds, raisins and m&m candies.

I knew that Mrs. Ibarra was going to do some major shopping for me sometime this week, but this would keep me supplied with beer and snacks for a while.

I had a couple of days to get some shopping done before the ski trip too, and wondered whether I should buy the gear I would need. I hadn't thought to ask Darius about skis and life jackets, and I definitely didn't have any swim trunks, beyond the workout gear in the box from Okinawa. Those shorts were definitely not designed for swimming. I rode home thinking about another shopping trip.

I carried my groceries into the kitchen and quickly got the fruit tucked away in the fridge, pulling off a nice bunch of grapes and washing them to have as a snack. I put the beer in the fridge and wished they were already cold enough to have one.

Now that I was away from the noise of the road I pulled out my cell and called Darius and asked about skis and life jackets. He told me that they would probably have everything we needed and asked me what size shoes I wore. My size elevens were a size larger than his and a size and a half larger than Ken Reynolds. By the time I got off the phone I was convinced it would be best to go shopping for my own equipment. If I was going to be living here, I would hope to be using them often enough.

With the call out of the way and the equipment installers gone, Bud's urging for more time in the cavern won out. The equipment made for a momentary distraction as we headed down, but only a moment. Soon enough I was standing in the middle of the dusty cavern floor focused on a molecule of silicon carbide.