Chapter 21: Under Way

My parents had moved into their new home just a few days before our wedding, and at the last minute they decided to hold the reception on their freshly landscaped grounds. Once again, luck was with us as the weather was both warm and sunny. We took that as a good omen for our marriage.

My parents had resigned themselves that we would be living in San Francisco and wouldn't see them very often until the business was established. Even then, it was a long way from our home to theirs. So it was quite a surprise when they turned up in San Francisco in late November for a visit at Thanksgiving. Considering my father's curiosity about the new manufacturing plant, Jared now in residence at Boise State, and my mother showing signs of suffering from "empty nest syndrome," I guess we shouldn't have been too surprised.

"How close are you to beginning production?" my dad asked as we walked through the assembly area.

"The programming of the robots is finished and Lincoln has completed the training of six people. With one of their people here for start-up, we should begin next Monday. Kevin is very fussy about making sure everything is as it should be. He's a great guy for this task, as long as you're patient and don't try and rush him."

"You mentioned you already have orders for machines. How many?"

"We have to produce two hundred for Richardson Brothers, and we haven't agreed on how many for an initial order for the American National Hardware Group. They were talking about one thousand to begin with, but the response they are getting keeps ramping that number up to almost double. I'm really reluctant to accept more business until the line is settled in and we know our capacity, so we're stalling them."

My father was shaking his head. "I didn't think it was possible to get the units into production this quickly. You haven't even begun to advertise it yet."

"No. Again, I don't want to be overwhelmed with business and not be able to fulfill orders. That could be a killer if we disappointed people and it would invite competitors."

"I like the name," he said. "It took us a while to agree, but Diamond∞Stream seems to fit, especially with that logo they came up with."

"Yeah, the silhouette of a person at an old hand pump seemed to work just right," I agreed.

"When will we see the TV and magazine ads for approval?"

"Still shooting for the end of December, to run early next year. I'm not looking forward to doing the commercial, but Georgette and Annie are adamant that I'm the right person to be the spokesman, so like it or not, I'm it."

"Don't be so modest, John. This is your invention and you are the logical person to represent it. It's something new and special and you come across as sincere and not just another pitch-man for another product."

I shrugged, wondering if my best effort would indeed be good enough.

"You didn't tell me you were going to do this," I said, mildly irritated with Kevin Riordan at that point.

"I didn't want to take any chances or have any surprises," he answered with only a slightly apologetic look.

"How many?"

"Fifty frames and thirty complete units," he answered, looking me straight in the eye.

"Just on the weekend?"

"Yes."

Kevin was a man of few words when few words would suffice. I stood looking at the finished units ready for crating.

"So, what's the verdict?" I asked, surveying the scene.

"The robots performed perfectly with a little tweaking from our Lincoln guy. No rejects and the line speed is as expected. Our assembly crews are still learning to be efficient and are working out the awkwardness. That will take some time yet, but I'm not disappointed. I offered them a day off to make up for their weekend, but they declined. I think we've got the makings of a good team."

"So, based on your expectations, when can we expect to ship the Richardson order?"

He turned to me and grinned. "Friday."

"This week?" I asked in surprise.

He nodded with a grin.

That brought a smile to my face. If we could produce two hundred in a week just on start-up, we were going to be in business. I knew we had to fill the pipeline to begin with, but delivering on a steady schedule would go a long way to satisfying our first two customers. Smithton PWTS LLP was about to be in business.

"I'm holding back every twentieth unit for some testing to make sure everything is the way it should be. I'll take on that job myself."

"Good," I said, absently, wondering just what to tell Richardson Brothers and American National.

"We should be able to make some commitments by the end of the week," Kevin said, reading my mind.

"Good. Sooner is better. But ... you're satisfied ... so far?"

For the first time I saw a genuine smile. "Yeah. I think we're this close to being ready to go," he said, with his thumb and forefinger less than an inch apart.

If Kevin said we were there, I had confidence that we were.

We were gathered at Thomas and Sarah's dining room table for the Thanksgiving meal. Ten of us, including Kevin, now a permanent resident at Nan's unit. No hank-panky of course, just two people who had become very good friends. In fact, Nan had been doing some friendly nagging at Kevin to get out and find a girlfriend. She was determined to make sure he was happy.

"Two years ago was the first time we met John," Sarah remarked, reminding me of the occasion.

"There are times when it seems like it was much longer," I replied. "We've had so many dramas in that short time. But everyone is here, hale and hearty. For that alone, I am thankful. This is definitely the appropriate time for Thanksgiving."

"Hear, hear," Devon said, raising his wine glass in salute.

"Christmas and New Years at Lake Tahoe again?" Thomas suggested.

There seemed to be general agreement and it was settled. My parents and Jared would fly into Reno and we would pick them up and drive them to the lodge. My sister and her family decided to spend Christmas with our grandparents. It would be the first time that the family had been split up during the holidays.

Kevin, as usual, would be in Colorado, visiting Charlie Prendergast. It would be a partial celebration at his house as well. His new lines and couplings were being tested for acceptance by the Department of Defense and he was anxiously awaiting their evaluation. Preliminary results looked good.