Chapter 52: We’re Separated Because Of Work, Once Again.

Tuesday morning when the alarm went off, Kay reached across me to turn it off. "I could grow to hate that thing, Rob. Why does it have to be so loud and discordant?"

"Because if it's soft and gentle, I smile and enjoy the sounds while sleeping through its attempts to roust me. That's not conducive to me getting any work done."

"Why, oh why does the work day have to start so early?"

"Trust me darling, this is not early but you should know that. What time does your father get up?"

"That's on the farm, this isn't a farm and we shouldn't have to get up so early."

"If you plan on being an aerospace engineer you need to do the things that aerospace engineers do, including getting up in the morning and going to the office to do that aerospace engineer thing."

"Ugh!"

"I think you're just trying to stall. Do I have to go get an ice cube like yesterday?"

She quickly sat up. "That won't be necessary. You were being mean yesterday."

"I thought it was the most effective way to motivate you at the time."

She didn't need to but she climbed across me to get out of the bed. I think she was trying to acquaint me with the sharpness of her elbows out of spite. She turned her head to look at me over her shoulder as she went into the bath, "It was still mean!"

She stuck her tongue out at me and disappeared from my view. I chuckled and then got out of bed, heading for the kitchen. The first thing I did there was start the coffee; we both needed it in the mornings. While the bread was in the toaster I pulled some cheeses out of the refrigerator and put them on a plate. I brought the fruit bowl to the table along with a couple of plates and cups.

Kay came in and again was in a skirt and blouse. I was putting toast on the table as she came over to the table but before she could sit down I put a curious look on my face and asked, "What have you got on the back of your skirt?"

She looked over one shoulder and then the other. "Where? What is it?"

"Come over here and let me see."

She stepped over to me. I reached for her hips and turned her back to me. She was arching her back and still trying to look over her shoulders to see what I was talking about. I bent down as if I was taking a closer look and then surprised her by pulling her backwards. As soon as I could, I opened my mouth and took a nip from her butt.

She pulled away from me and snapped around. "Ow! Brute!" She balled up a fist and hit my shoulder with one hand and was rubbing the spot that I bit with the other. She was glaring at me.

"I guess there wasn't anything back there after all." I smirked at her.

"You're lucky I've got to go to work today or I'd get you for that! I'll remember it for later, I promise you and you better not have left a mark on my skirt."

"Come here and I'll see if I did."

"AS IF! You're out of your mind if you think I'm getting anywhere near you right now. Beast!"

She made sure her back wasn't turned to me as she slid into a seat at the table. She was still glaring at me as I poured her a cup of coffee and then filled one for myself. We each took some toast and cheese, along with a piece of fruit.

"I think I should be able to actually get started on the project today. I have to finish up my notes and then review them with Troy before I start."

"Don't forget to do the third read through for anything you may have missed."

"I will, but I'm sure Troy will make sure I didn't miss anything."

"Unless he's just going to let you move on as long as you don't mess up."

"I'll have to think about that. After we review my notes together I'll ask him if I've missed anything. Depending upon his answer I'll either get started or do the third read through."

"Sounds like a plan. I have a few more phone calls to make including the resort holding company. I have to talk with Hank Stein, their I.T. Manager, and Ian Thompson, their V.P. I still have some travelling to do on that upgrade project."

"Yeah, you're going to leave me here, alone again."

"For as little time as I have to."

Kay got up and threw a few things into her lunch sack. We walked to the front door. "I've got to go. I'll see you tonight." She kissed me before leaving. I stood at the door and waved as she drove off.

I returned to the kitchen to clean up from breakfast and to get another cup of coffee to take to my desk. I called all my remaining clients, leaving the holding company until last. The phone call to them was in more depth than I had anticipated it would be and took longer, nearly thirty minutes. At the end of that phone call, I knew Kay wouldn't be very happy. I was going to have to catch tonight's red-eye out of San Diego and into Newark. If I did, I'd be able to do the inspection and evaluation of the three New Jersey properties in time to be home for the weekend.

I had finished packing and called to make my flight reservations. I talked with my contact at the airline; he was congratulatory about my wedding. We talked about the flight out of Kansas, where the plane Captain announced that we had just gotten married. We also discussed the wedding ceremony, how we cut out from the party early and a good deal about the honeymoon cruise. When we were through with the call I had my reservations out and back. No matter how we tried to arrange things, I wouldn't be back until late afternoon Saturday, drat it.

I spent the rest of my day in the office taking care of the needs of my clients and making sure everything would be covered while I was gone. I thought about the traveling I had done before picking up the resort company and compared it to that which I'd done and was going to do for them. When I added in travel for Thanksgiving and the end of the year, I was not happy. I was going to be away from home and in the air much too much.

Kay's turn:

I got to work without any problems; traffic was light. I went to my desk and was there before Troy and most of the other Engineering Department people were in. I put my lunch sack into the refrigerator. There was no coffee made yet but all the things necessary were there, so I started a pot. While I was waiting for it to finish, I sat and turned back to the project folder. I still had some work to do before I'd be ready to review my notes with Troy. I was reading when Troy arrived.

"Good morning, Kay. How are you doing today? Any second thoughts about working as an Aerospace Engineer?"

"No, of course not, I've been working towards this for the last four and a half years. Ever since my high school counselor suggested the field to me and arranged for me to visit SDSU during my junior year."

"I had been wondering about that. There aren't many women in the field and I was curious how you came to be working at getting into it."

"Do you object to women working in aerospace?"

"No, not at all, but as I told you, you're the first one I've had to work closely with as an intern."

"Is this a good thing?"

"I'm withholding judgment. I've only had one day's experience, so far. I'll say this much though, you're prompt and you don't waste time. When do you think you'll be ready to review your notes with me?"

"I should be ready by first break. Is that okay?"

"Sure, after I get back from my walk. Do you want to walk with me again today, during the breaks?"

"I'd like to, if you don't mind."

"No, I appreciate a little company but no business talk, this is social." He looked at the coffee pot. "Do you want a cup of coffee?"

"I'll get 'em, give me your cup."

He handed me his cup. I took his and mine to the pot and asked him over my shoulder, "Cream and sugar?"

"Yes, please."

I got the coffees and brought the back to our desks. Troy was looking at my notes.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I was just glancing at them."

"No comments?"

"Not yet, I was looking at your handwriting more than the content. Handwriting can tell a lot about a person."

"What does mine tell you?"

"That you pay attention to detail, you're neat, precise and don't rush."

"All that from my handwriting, and that quickly?"

"I could learn more if I studied your writing in more depth, it's a hobby of mine. It would take time though and we have work to do. I have a meeting with Ben and the design people but it'll be over before the morning break. We'll have our walk and then you can go over your notes with me. Do me a favor and make a copy of them when you're ready."

I went back to work and so did Troy. I didn't notice when he left for his meeting but when I looked up he wasn't there. It took me less time than I thought it would and I had a half hour free before the break. Since Troy wasn't there I put my notes in the project folder after making a copy of them and then set the folder aside. Since I had a little bit of time, I planned out my sequence of actions to proceed with the project, providing Troy approved. I wrote the actions out on another note pad.

Linc came by while I was working. "Hey, Kay, what're you up to?"

"I'm getting ready to review my project plan with Troy after the break. What are you doing?"

"I'm working together with the guy assigned to mentor me. We're working together and I'm learning but I'm not doing it myself, the way you appear to be. I wish I was."

"Troy's worked with an intern before, he's more relaxed about it. Didn't you say this was the first time for your guy?"

"Yeah, he seems hesitant to let me do anything completely by myself."

"Did Ben come by your desks yesterday? He came by here and talked with us for a little bit after the afternoon break yesterday. Troy told me Ben does that as one of the things he does to evaluate us."

"Ben came by and talked with us both. I thought he was just making a tour of the desks, I didn't realize he was concentrating on the interns. I've got to get back to my desk. Are we going to get together for lunch again?"

"It's okay with me. I've gotten used to eating with you and Ryan."

He left and I finished making notes on what I was going to do. Troy showed up just before the buzzer sounded to start the morning break.

We went together and started our walk. Troy led us off in a different direction. I started to talk about work and he cut me off. "No talk about anything having to deal with work. Tell me about your family."

"I told you about Rob yesterday. Do you want to hear about my family in Kansas?"

"Sure, you tell me about yours now and at the afternoon break I'll tell you about mine."

We walked and I talked. I told him I came from a small farming community in Kansas. I told him of my family and how I flummoxed my father and brothers by wanting to leave the farm and farming life. I was finishing my tale as we went back up the steps to our desks.

"Coffee, Kay? It's my turn to get it. Get your folder out along with the copy of your notes for me and get ready to explain everything you've done so far and what you plan to do next."

I gave him my cup and sat at my desk to get everything ready.

He put my filled cup down to the side of my desk blotter and said, "Okay, tell me what you've learned about this project and what you plan to do."

I spent the next twenty minutes going over everything I'd written down. I had to defend some of the things I'd written because Troy demanded explanations of why I made note of some things and not others. When he was satisfied with everything I had in my notes about the project, he asked me how I planned to proceed. I pulled over my other pad and went over what I had written there. Troy was satisfied with my plan of action but made a couple of suggestions. When I looked at them they made sense. He gave me the go ahead to start work.

"Before I get started on the actual work, can I do a quick third reading?"

"Go ahead with your third reading but I expect to see you starting work on the project as soon as you come back from lunch."

I read through the folder a last time and was happy to realize I hadn't missed anything. The buzzer sounded for lunch, Ryan, Linc and I went to the lunch room. We staked out the same table as the one we used yesterday. We sat and talked and it was clear I had the best of arrangements with my mentor. I was actually working the way Ben said we would. Linc was working but not independent of his mentor. Ryan had made the most progress in his project but only because he had taken over the project his mentor had started.

After we'd eaten and talked about we were each doing for a while, I went outside to call William and Mary. I figured I better do that before they called Rob to rip him up because I didn't call yesterday.

The phone rang twice and then I heard Mary's voice, "Well, hello there, you young married lady, you. How are you feeling? By now you shouldn't be too sore."

"Hunh?"

"You shouldn't be too sore. After two plus weeks the tenderness should have passed, unless you didn't stop long enough to give yourself time to heal. So, are you still sore or not?" She chuckled.

"Mary, you're wicked. This is a side of you I never knew existed. Does Rob know about this? The heck with Rob, does William know you have nasty thoughts like these?'

"What nasty thoughts? I'm just expressing my concern for your wellbeing." She broke out in laughter.

I laughed right along with her. "You're killing me, Mary."

"I know how the wedding went, we were there and you looked fantastic. By the way, your mom is a really great cook. I told her that but I forgot to tell you. Your family was wonderful; they really made all of us welcome the whole time we were there. I've never seen fields of corn that went on and on and on like that. Enough of all that old news, I want you to tell me about the cruise. I can use my imagination about the honeymoon."

"You're terrible!"

"No I'm not, I'm experienced and by now you should have gained some, too."

"I'm going to ignore that. The cruise was a lot of fun. Rob got us a cabin on the upper decks. It was a suite with a balcony and we could see everything on both sides of the ship. The views were magnificent. We connected with a couple who own a travel agency in Seattle and spent a lot of time with them. We also met two families and kept running into them on the ship. They had a little boy, about ten or eleven years old, and he developed a crush on me. It was so cute."

"Wow, finding a guy to make Rob jealous while still on your honeymoon, that's a little on the risqué side, don't you think?" She was laughing again.

It took me a moment to stop laughing myself. "Stop it, Mary. You're so bad. He was adorable and a good kid."

"Did you have dinner with the Captain?"

"Yes, we did. I had no idea it was such a formal affair. Thank goodness there was a good boutique on board the ship. I had to get a whole new outfit, from the skin out. The wife of the travel agency couple helped me to pick out an outfit."

"I take it she's sat at the Captain's table before."

"Their agency specializes in cruises and they themselves go on a cruise every year or so. They have a dinner with the Captain on every cruise. They were at the same dinner with the Captain as we were, them and two older couples. The Captain treated us all to champagne when it came out that we were on our honeymoon. It was also announced in the ship's newspaper the next day along with our pictures. That got us a bunch of strangers wishing us well both in person and with notes."

"It sounds like you had a good time ... besides the good time Rob must have been giving you."

"Okay, that's it, I'm not going to put up with your snide remarks anymore, besides, I've got to go back to work."

"This has been great; you've perked me up for the day. I'll talk with you again, when I'm in need of another boost to my spirits."

"Good-bye, Mary. I love you and we'll talk again. Oh, by the way, we have some presents we're going to send out to you from the cruise. Bye." I hung up the phone and went back in.

I thought I'd made a good impression on Troy by being at my desk and working before he came in this morning. I wanted to make sure I kept that good impression by being at my desk and working again before he came back from lunch. I was working away, following the work plan I'd made with Troy, when he sat down at his desk.

"If it's a matter of you're a work-oholic, that's one thing but please don't feel you have to ingratiate yourself or become a brown-nose by coming in early or staying late. I'll be much more impressed with higher work quality, and so will Ben."

I colored in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Troy; I was trying to make a good impression. I didn't think it would look like I was brown-nosing. I'm just trying to do a good job."

"I'm sure you are, Kay. You don't have to try so hard though. Do the work properly, promptly and correctly with few errors, that's what's considered a good job. The company pays well and expects a day's labors for a day's pay. This isn't some sort of labor camp; it's a good place to work as long as you do good work. What I've seen of you so far shows you'll fit in well, as long as you continue to work the way you have."

"Thanks, Troy."

"Any problems so far on the project?"

"No, but I've only been really working on it for about five minutes."

"Do what you have to and don't be afraid to ask questions. You're supposed to do this on your own but that doesn't mean you can't ask questions."

"If I need something from Research, do I go through you or directly to Research?"

"Normally you'd go directly to Research but since this is your first project, check with me, just so I know what you're doing. If there's nothing else, we'll look at where you are when we come back from break."

"Thanks."

We both went back to what we were doing, each to our own project and we worked right up until the buzzer sounded for the break. We left together for our walk. It was his turn to tell me about himself. When we hit the pavement outside the front door he started.

"I've been here at the company for twelve years. I came here from an outfit in the Houston area which is where I started after I got my degree from the University of Texas. After I was here for four years I went back to school. The company paid for me to get my doctorate."

"So you have a PhD? Should I call you 'Doctor'?"

"Well, I suppose, if you want to get technical about it, yes, but I don't use the title, at least not here. There are too many of us at the company with doctorates for it to have any meaning. It's just the stuffed shirts that use it; most of them don't last too long here. They go onto something or somewhere else."

"The company paid for you to go back to school?"

"Yes, they pay for anyone to get an advanced degree after they've been here at the company for four years or more. The better your education the more useful you are to the company. Let's get back to telling you about me. We can talk about the company and education on another walk."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to side-track you."

"That's okay. Now that you know my education, I married my college girlfriend, Alice, after we both graduated. Her degree is in education; she started teaching grade school and has worked her way up, she's a high school teacher presently. My wife and I have two children and they're in middle school. We have a nice house, north of SDSU. We're having a barbeque Sunday, you're welcome to come and bring your new husband with you."

"Thanks, I'd like that but let me check with Rob before I say yes for sure."

We finished up our walk and went back into the office. Once there he reviewed what I'd done so far. He didn't say much one way or the other but he did say to continue with what I was doing. I went back to work and stayed at it until knock off.

I was sitting in my car waiting for a break in the outbound traffic when I called home. "Hi, Rob."

"Hi, Sweetie. On your way home?"

"Just as soon as I can get into the flow of traffic. What are we doing for dinner tonight?"

"I thought we'd do pizza. Is that okay with you?"

"Sure. Do you want me to pick it up on the way home or have it delivered?"