by Karl Morgan
Dave smiled broadly, saying, “I think it went great! Jack, the person I would work for really seemed to like me and my background.” He picked up his iced tea glass, touching it with Darlene’s in a toast.
“I really hope it works out for you, babe,” she replied. “I know this whole situation has been really hard on both of us. I’m lucky to still have my job; otherwise we’d be in real trouble.”
Dave took her hand, caressing it softly. She was right. This had been a difficult time for them. Fortunately, they had ample savings and were able to make ends meet. Their children were grown, so they only had to take care of themselves. Luxuries like vacations were never even mentioned. They still loved to go to restaurants, and allowed themselves to enjoy a bite out when they needed a break, like today. The waitress brought a cup of soup for Dave and salad for Darlene. They sat quietly for a moment, enjoying the food and company.
“Dave, hey, how are you?” Charlie said as he approached their table. “I haven’t seen you at the coffee shop recently.” He seemed to be wearing the same clothes as the day they met last week. With him was a tall, beautiful woman with a flawless olive complexion and dark brown eyes. Her features were so unique that Dave caught himself staring at her. He had never seen anyone like her, and wondered where she was from.
Dave stood and introduced his wife. Charlie said the woman was his wife, and her name was Aria. They too had stopped for lunch, and seeing him, they just wanted to say hello. After a few minutes, they moved away to their table at the back of the restaurant.
“Wow,” Darlene said at last, “that Aria is quite a looker. I noticed you staring at her.”
“I’ve never seen anyone who looks like that. She is definitely gorgeous and so unique,” Dave answered. They continued their lunch when the main courses arrived. Dave could see Charlie behind him four or five tables. He was laughing with Aria and teasing the waitress. Dave and Darlene talked about Bill and Cybil, their children, and how Bill just got a promotion and Cybil was pursuing her master’s degree while working. Time had flown by with them growing up so fast. Darlene reminded him how they used to fight in the back seat of the car. Dave would be flailing his arm back trying to get them to settle down. They laughed and enjoyed simply being together.
Darlene looked up as two men went by quickly and joined Charlie and Aria at their table. She said, “Those two guys look just like Aria. They have the same complexion and black hair. I wonder if they are related.” Dave could see them now.
“They certainly seem a lot like her. I’ll have to ask Charlie about that the next time I run into him at the coffee shop,” he said. They finished their meal. As they got up to leave, Dave waved goodbye to Charlie. He so was engrossed in the conversation, he did not notice, so Dave and Darlene walked out to their car. As he drove the couple miles back to their home, he thought again about Charlie, Aria and the other men. Thinking about the three, he could not figure out where they could come from. They looked so different from anyone he had met before. He also thought that he had better go to the coffee shop again soon so that he could repay Charlie’s generosity. Mostly though, he thought about the job interview, hoping he would get an offer and put the tortuous unemployment phase of his life behind him.
Chapter 3
The next morning, Dave decided he would go to the coffee shop again to repay Charlie. He did not liked owing anyone money, and even the few dollars added to Dave’s stress level. It would also give him the chance to find out more about the lovely Aria. Darlene left for work early that day, and so Dave was on his own. After his morning shower and shave, Dave pulled on his clothes and headed out. It was such a beautiful day he decided to walk. The morning air was crisp and cool and the clouds were hung low in the air. The cool breeze felt good on his face. The forecast called for sunshine in the afternoon with a high temperature in the upper seventies, so he knew it was going to be a great day. Dave found himself still surprised by the number of empty houses in his neighborhood. The economy was very difficult, and many of his neighbors had lost their homes to banks and had moved to apartments or even out of the state. He had heard there were more jobs in places like Texas and North Dakota, but Darlene was a San Diego native, with all of her family here, so they stayed.
The walk invigorated him and he could feel a smile on his face. Opening the door to the Starbucks, the same business woman moved toward it, with the cell phone on her ear again. This time, she stopped for a moment, smiled at Dave and thanked him for holding the door. Then she was off to work or wherever she was headed. That small gesture made him smile even more broadly. He was again surprised to see Charlie at the end of the line. The two shook hands warmly and approached the counter when it was their turn.
“Two usuals, guys?” Bea asked. The order was taken, and Dave paid to fulfill his promise. When the drinks were ready, they headed back to the same chairs they had used before. Dave sipped his latte, and smiled contentedly. He felt so comforted by the warmness of the place and his new friend that he forgot his unemployment issue for the moment, instead focusing on Charlie and their conversation.
As promised, Charlie told some of his story this time. After college, he too had gone into the business world, attempting to move up the ladder and achieve financial success. He married Alice, his high school sweetheart and they had two boys together. Charlie focused on his career and moved up quickly, but had to relocate several times in order to take promotions. After fifteen years of moving, the situation became too difficult for Alice and the boys, so they separated and eventually divorced. He kept in close touch with his boys and made certain they graduated from college and had a good start on their own lives. Matt, the eldest, lived in San Diego too, and Charlie loved to visit him and his wife, Elaine, and their young children.
“Charlie, you don’t look old enough to be a granddad,” Dave said.
“Well Dave, having grandchildren makes you young again. I hope you have that experience soon yourself!” he replied. He continued his story. The next two positions Charlie held were as part of the mergers and acquisitions teams of Fortune 100 companies. He was based in New York City, and traveled seventy-five percent of the time, trying to make the next deal. At the first company, he pulled together a five billion dollar acquisition. After the deal was closed, he was put in charge of the integration process, which included laying-off several hundred employees. That really soured Charlie for this type of business, but it paid very well, and his boys were both in Ivy League colleges at the time. Finally, a somewhat smaller company hired him to run their mergers and acquisitions division.
That move came with another big raise. He put together half a dozen smaller acquisitions over the first four years. He worked very hard to limit lay-offs and keep an employee-oriented culture. In the fifth year, a very large company acquired them and eliminated Charlie’s job, along with several thousand others. That was when he decided to walk away from corporate life and move to San Diego. He spent the first two years decompressing and trying to find a new focus for his life. Ultimately, he began to sit in this Starbucks or other restaurants and just listen to what other people talked about. He realized there were many great stories and he could write about them and maybe publish a book or two.
As Charlie was finishing his tale, the two men who had joined Charlie and Aria at the restaurant entered the store and came to Charlie, who rose and shook their hands. Charlie introduced them to Dave. The taller one was named Muncie Morgan and the other Rence Rialto. Charlie asked them to join them. He then excused himself to buy a couple of coffees for the men.
After an awkward moment of silence, Dave said, “So what do you guys do for a living?”
Muncie replied, “We are scientists, anthropologists, actually.” He smiled very slightly, with his large, dark brown eyes glistening. Dave noticed that the two looked like brothers, even down to the long fingers.
“How did you get to know Charlie?” Dave asked.
At that time, Charlie joined them with two cups, which
he offered to Muncie and Rence. “That’s a great story,” Charlie started. “Let me tell you, and guys, please correct me if I’ve forgotten any details.” Charlie told Dave that they had come to him for help in turning their mass of data into a book that would be interesting to non-scientific readers. Too many texts turned out to be very technical, which limited their appeal. Muncie and Rence wanted to get more people interested in anthropology like other scientists had done for astrophysics and quantum mechanics recently. “I think we did a damn good job too, don’t you guys?” Charlie finished.
“Absolutely,” Rence replied. “But you are forgetting a very important detail, Charlie. There were actually three of us working on this project, and you stole one and married her for yourself. Very selfish of you, my friend.”
“Oops,” Charlie grinned, “Aria would kill me if I forgot to mention her part is this story. That’s why I owe you two so much. If you hadn’t come to me, I never would have met the girl of my dreams. Thanks for reminding me, and for having her on your team.”
“Charlie,” Muncie began, “you are very welcome. But, we do have to get going. We have an important meeting in a little while. Could you come outside with us for a moment? We need to ask you a couple questions.” Muncie extended his hand to Dave, “Dave, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Have a great day.”
“Sure guys. Dave, I’ve got to get going too. But I’ll see you again soon,” Charlie finished. The three men left together. Dave could see them hurry around the side of the building. As he sat back, he noticed that Charlie had left his laptop case on the table. He grabbed it and his coffee, and chased after the men.
As he turned the corner of the building, a bright flash of light hit his eyes, forcing him to stop and wince. He reached out with his left hand to steady himself against the side of the building. The brick wall was red hot, and he pulled his hand away letting his coffee cup drop to the ground, spilling its contents on the ground and his shoes. He looked around again and everything seemed normal. He gingerly touched the wall again, and it had cooled substantially and was just slightly warm. Thirty yards or so in front of him, he could see Charlie getting into a dark blue Mercedes sedan. He rushed forward to catch him before he drove away. He was panting for breath when he reached the car.
“Charlie,” he gasped, “you forgot your computer bag.”
“Thanks Dave,” he started. “You saved my life. There are probably ten good book ideas in there. I don’t know what I’d do without my electronic brain.” He noticed that Dave looked out of breath and somewhat disoriented. “Are you all right, Dave?”
“Did you see that bright flash of light?” Dave asked. “Or did you feel the wall of the Starbucks a minute ago? It was on fire.”
“Dave, can I give you a ride home? Please climb in,” Charlie said, unlocking the passenger door. Dave got in the car, grateful for the ride as he was feeling a bit dizzy. He told Charlie how to get to his house, and they drove out of the parking lot. “Dave, I want you to know that everything you saw and felt did happen, but please believe me that everything is okay. Even better than that, it’s great. I’m not ready to talk about it right now, but I will tell you later. You need to know that this world is a much more amazing and wonderful place than most people could ever imagine. Just keep an open mind and I’ll make sure you know everything when the time is right. Okay?”
When Charlie pulled into Dave’s driveway, he began again, “Here we are buddy. You should probably just lie down for a few minutes. And maybe put some ice on your hand. It looks pretty red.” Dave looked at his left hand and it was quite red, although he did not feel any pain. “Please give me your cell number too, so I can call you later and maybe we can set up another time to talk.”
Dave and Charlie exchanged phone numbers. As Dave got out of the car, he almost stumbled. After a second, he felt sure on his feet again. He waved a small goodbye to Charlie, and went inside his house. He took Charlie’s advice on the ice and the rest. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was asleep.
Dave only slept for an hour, but it felt like a full night. He was dreaming about Aria, Rence and Muncie. They were examining him, measuring his skull with a large set of calipers and taking samples of hair and skin. He felt sharp needle jabs in his arms and would see Aria smiling down on him, telling him that all would be okay. She was holding his hand. Her hand felt soft yet slightly cool. Rence was busy writing down the facts and figures. Charlie entered the dream and took the pad from Rence. “It looks like another best seller, team!” he shouted. Dave awoke with a start, his heart racing. His cell phone was ringing in his pocket. “Hello,” he spoke almost in a whisper.
“Dave, it’s Charlie,” he replied. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Are you feeling better now?”
“Yeah, thanks Charlie. I think I’m okay now. I’ll talk to you later,” Dave finished, hanging up. He sat on the side of his bed, the dream fading quickly away. He looked at his left hand, and it seemed normal and back to its usual color. He stood slowly, but felt no dizziness. “Whew, I’m glad that’s over,” he said walking out of the bedroom.
Chapter 4
The following morning, Dave rose early to make breakfast for Darlene before she headed off to work. He could hear her in the shower and hurried to make sure the food would be ready when she was. Dave was a good cook, and had three burners going, the coffee brewing, and bread in the toaster. The frying bacon filled the entire house with its smoky sweet fragrance, fighting for dominance against the freshly brewed coffee. Dave resisted the temptation to pour a cup as he had decided to take his laptop to the coffee shop this morning, like Charlie always did. Perhaps there was special motivation that comes from the blending of coffee and computers. It seemed to work for Charlie.
Dave slipped the over-easy eggs on the plate alongside the bacon just as Darlene entered the kitchen. She kissed him on the cheek and said good morning. He led her to the dinette table and set down her plate. “Thank you, sweetheart,” she opened, “What a wonderful surprise! What did you do that I need to forgive?” she laughed.
He laughed. “Nothing dear, just trying to be as sweet to you as you always have been to me.” He poured her coffee and added sweetener and milk, just the way she liked it. He grabbed an orange juice from the refrigerator and returned to the table, joining his wife. She sipped the coffee and smiled. Dave sat there for a few minutes; drinking the juice and just watching Darlene eat. They had sat together at that table thousands of times over the years, enjoying meals with the kids, and more recently, the two of them alone. Being empty-nesters was a very different way of life compared to raising Cybil and Bill. There was also so much noise and excitement in the house then. The kids would invite their friends over most days, and they frequently stayed for dinner. Dave remembered the warmth of family very fondly. Since he had been out of work, he spent most of his days alone in the house, working on his job search and trying to find jobs around the house to occupy his time. The list had become short now after six months, and he had more and more time to sit and think about the difficulty of his situation.
“You must be a million miles away,” Darlene interrupted. “It’s like you are looking right through me, Dave.” She took his hand and squeezed it warmly. “It’s okay, sweetheart, everything is going to be fine.”
“I was just thinking about when the kids were still here, and they’d invite their friends over in the afternoon,” he replied. “Those were just great times. I almost wish I could travel back in time to those days and feel the hustle and excitement again.” He held her hand gently, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.
All too soon, it was time for Darlene to leave for work. Dave walked her to the door and out to her car. As she pulled out of the driveway and down the street, they shared a wave goodbye. He went back into the house, gathered the dishes and put them in the sink to soak as the water warmed up. His mind drifted back to the day he was laid off as he washed the few dishes. He could still feel the pain of losing the job he h
ad held for so long. He talked to several of his former coworkers from time to time. They all told him the same thing; that the company had become completely different since the acquisition. The friendliness of the culture was long gone, and most of the people just worked their eight hours and tried to keep a low profile to avoid the next round of cut-backs. It was so sad, and the pain was still real. Dave was snapped out of his memories by someone ringing the doorbell.
Dave was surprised to find Charlie and Muncie standing at his door, holding a tray of coffees and the small paper bags that Starbucks uses for food items. He welcomed them in and led them to the family room and offered them seats on one of the plush couches. Muncie offered a coffee to Dave, while Charlie took the pastries out of the bags and set the food on top of them.
“I hope you’re in the mood for your usual, Dave,” Charlie began, handling him a cheese Danish and a napkin. Dave smiled and gladly accepted the pastry.
“Thanks guys. What a surprise. I was planning to take my laptop to the coffee shop today to see if any inspiration hits me like it always does you, Charlie,” he replied. Dave sat back into the comfortable sofa and took a long drink of the excellent coffee. Charlie and Muncie exchanged concerned looks.
“Dave, here’s the thing,” Charlie began. “You saw and felt some strange things yesterday, and Muncie and I are here to answer any questions you may have. There is one caveat to our answering though. What we might tell you is between us. You cannot tell Darlene or any of your other friends and family. At least, not until we tell you that it is okay to tell them. As I said yesterday, there is nothing bad going on, but some folks might think it a bit unusual.”
Dave sat up at the edge of the sofa, and looked at Charlie and then Muncie very closely. He checked their eyes for any emotions other than his own anxiety about what he had just heard. He felt none. “Okay, guys, what do we do now?” he said at last.