by Noga Porat
I lay awake in bed for a couple of hours, unable to sleep. Apparently, I wasn’t alone in the predicament. At one point, after a long silence, he asked me why I didn’t have kids yet. It was then apparent to me that he missed his family, and it made me feel more comfortable. It was a question he’d never asked me before. I answered simply that I wanted to be a mother one day, but I was waiting for that special feeling to come to me. In the meantime, I had so much I wanted to accomplish.
Now I felt free to ask him why he had four. He replied that it was mainly his wife’s decision, but that once they’d had this big family, everything had come together and made him feel whole. He said that if he were to reconsider it again today, he would choose to have four kids and not one fewer.
Todd and I spent half the night talking, as if it were a slumber party. He told me about his kids and I told him about myself and my past relationships. I explained that I was waiting for a man who would love me and ask me to be the mother of his children before I cried from happiness, and not after I had cried from sadness. Many of the young women I’d met who had begged and pleaded to get a commitment from the men they had chosen had cried from sadness.
“That’s probably why you don’t have kids yet, Scarlet,” he said. “Nobody’s good enough for you! And I mean that as a compliment.”
We finally fell asleep just as the first light of dawn was trickling through the window. Some time later, I woke up to the sound of Todd’s smartphone ringing; it was nearly noon, and we had to rush back to the airport to check on my suitcase. But more important, we needed to let the NavoLogic folks know that we wouldn’t be making the two o’clock meeting due to our delay.
Todd called Debauchee and apologized for ten minutes, spinning a story about travel woes. After his lengthy apology, Debauchee seemed all right with the delay. He was very generous, and even said they would send a car out to Paris with a driver to pick us up from the airport after we retrieved my suitcase.
We set out to the airport, passing by a few empty rooms with doors half open as the cleaning ladies worked inside. We passed by the hotel keeper, and he had a grin on his face. He greeted us with a good afternoon and asked Todd how the one room worked out for us. I put on an even bigger grin and looked at Todd lovingly. I put my head on his shoulder and we both just stared at the hotel keeper. He was full of himself and happy that he had “taught” us the French way of romance.
When we got to the airport another disappointment was waiting for us: my suitcase was nowhere to be found. Todd and I were not going to let this spoil our day. I told him that, after all, we were in Paris and we should be able to find a nice suit for me to wear. We called the driver and asked him to meet us five hours later at a corner café near the Champs-Élysées. A half a day in Paris can do wonders for anyone, especially me. To be out in that beautiful city with the sun shining in the sky was a precious experience. I started to think about William, and how it would feel to have him here with me.
Todd, who had been to the city before, took me to the best clothes boutiques we could find, waiting patiently as I tried on a few things.
“Why don’t you try a dress instead of a suit, Scarlet?” he said.
He suggested a flowery spring dress with sunflowers, and a flowery perfume to go with it. I had no problem at all choosing a joyful fragrance. Buying perfumes was one of my favorite indulgences, and I liked the French fragrances the most. Nothing like a classic Chanel to make my spirits rise. I bought the dress, and he approved. I knew I would not be caught dead in a dress like this one back home; I was more of a lab-coat-and-jeans kind of gal. Still, when I put on this dress and stepped into the summer sun in Paris, I felt like I was walking on air.
I asked Todd if he needed a new suit.
“If I walk in with this pretty dress,” I said, giving a little spin, “you might need a new suit to match it!”
I was happy for the rare chance to shop. We went suit searching, and wrapped up our time in Paris by buying three perfumes, one of which I had promised to give as a gift. He bought two bottles of men’s cologne and a perfume for his wife, as well as some small perfume gift sets. Todd’s were for his children, and mine was a gift to myself.
When we got into the cab sent by Debauchee, we smelled as colorful as we possibly could, and the driver drove us out to Nancy. The drive took a few hours, and we were sorry it was too late to enjoy the view once the sun had set. The driver brought us to an exquisite hotel and told us it was on the house. NavoLogic was sorry about our delays, and wanted to make us feel at home. They made sure to give us two rooms, and I knew we’d be sleeping in more comfortable quarters tonight. The driver said he would come by the next morning to pick us up and take us to the factory, which was about an hour’s drive away. We thanked him and checked in. Todd loaned me the shorts and shirt to sleep in again, and then we said good night, each retiring to our own room for a good night’s sleep.
When we stepped out into the cab the next morning, I was in my new dress, and Todd, in his new suit, and we were both ready for a very important meeting. Dubreuil and Debauchee greeted us as we pulled up to the entrance of a huge manufacturing building. It was exciting, to say the least. You could feel the energy in the air.
We walked into a small conference room and sat down around a table that I recognized from our video conference—virtual reality, come to life. They wasted no time getting started.
“Scarlet, our scientific advisory board read the information you sent, and they were very impressed,” said Debauchee. “We are interested in getting more details from you to understand how you are going to approach the project if you join our group.”
I looked at Todd before I replied and he nodded, giving me the go-ahead. I pulled out the draft of the paper that Professor Frolev and I intended to submit for publication.
“Thank you, gentlemen,” I said, and nodded at each of the French executives. “I brought copies of a paper with me that describes the method we’re developing. I think it’ll give you the answers you’re looking for.”
I passed out the copies to each of the men.
“Let’s begin by understanding the technical problems we are trying to overcome. As we already know, the aim of the project is to segregate the chicks before they hatch, of course. The plan is to segregate the eggs in the trays while they are on the conveyer belt waiting to get vaccinated. It should take no more than fifteen minutes per tray to get the results. So the method we are describing here aims to lay the groundwork for achieving this goal. I’ll describe the method, but let me just say that it would be optimal if I had a way to show you the process in the lab,” I said.
“Would you like us to set up a bench for you so that you can show us?” asked Dubreuil.
“I would love that. Technically, we have shown that it can be done in fifteen minutes, but it all has to be assembled to work on the conveyer belt and that challenge will take some more research and development,” I answered.
“Fair enough. I think we can organize a lab for you,” said Debauchee, and Dubreuil nodded in agreement. “Let’s continue.”
“So, as you can see in this draft of the research, the chicks can be sexed in ovo within fifteen minutes. We tested the method at different incubation times,” I said, pointing to the biological results.
“Another part of the assembly that we need to work on is the sample extracted from the egg. Until now, we have used blood, but we would like to examine the amniotic and allantoic fluids thoroughly to see if they can be used instead. Ideally, we would like to have a lab injection machine to use for our research. This will allow us to test different samples from the egg directly in the same way they would be extracted by the injection machine in the incubators. Currently, I extract a sample manually and the samples vary. If I had the machine, I could gather real statistical information about the DNA content of the sample.”
“I see,” said Debauchee. “And once you decide on the best sample to use, you will have overcome all your obstacles?”
“The sa
mple should contain enough DNA for me to be able to achieve results with my method. So far, I have shown that it does, but I need to gather more statistical information, specifically using the injection machine we’ll be using in the end product,” I answered as best and honestly as I could. “There’s still work to be done; we’re not completely there yet.”
“We will surely understand more once we see what you have done in the lab,” said Debauchee.
We continued our discussion in further detail before breaking for lunch, hungry and happy to take them up on their offer for some delicious local fare. They promised that after lunch, we’d get a full tour of the facility, which I was very much looking forward to.
They took us to lunch at a rather fancy French restaurant, which amused me because by my estimation, French food can never be bad. If you took me to both a cheap French place and a fancy French place, I would find the food at each a hundred times better than what I eat every day.
The food did not disappoint. It was a fabulous four-course meal with a pastry appetizer, chicken cordon bleu, strawberry sorbet made from real strawberries and no added sugar, followed by a cheese plate. To die for. I thought that if I had to relocate to France to work, I wouldn’t get much done, because I would spend all my time eating, and then they would have to ship me back home.
Lunch wasn’t used for talking science or business, mainly because I had my mouth full of food the entire time. While I ate ravenously, Todd told the two men a little about how we met and started Spells, in addition to the story of who had joined us along the way.
Later that afternoon on the tour, we got to see the different equipment NavoLogic manufactures. Oddly enough, it reminded me of Joel’s workspace. I was dismayed to see that there were only men working in the facility, not a woman in sight. I would change that, I thought.
I got a few whistles as I strolled down the factory floor in my flowery dress, careful to ignore the attention. Debauchee and Dubreuil scowled at the perpetrators. They showed us their offices and a couple of big conference rooms too. I excused myself to the restroom as soon as we passed by one and Todd did the same. I immediately called him on his cell phone so we could quickly and stealthily discuss the meeting we’d just had. I then called Joel and asked him how he was feeling. He was doing better, relaxing at home, and he was happy for us that the meeting had seemed to go well.
The NavoLogic executives said they would organize for us to visit a research lab the next day and that we could then talk about what we would need for showing our lab experiments. It would take a couple of weeks to order and get everything set up, so we discussed the option of us flying back once again for this, and agreed it would be a possibility if we were to move forward.
We said our good-byes and left, reassured by Debauchee that we would meet again very soon. We agreed that we would send them all the written information we had concerning what we’d discussed and they agreed to sign our nondisclosure agreement. We shook on it and left, my dress flying up in the slight wind.
The driver drove us to the nearby town of Metz while we rested in the backseat on the way there. Once we arrived in Metz, we saw amazing churches and gardens that gave it its apt nickname: “The Green City.” We passed by a small café and asked the driver to stop so we could get some coffee. He let us off and said he would be back in an hour. We stopped at a crêperie and ate chocolate crêpes and then proceeded to the coffee shop. I was floating on air.
“I think that went well. What about you?” I asked Todd, optimistic and my mouth full of chocolate.
“It is exciting! They seemed very interested. We will see what develops tomorrow.”
The next morning, we were taken to a lab at the local university. The professor there, Dr. Holland, introduced himself and welcomed us. He asked his student, Sandrine, to show us around his lab and to introduce us to the others. While walking around, I checked out their equipment. I found it to be standard lab equipment, and the rooms were spacious and the benches, clean. It seemed they lacked for nothing.
We went into a room filled with chemicals and I asked the Ph.D. student where they kept a certain chemical. She replied simply, in French, that she didn’t know. I thought that was a bit strange, since this was a very basic chemical used to prepare standard buffers. When I asked her how she prepares the buffers, she answered that the professor brings the chemicals to the bench and then they can prepare what they need. She said they couldn’t go into this room alone to take whatever they want.
As we walked through the building and she mentioned other things they couldn’t touch without the professor’s supervision, I found it to be a bit restrictive. This process would mean that each student scientist was constantly dependent on the professor in order to get anything done. Back in my Masters Degree in Science days, if I would’ve dared to ask my professor to retrieve a basic chemical for me out of the closet, he would have kicked me out faster than I could say the name of that chemical. Independence was the essence of my university training. I would have to make sure this was not common practice, because if it was, and I ended up coming here, I wouldn’t fit in well at all. Especially since I prefer to work after hours.
Suddenly, a female student came up to us and asked Todd if he could help them lift open the centrifuge lid. Five petite women were standing around a huge centrifuge, helplessly waiting for a man to come and help them push up the lid. I walked over with Todd, put my hand across his chest and stepped forward to do it myself. The student tried to stop me, explaining it would be too hard, that it was a man’s job. I had four centrifuges, exactly the same, in my lab at home and I knew very well how to push them open. They just stared at me as I did it, shocked, and I walked away. I’d never let a man do that job for me.
After the centrifuge incident, we sat down in Dr. Holland’s office, where we were met by Dubreuil and Debauchee. I gave a short summary to Holland and wrote down a list of the things I would need in order to perform my experiment. We went over the expenses, which were then approved by Dubreuil.
Debauchee then made up some excuse to take me into a separate room of the lab, saying that he wanted me to check out a certain piece of machinery. I felt that this was odd, but followed him anyway. Once we were alone, he took me aside and whispered quickly that he had received a phone call and that someone was threatening him to avoid doing business with us. He explained that this was the sole reason he could not make us an offer yet, and he had been waiting to catch me alone to confide in me.
I just stood there in shock, frozen. This was a complete surprise. By the look on my face, he understood immediately that I had no idea whom the culprit could be. Just then, we were interrupted by Dubreuil, who came in to tell us that the tour should finish up in the cafeteria.
The food looked positively gourmet, but I didn’t have much of an appetite after what I’d just heard.
Our business done, our journey at a close, we took our seats on the plane, and Todd immediately fell asleep. I, on the other hand, was still shaken up after that short talk I’d had with Debauchee. Now it was clear to me why he’d asked us to come to France to meet him face-to-face. He had wanted to figure out for himself if there was something serious going on, and if we were in on it, or if we were as in the dark as he was.
Angrily, I thought of the guilty party, the mystery voice on the other end of the phone. Why would someone be so cruel as to undermine the legitimacy of our research? And what would happen with NavoLogic now? Would this threat turn them against investing in us, or would it accomplish exactly the opposite?
My thoughts started to spiral into paranoia, as they often did after I’d heard that my phone had been bugged. I needed to talk to Roseword as soon as we landed. Were they responsible for my lost suitcase? Could it be? Was that meant to deter me from getting to the meeting? Or were they trying to get information that they thought I’d packed in my suitcase? The secret sequence, possibly? Or was I imagining it, and this was a casual airport mistake?
I desperately neede
d to find who was behind all these tricks: having me followed, messing with my lab materials, threating Debauchee, and Joel’s accident! I had to talk to William; I knew he would reassure me and make me feel better. I looked forward to his hug so much.
As soon as we’d safely landed, I pulled out my phone and called Joel.
“How are you?” I asked, my heart beating hard. I hoped he was on the mend.
“I’m fine, thanks,” he said, and I was relieved, because he sounded good. “I go back to work in a couple of days.”
I asked if he thought he might be feeling up to going to the little café by our farm. I was stopping by there to pick up some eggs, and it would make me happy to be able to take him to lunch. He agreed, and we met there, out in the sunshine. Joel was wearing dark eyeglasses for protection, but otherwise, he seemed well. Todd and Roseword had joined us so that we could all talk about what had transpired in France. It was a joyful day, all in all, the meeting ending with Roseword clapping us on the backs and saying that he’d be happy to live in France for a couple years if he had to do so.
“You really know how to take one for the team,” I said.
As tired as I was that night, I knew I had to make my way to the pub to see William. It was Tuesday, the night of our weekly meeting. When I came in and he got up to walk toward me, I leapt into his arms and gave him a big hug.
“I have excellent news,” I whispered in his ear as he took my hand and led me to our usual table.
“I’m guessing the meeting went well in France?” he asked.
“Boy, did it ever! We had a wonderful meeting, and they’re even giving us a time slot in a lab to show them our method,” I said, a huge smile on my face.
He gave me a stone-faced look, like he was going to remain in business mode.
“I want to see all the data,” he said, before finally cracking a smirk.
“France was unbelievable.”