Fantasy or Reality? (closed--PM if interested)

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Name: Adam Cooper (1, 2)
Age: 29
Occupation: Co-Owner / Principal Engineer, DHT (Down Hole Technologies)

“I’ll be frank,” the old man sitting across the aisle in the luxury mini-bus. “I don’t like this deal at all, but it is the state of business.”

Adam tried to maintain his smile, but it was probably waivering. “May I ask why you still signed the contract?”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong son,” he replied. “It’s good product. My boys say it’s the best thing to pump out the heavy crude that is all over up here. But I don’t like it when I get forced into one choice with one supplier. And if you knocked on my door and dropped that pump on my desk, I would have sent you walking. You get me?”

Adam’s tired hard to keep that smile, “That’s why I sent my salesman to you first.”

That wasn’t a line, Adam knew that these old leathernecks don’t like it when some ‘kid’ walks into their shop and tells them the design team will force them to use his submersible pumps. That was the point, though. From the moment the patent was settled, DHT took Adam’s invention and got it onto technical requirements by name forcing these guys into a sole source. Yet when he made these site visits to the oil fields, he still got the ‘kid’ jokes. He kept his light brown curly hair loose making him look younger mostly because he could never figure out what to do with it. His dark eyes and well managed beard added to that look of youth. Luckily, his suit jacket was tailored otherwise he was sure he would have looked like a 12 year old at funeral.

The old man owned just one of those oilfield companies; and was now just escorting his new supplier to his plane. “You never said where Jimmy was?”

“I didn’t,” Adam replied. “His wife gave birth yesterday. Another little girl, he’s got three now with no boys. He’s outnumbered, no hope for the lucky bastard.”

“Oh boy, that poor man.” The van was pulling up to the front of the small terminal. The jet was ready for him when he was ready, but this airport was so small that they only had the one TSA group - so he actually had to board at a gate, through a gate here was just a door heading to the tarmac. “You got any kids?”

Adam shook his head and kept that forced smile going. Pretty soon he can get away from the stress of the dealmaking and get back to Colorado where he can return to his work.

“Well,” the old man said as they pulled up to the curb, “getting married is the best thing that can happen. I should know, I got married three times.”

Adam laughed, genuinely laughed. Shook the hand of his new customer, and stepped out onto the curb. He threw his backpack over his shoulder and headed in. He wasn’t in a rush, that’s the nice thing about private jets - you don’t wait until they let you board, they wait until you are on-board. So, he found a bathroom first, and pull the tie off leaving just the jacket and dress shirt. He thought to respond to a text the girl he dated a few times recently, but didn’t. It took all of fifteen minutes to realize she was more into his toys than him. She was sure that he was off to Vegas without him, sure he would be doing nothing but partying and spending money.

Coming out of the bathroom, he caught something out of his eye. It was, in an instant, like a rush back in time. Back to those days in school a long time ago. To that one that he used to think about all the time. The one that he always had trouble talking to. That, though, was a long long time ago.

Well … if it is her … try talking to her now.

“Mel? That is you Melanie.”

Then there was that smile. He could smile of course, and he could try to be charming and warm with his smile. But it was never like Mel’s smile. She closed the distance between them, and pulled him into an embrace.

It might have been a long long time, but he felt the rush of heat over his face like like all that time long long ago.

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Adam’s tanned cheeks shifted a few colors red at the greeting. Mel always had that way of humbling him by just noticing good things about him. It was not like her compliments on how he looked were monumental, but in a few short words Adam was brought back to those days in school when any words from Mel would make his heart race a little faster.

“Well, I just wrapped up some business and was about to catch my plane,” he responded trying to remain genuinely modest. His hand slid up to his head and scratched his hair sheepishly. “Kinda ready to stop working for the day and sit in a plane seat, you know?”

“But look at you,” he came back with to return the warmth. “You look great too! I mean, you always looked great too, but … you know, you look great.” She really did, at least to him. She had clearly grown into adulthood well. Gone were those silly fashion fixations everyone had in high school, and replaced with the sensibilities of responsibilities. Yet those warm eyes, soft kissible lips, and billowing hair remained to remind him of the girl he crushed so hard on as a kid. Using the compliments as an excuse, he confidently appreciated her body that still kept so much of the firmness of youth. It was like the only thing that got older in Mel was those aspects you hoped she grew out of.

Of course, he followed all the possible gossip routes through the years to keep up with some of Mel’s life. With that fostering his thoughts and noting to himself that she was there without luggage, he jumped to a conclusion. “So what brings you here? Picking up your husband from somewhere? You got married, didn’t you?”

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At first he kept his response simple, “Oh, I am down in Colorado myself these days. Kinda heading there myself.” He did his best to skip over that his flight delays until he is on it, unlike hers that will leave without her.

Listening, Adam felt relieved she was giving him topics of conversation that he could latch onto so to avoid the ones he didn’t want to say. “What, do they not know where it is? Or is it supposed to be around here somewhere. The luggage I mean.” He looked over at the counter, noticing the people who seem to be standing in line too but not so patient, or lovely as Mel. “It’s not like the terminal here is so big that they sent it to another room or anything. Did they tell you what they are going to do if they can’t find it? Or they make you miss the plane?”

It was a natural reaction when he strikes up a conversation with some people. Sure he is successful, and wealthy beyond what a guy his age can make by himself. Yet for most people, if you tell them you co-own a company that is patenting new technology, all they can think about is that you are some rich kid. Which is alright if you are trying to get a girl to sleep with you, not if you want to just talk. Not if you care about what someone thinks of you.

Even now, after all these years. He still cares about what Mel thinks of him.