Part 24 (1/2)
Rick was cornered by some recent graduates of the NASA Academy who were fis.h.i.+ng for job leads. He handed out his business card and made the obligatory polite encouragement to send him their resumes. Two of the alums made a show of scrutinizing his card, while the others politely thanked him and left.
That's when he saw her.
She wore a stunning blue silk dress cut in that pseudo-Chinese qpo style that was popular of late, the kind with the long split up the side of the leg. Her curly brown hair flowed down to her shoulders, framing a cherubic face with dimpled cheeks. And she wore gla.s.ses. Rick loved women who wore gla.s.ses. The round wire frames perfectly accentuated her soft hazel eyes.
”h.e.l.lo there!” she called out.
”h.e.l.lo,” Rick replied. Momentarily lost for words, he reacted with imbecilic instinct-he handed her one of his business cards.
She read the card. ”Rick Park, systems engineer, Devcon Systems.”
”That's me. And you are?”
”Mariel Beckenbauer.”
”Mariel,” Rick said. ”Like Hemingway?”
”Like Cuba.”
”Oh.”
The NASA Academy grads introduced themselves and proceeded to ask her about job prospects. Rick took his eyes off Mariel and spotted some engineers he knew from the Applied Physics Laboratory. He excused himself. As he walked away, he heard Mariel explain she was also a summer intern.
Rick joined the APL group, who were discussing a reaction wheel problem on one of their s.p.a.cecraft at Earth-Sun L1. It didn't take long for him to notice Mariel, again on the outside of the crowd. As before, she joined the group and introduced herself.
Rick said he needed a drink and excused himself, eventually joining another group. When she reappeared a third time, he finally figured it out.
”Cheers.”
Rick and Mariel clinked their winegla.s.ses.
”So, you're an intern?” Rick asked.
”Yes. I'm here for the summer.”
”What are you working on?”
”I'm supposed to be doing thermal a.n.a.lyses for some Earth science missions over in Building 32, but so far I've only been doing Photoshop stuff for Public Affairs.”
”That sucks.”
”I'm a foreign national,” Mariel explained. ”Thanks to ITAR, they won't let me do any real engineering work. My TAA's in limbo at the State Department.”
”Where are you from?”
”Vancouver,” Mariel replied. ”But I'm living in Germantown for the summer.”
By now, the wine bottles were empty, and the hors d'oeuvres trays had more toothpicks and used napkins than food. The reception was winding down.
”Can you give me a ride to the Metro?” Mariel asked.
”Sure.”
It was a short ten-minute drive to the Greenbelt station. In contrast to her manner at the reception, Mariel was strangely quiet during the ride. Rick tried to engage her in conversation, asking what she did in Vancouver, where else she had traveled in the world, what were her favorite movies. She didn't respond to any of his questions, and simply stared silently out the pa.s.senger-side window.
They arrived at Greenbelt Metro, and Rick pulled the car up to the Kiss & Ride drop-off.
”Well, that was a lovely evening with good company,” Rick said.
Mariel nodded, and finally spoke. ”You know, I haven't had a chance to see much of DC. If you have some time...”
”I'd love to.”
The LIDARSAT preliminary design review meeting was a tedious affair that ended far past the scheduled time. When the presentations concluded, Rick made his way to where Mariel sat. He saw Davidson put a hand on her shoulder and say something. Mariel nodded, and Davidson left.
Rick was standing right in front of the seated Mariel. She was staring at her laptop, making no acknowledgment of his presence.
”Hi, Mariel,” Rick said. There was no way she couldn't have heard.
Another person approached. Mariel look up.
”Oh, h.e.l.lo, Sanjay,” she said. ”I should have the new model runs for you tomorrow.”
”No problem,” Sanjay said. ”See you later.”
Rick watched the other man leave, then turned back to Mariel. She was on her computer again. He wanted to scream, to grab her by the shoulders and make her acknowledge him.
At last, Mariel closed her laptop and abruptly walked away without a word.
In a stupor, Rick followed her like an obedient puppy. She said h.e.l.lo to people she pa.s.sed. Rick followed her upstairs and found himself outside her cubicle.
”Mariel, what have I done to upset you?”
The Was.h.i.+ngton Area Frisbee Club held an introductory clinic for novice players the first Sat.u.r.day of each month at the Sligo Middle School. From the sideline, Rick and Chris watched a trio work the disc down the field in a weave drill.
”Put down that pivot foot, Kathy,” Chris called out. ”That's traveling.”
”I finally had a chance to talk to Mariel,” Rick said. He told him what happened.
”You asked her what you had done to upset her? Man, that's way more polite than I would've been.”
”I suppose.”
”And what was her explanation for all this? Wait, let me guess. Never really liked you? Met someone else? Thinks ultimate is for dogs?”
”No, none of that. But I wish it was, because it'd be a whole lot easier to understand.”