Disenchantment 23

“Do you know what they are doing? How they are looking into it?” asked Oren.

 

“No, I’m a student. I’m only an undergraduate student.”

 

Malbourne glared at her.

 

“Whoah, wait, what?” Oren looked confused. “I thought that she had her doctorate, or was about to have it.”

 

“I think there has been some mistake,” replied Malbourne. “I specifically asked Dr. Kilmie for someone with a doctorate. I just assumed that she almost had her doctorate when she said she didn’t earlier.”

 

Nannette knew he was lying. She decided to demonstrate: “So, I answer only to you? Oren is confused? Also, you said I was only going to get two fifty per hour. Yet it seems you are telling Oren that I’m getting five hundred. Is that true Mr. hire and fire?”

 

“This is just a big mistake.” Malbourne looked more than a little uncomfortable, he had gone beyond merely looking flustered into almost looking ashamed. However, she knew his job was to talk others into and out of things, and she also knew his personality was one that was used to getting what he wanted and demanding people fall in line to his way of thinking. He didn’t seem adverse to threats and deception. “Yes, we discussed that outside. I was going to tell you, of course, Oren.”

 

Nannette continued, “I’m a physics major, not an astronomy major. Sure, I am taking a few astrophysics classes, but my major is physics, and outside three astrophysics classes, I know very little of astronomy. Were you going to tell him that as well?”

 

“This is just a mistake, Oren. I’ll clear it all up. Dr. Kilmie is an astrophysicist. I asked her for a recommendation.”

 

“No, you asked her for an undergrad student, specifically.”

 

“There seems to be a miscommunication here, Oren. You know me. I wouldn’t do that.”

 

“He’s lying.” Nannette felt herself getting progressively angrier every time Malbourne defended himself.

 

“Listen, Ms. Chan, did you ever tell me that you weren’t an astronomy major?”

 

She considered lying, just because she was quite angry with the pretentious, conniving lawyer, but decided against it. The truth was always better if it was actually on your side. “No, but—“

 

“Dr. Kilmie, the one who hired you is an astrophysicist, correct?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Look, this is all just a misunderstanding. We’ll clear it up, Oren. I haven’t done anything against you, nor would I ever. You know me.”

 

Nannette was about to speak again when Floyd did. “Hey guys, this almost doesn’t matter. She is a physics major, so what? It’s related to astrophysics which is related to astronomy. Also Oren, I think she adequately answered all the questions we had for her, right? We don’t have any more scientific questions for her, right?”

 

“That’s all true,” said Oren.

 

“I think science is going to fail us here regardless. What we are looking at and discussing is almost the opposite of science.”

 

“All right,” said Oren, “I’m going to get another drink. Mark, please see if anyone else wants anything. Blake and Nannette, please don’t talk to each other anymore until everyone has calmed down, okay?”

 

Blake said, “Of course, my friend,” while Nannette nodded her consent.

 

She noticed that Malbourne switched to coffee while Oren was still very much interested in hitting the booze. Mark opted not for coffee again, but a cola, along with Floyd. Nannette just had another glass of water.

 

Within a few minutes they were all back in the living room once again. Nannette positioned herself even closer to Mark. She didn’t even realize it until she had done it. Mark did not seem to mind. They were still maybe two or three inches apart, but with the large couch, it wasn’t really stranger-length away. It was intimate-length. Nannette didn’t really understand why she felt so comfortable with this guy so quickly, but she didn’t feel like stopping herself either.

 

They rehashed a great deal of stuff that they had before, going over moon cycles again, and Floyd introduced a few little new tidbits of Greek mythology. For the most part nothing new was added into the mix until Oren brought up dates and times.

 

“Okay, so who is with me?”

 

Floyd answered in the affirmative almost immediately, Mark raised his hand and Malbourne nodded. Then everyone looked at her.

 

“You mean to go with you to the street where you lost your wife?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“When?”

 

“Well, we agreed that the sixteenth is probably the earliest, right? If there is something we don’t know, some ancient way of telling time that we can’t understand... Let’s start a couple days before that, maybe February fourteenth?”

 

“Valentine’s Day?”

 

“Yeah, I guess so. I didn’t even think of that.”

 

“We just meet there?”

 

“I guess, or here, or anywhere. I just want to be there before dusk every day. Look, I will pay you all. Malbourne, I will give you your normal fee.”

 

“To just sit by the side of the road all night?” asked the lawyer.

 

“If we have to.”

 

Mark spoke up then: “Dude, you can just hire someone for much cheaper than whatever you pay your lawyer. Why don’t you ask one of the guys from the band? Shit, if you need to pay someone for it, you can get a much better deal than hiring a lawyer to sit out there and do non-lawyer stuff.”

 

Oren hesitated for a time. “Look, you all know what we’re doing. You all know what is going on. If we get strangers involved, then I won’t trust them as much.”

 

Mark shook his head. “Man, I know you have money, but I don’t want you throwing it away. Give everyone five hundred.”

 

“Per hour?” asked Malbourne.

 

“Per night! And Oren, I’m not asking for any money. I’ll be there regardless. And this guy...” Mark pointed to Floyd. “He seems like he would do it for free too. Floyd is more excited about this shit than you are about finding your wife.”

 

“Is everyone okay with five hundred a night?” asked Oren

 

“I am,” said Floyd.

 

Nannette nodded, but then asked a question: “How many nights?”

 

Oren sighed. “Until we find her. If nothing happens on the fourteenth, then we do the fifteenth. If nothing happens on the fifteenth, then the sixteenth, and so on.”

 

“Until March?” asked Nannette.

 

“Until I find my wife.”

 

“I understand, but what if you don’t find your wife by April or May, are you still going to go out there every night?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Nannette looked around uncomfortably. “I can’t commit to the rest of my life, going out and sitting around beside the side of the road.”

 

Before Oren could say anything Mark spoke: “That’s fair. Why don’t we all agree to two weeks? Yeah?”

 

“What if we don’t find her by then?” Oren asked.

 

“We reevaluate the situation, okay? Look Oren, no one is saying they won’t continue after two weeks, but let’s not plan too far ahead. Let’s do these first two weeks and see what happens, yeah?”

 

“Okay, I’m in,” said Nannette after Oren nodded.

 

“Blake?” asked Mark as he turned to look at Malbourne.

 

He looked at Oren. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m a busy guy. I have a business, employees that need to get paid. I have other clients.”

 

“I’ll give you a thousand a night, how’s that?” asked Oren.

 

“No he won’t,” said Mark. “Oren, let’s find someone else. You can’t be giving out so much money. For a night or two, probably, but if this lasts weeks, you will be draining your finances. Find someone else.”

 

As Oren seemed to contemplate it, Malbourne spoke: “Fine, one thousand a night. I can do that. But I will need to bring some work with me at times. Maybe do some stuff on my laptop in the car while we wait.”

 

“It’s settled then,” said Oren.

“Almost,” said Nannette. “If you want to trust Mr. Malbourne, that’s on you. I don’t want anything else to do with him.”

 

“Like he said, it’s probably just a misunderstanding. I’ve known Blake Malbourne for years. Yeah, he’s a little gruff, but I trust him.” Oren said it, and all eyes were on her.

 

“He doesn’t really seem to believe any of this. His comments have been few, and when he did comment it was sarcastic, or confrontational.”

 

“Ms. Chan, you were hired as the person of science, of realism,” said Malbourne. “Yet you jumped right into this fantastical story, not exactly siding with science. You all did need someone playing devil’s advocate, for your own good, to find weaknesses in the strange ideas you were discussing. Since you didn’t do what you were hired to do, I had to fill the void left by your absence.”

 

He was good with his words, Nannette had to admit that to herself. Oren crossed his arms and nodded while even Mark nodded slightly as he smiled at her. Floyd seemed disinterested in the current topic.

 

“Fine,” she said, but I don’t ever want to be alone with him again. Also, the original agreement was for two-fifty, not five hundred, and I’ve been here over two hours, is seven hundred and fifty fair?”

 

“Yes, Malbourne will mail you a check. If you really don’t want to see him, that’s fine, but I am relying on him to deal with payment. He can mail you a check, okay? I don’t have that much cash around the house. Let’s exchange numbers.” Oren then proceeded to pull out his phone.

 

Nannette agreed as she exchanged numbers with Oren, and an unsaid statement floated around the room, claiming that the meeting was over, the night was done with talk of gods and suns and moons. She noticed that Oren had gotten himself yet another drink and seemed to be going through them quicker than he had earlier in the evening. People began saying their awkward goodbyes. Only Oren, an apparent extrovert and also more socially lubricated with liquid courage, seemed comfortable with everyone as most people had been dealing with strangers during the course of the evening. She did find herself wondering if she would be bold enough to get Mark’s number as well, when Malbourne gave her an in.

 

“Ms. Chan, I think we got off on the wrong foot. If you would be so kind as to allow me to walk you to your car, I would like to have a quick chat.”

 

“I’m not interested and I meant what I said. I can find my own way to my car, but if I could ask someone to walk me to my car, it would be Mark.”

 

Malbourne gave her another of his glares. Oren seemed to smile like an adolescent boy who wanted to poke fun at a friend for his crush. Floyd seemed oblivious and was staring around the room, also scratching his butt quite aggressively as though others weren’t in the room with him. Mark smiled and agreed.