Excerpt
The message, a phone call taken by Patricia and
written on a yellow pad simply stated, “Mrs. Debra Song from the
offices of Song and Company in Great Falls,Montana called. Please
call her immediately at this number.” Well, one thing was for sure:
whoever Mrs. Debra Song was, she probably wasn’t about to offer
him a job as the Director of Engineering at the Port of Great Falls
since Great Falls was probably about a thousand miles from the
nearest body of water of any maritime engineering significance.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Joel dressed and started
down the stairs to return the call. Only then he realized that
although it was eleven a.m. in Hong Kong, it was the middle of
the previous night in Great Falls. His call would have to wait.
Still not knowing what had transpired at the bar around the corner
the previous night, he strategically decided to retreat to a bar
a few blocks in the other direction to nurse his bruised ego, sedate
himself from the pain of rejection, and calculate the right time to
phone. After five rum and cokes’ worth of deliberation, Joel
thought he had it right. If he was to place his call at the end of the
day, he should be reaching the Great Falls office of Song and
Company just as they arrived at work. Thinking he had that all
right, Joel strolled back to his grungy little apartment and either
passed out or napped, depending on your point of view.
