20- New Beginnings… chapter twenty

"Walter, WALTER….. we are not having a foot race, you know." Lynn said huffing. "This is SUPPOSED to be a pleasant walk to go have dinner."

"I don't want you thinking I am too old, you know, YOUNG lady. You make me feel like I am robbing the cradle…. isn't that the saying?"

"Gods, Walter, I was joking. I never would have thought you'd be so touchy about age, or anything, really. You aren't that much older than I and let's face it, men should be older as women mature earlier while men are still farting around like kids so they need a few extra years to catch up to us."

Walter halted to look at Lynn, "WHAT? What a load of nonsense."

Lynn laughed, "Gods, you are so damned easy. I admit, you probably never farted around acting like a kid, right? A very adult, totally serious child, I am sure." She took his arm and put it across her shoulders, putting her arm around his lower back and hooking her thumb into a belt loop of his jeans. "Come on old man, let me help you to the diner, and slow down. A nice, pleasant walk together."

Getting to Kovelski's they sat in a booth by the window. "See, isn't this nice?"

Ann the evening waitress came to the table. "I know you want coffee, right, Walter? Been quite a while. What would you two like this evening?"

"Good evening, Ann. I'll have my usual, coffee, cheeseburger and fries. How about you, Lynn?"

"That sounds good for me, too." Ann brought two cups and the pot of coffee, poured and left to put in their order.

"While walking SLOWLY I did some calculations. Had to make some assumptions as facts are not known so not sure how accurate the end result is."

"So what were you calculating, Walter?" Lynn asked with a smile, putting an elbow on the table and her chin in her hand.

"I assume you completed high school at seventeen, as per average age. If you completed your degree at MIT within four years and was recruited by Richard immediately and have been here in LA, think you mentioned five years that would make you twenty-six. I am but eight years older, not too ancient to be seen with you. Not like I have a head of gray hair so people would think I am your father."

"Wow, pretty far off, there, old man," Lynn said with a chuckle. "Does our age difference really trouble you, seriously? Does not bother me in the slightest."

"Eight years would be a big deal were I twenty and you twelve, but as adults, eight years is not a problem," Walter said sitting back. "Did I calculate correct even with numerous assumptions?"

"Well….. I will say, some of your assumptions are a bit off… I tested out of high school at thirteen."

"Really? Impressive."

"There was the legal courtroom crap for a year, then two MIT degrees in five years. That's why Richard recruited me personally….. I'm twenty-four," Lynn said quietly. "So ten years difference- that bother you…. really? Does not bother me in the slightest."

Walter looked at his hands folded on the table. "You would not prefer to be with someone closer to your age? Much less a real American- born and raised like you, with American childhood watching ancient movies, American cars, one who would grasp all those 'references' you throw around that you need to explain to me?"

"Walter, what is the most important thing between two people?" Lynn asked. "I care for YOU, be you a year older, thirty years older or even younger than I. THIS is where the rubber meets the road- the difference between being alone or with a person that means the world to you. YOU, Walter, have come to mean the world to me- I have never felt so attracted to anyone like I am with you. I have never wanted to be with anyone like I want to be with you."

Ann came by with their orders. "Be back with more coffee in a minute."

"I really was just joking about you being an old man, but know our age difference and wondered if it would be a problem with you. It's not logical for it to be a problem, you know. You ARE a healthy male in your prime, and an exceptional man for such a trivial issue to make an impact."

"Well, young lady, eat up, we have a long walk back and some paperwork to look through."

Finishing their meals, Walter grabbed his cane, went to the register to pay and opened the door for Lynn then followed her out. He put his arm across her shoulders, kissed the top of her head, "what is age? Does not bother you, certainly does not bother me. Besides, on average women live longer than even healthy men so maybe we will die at the same time."

"Interesting, you are already looking at when we will die? I certainly hope that is a long time in future. Yes, so you are older than me, you are also stronger than me, taller than me, viva la difference, right? A nice evening for a walk in no big hurry. Still going to go over the stuff in the boxes tonight?"

"You have work tomorrow, I must take it extra easy for my check-up Monday so they give me a good report- Richard seems to be keeping tabs- he will be sending a car to take me to a data center then when I have a program to load will send a car to take me again. And insists I use a cane so I need to be back to 100% healthy soon so I don't have people looking over my shoulder keeping an eye on all I do."

"Everyone wants you back to healthy and your usual cheerful, happy self," Lynn chuckled putting her arm across his back to hook a thumb in a belt loop again. "You might be surprised at how many people have asked how you are, how your recovery is coming along."

Walter laughed, "bet none of the eggheads have inquired how I am doing."

"No, but the engineers as well as a couple designers have. And Richard is kept informed by the clinic doctors. That reminds me, what time is your check-up and shall I pick you up and get you there? And how would you like to spend my weekend at my place? Change of scenery is good, and no stairs. Plus I dare say I could be talked into a chess game. You like chicken? Can stuff one and throw it in the oven- a good home cooked meal might do wonders for you."

"Well, I am pretty much guaranteed a restaurant cook knows what they are doing…. but then I survived your cooking when you stayed at the garage. Kinda' hard to bugger up a nuked chicken pie, but your breakfasts were good, and the chicken vegetable soup was excellent. So, OK, a home cooked meal by you should be fairly safe."

"Wow, just for that, I will make the stuffing from scratch rather than box, might even bake a pie. What kind of pie do you like? Classic apple? Yummy pumpkin? Blueberry? A little sweetness in your system might do you wonders."

"What do you mean by that? I am nothing BUT sweetness and light, pleasant, friendly, a joy to be around."

"Oh my, your nose is getting long," Lynn laughed. "You are familiar with Pinocchio, right?"

"If this is another of your 'references'…. yup, lost me once again."

"The puppet that wanted to be a real boy- his nose got long when he told a lie."

Walter halted, "are you implying I'm NOT sweetness, light, pleasant and friendly?"

"Sorry, Walter,' Lynn said looking up at him with a serious expression. "This may come as a surprise to you, but, while there are a lot of things that can be said about you, sweetness, light, pleasant and friendly aren't among them….. but I like you anyway."

Walter started walking again, kissed the top of her head and gave her shoulders a squeeze, "so thanks to you there is hope for me after all? Apple pie, by the way. I want to warn you, though, I am picky when it comes to apple pie. No funny stuff added. Actually had someone try and pass off apple pie when they put raisins in it. Sacrilege. America and apple pie means no funny stuff- just the real thing, straight forward."

Reaching the garage, Walter entered the security code and opened the door for Lynn then followed her in.

"Whew, that is quite a load of stuff to go through," Walter said looking at the three boxes of rolled up papers notebooks and folders sitting on the kitchen table. "And you said there is more? So you have a pet project of building an orbiting space station- interesting. How much of this is science fiction based? How much based on present technology?"

"Honestly, probably a seventy- thirty split. But, a lot of old science fiction has come to pass. Look at Jules Verne- his writing of the Nautilus and subs of today. The old silent movie where a cannon shot a bullet used to get to the moon hitting the man in the moon in the eye. Cyrano de Bergerac devising the many ways of coming from space to pique the interest of the messenger outside Roxanne's house so she and Christian could get married. Star Trek's transporter and now atoms HAVE been shuffled from here to there in the labs of today. Science just needs to catch up to the fiction. Dick Tracy and his communication watch to the smart watches of today."

"Think the time has come to open the wall between the bays so the entire garage can be utilized. A lot of this stuff will have to be put on the walls to grasp it all. Dare say a fair amount of math will be involved as well. Going to be quite a project," Walter said picking up a folder on top of one box.

Lynn stood by Walter sitting at the table, "You mean you will seriously look at all this and think on the project?"

"Of course," Walter said looking up at her. "Merely the next step after getting to the moon again and on to Mars. By the looks of things, Richard may be within two to four years of a launch so should be looking at the next logical step."

Lynn's smile lit up the garage and she bent down to give Walter a kiss on the cheek. "With YOU looking at it, it will be taken seriously, thank you, Walter." She kissed him again. "I'm going to take off, see you after work tomorrow," Lynn said. "Pack up for the weekend and your check-up. Don't sit up all night with this stuff. Get a good night sleep. See you tomorrow. Good night, Walter."

"Good night, Lynn. Careful driving."

Walter did spend a couple hours going through the papers in the boxes. Some of it was interesting and was put in one pile, some was far-fetched so put in another pile; some was questionable but an idea to be pursued so put in another pile. Sitting back in time, he thought it was too bad Ralph was not available to delve into this collection of papers- would be a lot of fun going over this hypothetical with him…. definitely looking to the future. He got up, stretched, grabbed his cane and went up the stairs to strip, shower and hit the bed.

Waking Sunday, Walter got up, went into the kitchen to start the coffee then headed into the bathroom. Getting a cup of coffee he took it into the bedroom to drink while getting dressed in jeans and t-shirt. When dressed, he pulled out his duffle and packed it for the couple days at Lynn's including his travel shaving kit. He made the bed, refilled his coffee cup, turned the brewer off, rinsed out the pot, put the duffle strap over his shoulder, got his cane and descended the stairs. He put the duffle on the sofa in the common area, went to his desk and powered up the desktop unit and opened the laptop to check mail.

Having the ownership of the structure and only using half is a waste especially with looking at the large project of this designing an orbiter. Knowing permits and other governmental paperwork will be necessary, he looked into structural engineering crews to see about the viability of opening the wall between the bays and the lofts. Finding a crew with exceptional reviews he made an appointment for the coming Thursday afternoon.

Going into the kitchen he cranked up the coffee maker and sat at the table to continue going through the boxes of papers and files Lynn had brought in. Again, reviewing the information he added to the three piles. In a couple hours of focused work, the three boxes were empty and the three piles stacked higher. Lynn may be disappointed but with a quick calculation, he came to the conclusion it was more a seventy-seven to twenty-three split. However, while she may be disappointed, there are seventeen of the twenty-three that are quite valid issues and well worth seriously looking into. He labeled the three boxes and put one pile in each. He decided to wait going through the rest of her gathered documentation before delving deeper into the seventeen he deemed worth deeper contemplation with her as she obviously had more knowledge with it all.

After sitting so long going through all the piles of papers, he drained the last of the coffee and decided to stretch out on the sofa. Kicking back with legs over the arm he closed his eyes and dozed off to awaken once more to Lynn rummaging through the boxes of papers on the kitchen table.

"How was your day?" Walter asked getting up. "Anything new and interesting going on in the space division testing department?"

"You labeled this box 'claptrap'?" Lynn asked. "I take it these are less than up to snuff for your further perusal?"

"Well," Walter said joining her at the table, "in my humble opinion, all in that box is science fiction, emphasis on fiction. There are some that deserve a deeper look into the idea, though to be honest, not much in my estimation… the box with the least amount inside. However, I decided to await final disposition until the rest of the mountain of stuff you have accumulated is gone through."

"Guess I will haul these out to the car….."

"No, leave it here. I contacted an outfit to see about opening the wall between the bays and the lofts. All this can go to the other side once it is open to keep everything together. At some point in future, a viable idea may coincide with something in the claptrap box that makes it worth looking at again."

"Wait a minute… a year from now you are looking into an idea and you will remember something in the claptrap box is related? Really?"

"Eidetic memory- once seen, always remembered…. as I said, you know my mind works in strange ways. Will somewhat automatically pop up when something being looked at presently will register with something seen prior, even years between. Weird, I know, but I have been living with it for thirty-four years so used to it," Walter said going into the kitchen to rinse out the empty coffee pot and set the brewer up for his return from Lynn's place Tuesday night.

Lynn was still standing there looking at him when he turned around from setting up the coffee maker. "What?"

"That's true? You really will recall some trivial detail long, long after having seen it?"

"Yes." Walter said. "Don't tell me you don't have any mental quirks or gymnastics for memory, calculating, or some other specific idiosyncratic ability- one does not get two degrees from MIT in five years at such a young age without some kind of 'knack'. Look at you and your ancient movie trivia knowledge. How many times have you seen some of these movies to remember lines of dialogue, changes of the characters through their depiction? Just because my idiosyncratic ability is based on my knowledge in the sciences, and yours is cultural does not mean mine is more weird than yours, so don't look at me as if I have a third eye." He went to his desk and powered down the desktop unit, checked the laptop for mail, then closed it up and put it in its case. "How about I take you out for dinner and then head to your place for your weekend? I am looking forward to that apple pie." Putting the strap of his duffle over his shoulder, grabbing his cane and laptop he turned to Lynn, "ready?"

"Yeah, ready," Lynn said and headed out the door followed by Walter who set security and waited for her to open the front trunk on the Corvair to put his duffle and laptop in and close it up. Getting in the passenger side of the car, Walter watched Lynn. When she got behind the wheel he looked at her. "Have you come to the conclusion maybe this was not such a good idea after all? I'll still take you out to dinner, but you can drop me off back here afterward."

Stuffing her hair up under her fedora, putting the key in the ignition, she looked at him with a smile, "ha, you one funny man, what makes you think I don't want you to stay at my place? I did not get all the stuff for making a superb apple pie from scratch for nothin', buddy. You gave me a challenge- and I take my pie making very seriously and I am anxious for your opinion. Have heard of wine snobs, but never heard of an apple pie snob, but there is a lot of strange about you so not surprising. Where to for dinner?"

"You like seafood? That hotel I stayed at across town has an excellent seafood platter and the clam chowder is quite good."

"Sounds good- you are buying, right? Lobster I absolutely love even though it is sloppy to eat. If you can put up with my getting buttery fingers in public, give me directions. When we get there just have us seated in a dark corner so I don't embarrass you."

"Ahhh…. you want to sit in a dark corner with me? Interesting."

"Yes, we make quite a pair."

Getting to the restaurant Walter did request a small table by the fireplace- warm and out of the way. The waiter came by and took their order- lobster for her, seafood platter for him, clam chowder to start for both.

Elbows on table and chin on folded hands Lynn asked, "Tell me something Walter- do you really think an orbiting space station is possible?"

Sitting back Walter smiled, "sure, the idea is there, it will be designed, therefore in the fullness of time it will be built as technology improves. Such is the ways and means of man else we would still be living in caves bopping deer with clubs to have something to eat. How is it an old fart like me can picture this yet a young whipper-snapper like you questions the possibility?"

Finishing up their chowder, the entrees were set and coffee refilled. Lynn looked at her big red lobster.

"Wonder what ever possessed the first person to eat a lobster to eat a lobster. But then, when did it dawn on someone to put stuffing in a chicken?"

Walter put his napkin to his mouth as he laughed. "And I said my mind works in strange ways."