Love Story: In The Web of Life Read Online Free PDF Page B

letdown from having a whole year's
work evaporate.
    "Don't worry," Phil said. "Paul and the
Washington office will take it from here. Why don't you take a few
days off. You like to spend time in the desert this time of year.
If they need anything, we can call you there. Have Zaza keep Patty
informed of where to contact you." He got up and shook my hand
again and said, "Good work! Congratulations! We will talk more when
I get back. I have to leave for Detroit in a couple of
minutes."
    I walked back to my office still a little bit
stunned.
    Zaza greeted me with, "Patty told me the news.
You're unemployed!"
    That made me despair.
    "I am going to the desert for a couple of days.
You can call me anytime out there," I said. "You forgot your
briefcase," said Zaza as I walked to the entrance.
    When I walked into my apartment, I checked my
phone for voicemail. I pressed the play code and heard Tina's
voice:
    "Thanks for the flowers. I called to thank you
on your cell phone with no answer, and then I tried at your office.
Your secretary said you had just left, and she didn't know when you
would be back. I asked whether you were on a business trip. All she
said is 'No.' She sounded very abrupt. Is everything
OK?"
    'That's Zaza,' I thought. I must have missed
the cell call while I was in the parking garage. I knew that Tina
was in class today, so I called her home phone and left a message,
explaining that I had finished a case, was taking a few days off,
and everything was fine.
    On the way to the desert, I felt very alone and
uncertain. I wished Tina had come with me. Zaza was right, 'I am
unemployed.' Fortunately, I still draw a salary. Settling a case is
like landing on a dry lake, stopping short.
    It was just beginning to get dark when I got to
CrystalAire. I parked the car and got my bag from the trunk.
Glancing at the sky, I said to myself, 'Good evening, Hesperus!'
Most people referred to the evening star as Venus. I like the Greek
male version, Hesperus, because he is the leader of the stars as
they march into the evening sky, obviously a great leader with that
many followers, He has great organizational powers and gets
everyone in place in the clear desert sky. I wondered if he was on
Facebook.
    It was already chilly. I hurried into the
mobile home, put my bag in the bedroom, and went to the closet to
get a down jacket, choosing the lighter one of two. I kept the
warmer down jacket in a plastic wardrobe bag, bathed in the aroma
of cedar chips and sage in the bottom of the bag, placed there to
hide the scent of whoever had worn the jacket last, lately
Tina.
    I poured myself a brandy, went out onto the
patio with the view of the desert, sat down in one of the white
plastic chairs, put my feet up on a table, rocked back and looked
at the zillions of stars in the clear desert sky. Despair was my
only companion.
    "Space-time," I said to myself, "there is a lot
of it out there. Spaces are measured in millions of light-years.
Time is measured in billions of years." I remembered that
Einstein's theory of relativity and space-time had first been
supported by measuring the bending of light from a distant star as
it passed the sun during an eclipse. 'I don't see how there is a
patent law case in the subject,' I said to myself.
    I felt lonely.
    I called Tina on my cell phone. She answered,
and I said, "Hi, Tina, I am calling you from the desert. How are
you doing?"
    "Oh, thank you for the flowers. They are
beautiful, my favorite kind; they were there when I got home from
school."
    I wondered what Zaza had sent.
    Tina continued, "How is the weather out there?
I got your message about taking a few days off. Is settling the
case bad? You sound sort of down."
    "It is beautiful, cold, and clear." I replied.
"Settling a case is good–at least for the client–but I won't get to
go to trial. That's where I really have my fun. Now, I get to start
all over with a new client."
    "More heavy scientific stuff?" Tina asked and
then answered she, "Of