It's amazing how a man's own name can conspire to set the course for his life. From an early age Nathan Turney was always asked what he wanted to be when he grew up. He never really knew. Of course there were always the usual things: policeman, fireman, doctor, lawyer, but he only spoke of these things because all the other kids else did.
It was in high school that Nathan discovered a love of woodworking. There was just something that felt right about being covered in sawdust, and before long if you needed to find him the first place you would look would be the wood shop.
But it was when one of his shop instructors jokingly said that he should specialize in lathe work because of his last name that he truly did find his niche. He could put almost any chunk of wood on a lathe, and without a pattern or even an idea of what he might make, he could tease out a masterpiece.
It was during college that he met Mandy, a cute little redhead with enormous eyes that swallowed him whole. She was a business major and they met as part of a student-led exhibition designed to let potential businessmen and women get real-world experience in marketing other students' products and ideas.
Mandy was impressed by Nathan's wood turning skills, but she knew that to really excel at the exhibition she would need more practical pieces than the artistic ones Nathan had been concentrating on. Art is great, but practicality sells! She agreed to represent his work at the exhibition but suggested that for the occasion he create a series of unique salt shakers with matching pepper mills.
The exhibition was an enormous success for both Nathan and Mandy, and before long they were dating. They were a natural pair, with his burgeoning artistic abilities, and her flair for knowing how to sell and market his work.
They married soon after college and through Mandy's research and connections they decided to open, of all things, a toy manufacturing operation. Nathan created wonderfully inventive wooden toys and Mandy had an innate talent for marketing them.
Several years went by and Turney Toys had become a significant player in the toy market. They built a small factory with about fifty employees reproducing Nathan's designs and distributing them all across North America and Europe. Business was good.
Unfortunately, what's good for business is not always good for the love life. It wasn't that Nathan and Mandy weren't in love, they were more so now than ever. Their three children were fortunate in this modern world to have parents who not only were still married, but loved each other very much.
The toy business can be a crazy thing. Deals for Christmas toys are brokered over a year in advance. Scheduling production for the various lines of toys was always like some complex chess match so although the business was one borne of fun, at times it could be anything but.
*****
It was February and Nathan was busy installing new mass-production CNC machines that would increase production and allow more pieces to be produced in less time. Mandy was attending a big trade show in New York, closing deals with large department stores, chain stores and mom-and-pop toy stores alike.
"Honey, it's a zoo here!" sighed Mandy into the phone. "But I closed the MacDougal's department store deal so we can start stepping up production on the Rocky-Rolly line for summer."
"That's fantastic, sweetie! Great job!" replied Nathan.
He was always proud of his wife's ability to sell. To land a deal with MacDougal's department stores was nothing short of miraculous. Dorothy MacDougal had a reputation for being an extraordinarily tough nut to crack, so for Mandy to have landed the deal gave Turney Toys a great deal of credibility with other major retailers as well.
"How are things at home?" asked Mandy.
"Well, it snowed here really hard last night, so Jason didn't get the parking lot cleared until nine thirty, and half the factory was late getting to work today. We'll catch up though."
He paused briefly. "Will I get to, um, 'talk to you' tonight?"
Even through the phone Mandy could hear that Nathan had put quotes around the phrase. It was hard enough to make time to be together when she was home, but when she was traveling it was nearly impossible. Whenever they could they tried to set up designated times where she could call after Nathan had gotten the kids to bed and they could at least have phone sex.
"Ohhhhh. Ummm. I'm afraid not. I have to have dinner with the MacDougal people to ink the deal. And then they want to give me a tour of their flagship store's toy department so we can discuss other marketing opportunities."
Nathan grumbled slightly. "It just seems like we can't get a break can we? I really, really miss you, and your hot body. I miss having my hands wrapped around you and pulling you close to-"
"Nathan, stop it!" Mandy whispered in an urgent tone. "I'm still with customers here at the show and the last thing I need is to have a heap of sexual frustration following me around for the rest of the day!"
"Sorry, honey," lamented Nathan. "I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow then. Tell Dorothy MacDougal I say 'hi'. I love you, you know!"
"Love you too," chirped Mandy as she blew a kiss into the phone.
What a life,
she thought.
We built the business we always wanted and it's doing quite well. But we seem to be losing 'us' along the way. This is going to have to change.
Nathan sat back in his office chair.
This is ridiculous! We're doing more business than ever before, the factory is producing well, but I feel like I'm losing the 'living' part of life as we go. Something has to change,
His thoughts settled on Mandy. Specifically, he thought of her naked. He groaned quietly to himself before getting up to shut the office door. Turney Toys always had an 'open door' philosophy so that employees knew they could see and talk with anyone whenever they needed. But if someone's door was closed you simply knew not to knock unless absolutely necessary.
Nathan pressed the intercom button on his phone "Tina, would you please hold all my calls for awhile? I need to do some brainstorming here."
"Sure thing, Nathan," Tina's voice crackled back."How long do you need?"
"Better give me the rest of the morning. Just buzz me at noon, please."
Nathan closed his eyes and turned on some music. He just needed to clear his mind. Unfortunately the only thing he could think of was Mandy standing naked before him. Her fiery red hair had been a turn on for him since college, and had never diminished in its appeal. And whenever he looked at her curvy figure it would just drive him wild. She was blessed with a very narrow waist that gave a vaguely "corseted" look to her body, and Nathan ached to touch her at that moment.
Seeking momentary relief he swiveled his chair away from the office door, just in case someone
were
to barge in. He unfastened his trousers and unzipped his fly, allowing his throbbing cock to spring out. He imagined Mandy kneeling before him and running her hands up and down his thighs.
The thought forced him to grip himself tightly and stroke up and down a couple of times. His eyes fell to look upon his state of arousal. He paused his stroking and was struck by a sudden thought.
As much as he was ready to bring himself to release, he knew he'd better act quickly on this new idea in order to get it done in time.
He rushed through the factory, making his way through the resaw room, the turning area, the painting department, the packaging and warehousing departments. Employees in every department were quick to offer 'hellos' and high-fives, and a couple stopped him to ask some production questions.
At last he arrived at his private workshop. This is where he came up with all his ideas for new toys, all crafted from wood. It was here that he had come up with the Rocky-Rollys pull toys that featured figures of colorful, cartoony rock-and-roll musicians who would flail and gyrate on their little wooden wheeled stages. The Rocky-Rollys were enormously popular.
Today, however, Nathan had a different inspiration for a toy. He set about choosing just the right kind of wood and set it into the chuck of his favorite lathe. Soon the wood was turning and the shavings were flying about, coating Nathan's strong forearms. He shook off the bits and continued his work, shaping and sanding.
Before too long he was giving the new toy a glass-like final finish, enhancing the wood's natural beauty. Most, but not all, of Turney's Toys were finished in brightly colored paints, but this one cried out to be left alone to show off its natural hickory grain.
Nathan slipped the new creation into a box, sealed it up with tape and rushed it to the shipping department.
"Hey, Ken!" hollered Nathan above the factory's din. "Do you still have Mrs. Turney's New York address for the trade show?"
"Sure do, boss. You need something sent?"
"Yeah, I need to try to get this to her hotel tomorrow. Can you send this to her, overnight priority?" Nathan found himself a bit more out of breath than he should have. He smiled to himself hoping his plan would work.
*****
Early the following morning Mandy was sitting in the exhibit hall's lounge, poring over the show directory to make sure there wasn't an important dealer she had missed. Her phone buzzed announcing a text message. It was from Nathan.
Good morning, honey! I've sent a package to your hotel with a new toy in it. DON'T TAKE IT TO THE SHOW. I want to talk it over with you so don't show it to ANYONE! Call me when you can.
Was he kidding? She couldn't believe that Nathan wanted to introduce a new product at this late date. It would be exceedingly difficult to bring out something new now, without marketing materials, pricing information, etcetera.
She tried to call Nathan several times throughout the day but he never answered. She called the company line, but either Nathan wasn't in his office or didn't hear his pages. Perhaps he was outside, clearing snow from the parking lot or doing other maintenance, as he often did.
Nathan felt bad every time his phone rang and he saw his wife's number on the display. He wasn't ignoring her, oh, heavens no! But he
was
building a sense of curiosity, which was exactly what he wanted to do. He sent her another text imploring her to not make any evening plans with clients, but to go straight to the hotel and collect the package. He would call her at six o'clock her time and explain to her then.
She did as she was asked, and at precisely six o'clock she sat on the bed with the box perched on her knees. Suddenly her phone rang startling her with Nathan's familiar ringtone,
Toyland
.
"There you are!" she practically hollered into her phone. "I can't wait. What is this all about?"
Nathan chuckled at her agitation. He could just imagine her twitching nervously, which was exactly what he'd wanted.
