Renaissance Faire

This is chapter 2 in a 7 part series. It will not make sense without reading the previous chapter.

Chapter 2 - Someone old, someone new

Early 2016

One morning after Rob arrived for work, he was summoned to Dean McVicar's office. When he entered, the dean had him take a seat. "Rob, I need you to do something for me, and it is important. Do you remember a month ago helping setup and then modify the induction furnace so that we could get those heavier precipitate alloys?"

"Sure, I remember. That was really interesting. I worked with Dr. Redmond, Dr. Frost and Stanley from Kensington Metals on the project. The first several runs didn't work the way they wanted, so when they started discussing ways to add the cooling material into the furnace for a more rapid cooling, they were struggling to do that given the furnace design. When I suggested we could modify the furnace to allow a more precise inclusion of the cooling materials, they liked the idea.

"We were working on creating that new precipitate-hardened nickel-chromium alloy that was supposed to be even harder than Inconel 718. They said it was damn near indestructible and would have to develop new cutting and machining tools to work it. I know they were really excited about it.

"It took us several weeks working with the furnace manufacturer to modify it, but we finally got it finished. Dr. Redmond seemed pleased with the results. It was a fun project, but at the end of the day, I needed to know how the modifications would affect the maintenance for the furnace. I documented the changes in the control log for the equipment and updated the crew schedules. Is that what you needed?"

Harold smiled at the question. Rob was always very good at ensuring the lab and furnace equipment were in good working order. He replied, "No, Rob. Actually, what I need for you to do is to look back over any notes you may have regarding the project and write out everything you can remember - the conversations you remember; the modifications you made; who you worked with; and the results and outcomes including the new maintenance needed on the modified furnace. Can you do that for me within the next week?"

"Uh, sure. Did I do anything wrong?" asked Rob.

Harold said, "No. Not at all. As a matter of fact, both Roger and Nick thought you were very helpful. They are ready to produce more of that heavier alloy to develop new cutting tools and casting methods. Before they do that, they want to make sure they have everything documented."

"Oh. Okay. Then, no problem. I'll have it to you by next Monday."

Harold smiled at his young employee. "Next Monday will be perfect. Thanks, Rob. I appreciate it."

Rob also appreciated the conversation. He hoped it meant he would get to work on more projects like that one.

_________________

As the end of the spring semester approached, Debbie was finishing her first year as a PhD student. She had taken on a larger role in planning and organizing the Renaissance Faire that Rose University held each year. In previous years she had worked with a local pet shelter who sponsored a booth at the fair. Now she was helping to organize the events and booths for several charities.

It was good experience for Debbie and a good step up for her in the eyes of the faculty. She and Rob hoped that she could eventually land a position at the university.

Just before the fair, President Bryant announced his retirement, and Dr. Aaron Finebaum was announced to take his place.

Many colleges have quirky traditions, and Rose University was no different. The opening day of the Renaissance Faire was always on graduation Saturday, and the university president opened the fair by standing in the two-person pillory, along with his wife or other guest of honor. They were then, from a distance, pelted by water balloons with the first set of balloons costing $5 each to raise money for charity.

Some people confuse a pillory with stocks. Whereas stocks restrain only the feet, a pillory is a framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands forcing the prisoner to stand confined for hours or days. In the case of Rose University, it was usually fifteen minutes for charity.

At first it had been a lark, to get President Bryant to do it. Then once he saw the donations that were raised, he had them add rose water fragrance to the water used in the balloons as a badge, or smell, of honor. That way, if you were walking around the fair, soaking wet, and smelled like roses, then everyone would know that you had been doing it for a local charity. It encouraged people to participate. Another badge of honor, though not nearly as fragrant or visible, was the occasional splinter you would get while standing in the wooden pillory.

This year with President Bryant retiring, the incoming President Finebaum, stood next to Pierce as a passing of the torch to open the fair. Aaron wasn't crazy about this tradition, but he figured he could eventually change it.

After the fair, Rob and Debbie took a two-week vacation in California visiting the wine country, hiking in Yosemite and other parks in California, and sightseeing in San Francisco. It was a great time, and probably the best vacation they'd had to date.

Upon their return, Rob had taken on a second crew in the engineering school and was now responsible for nine people at the young age of twenty-six. It made him quite busy. One nice thing that came from being a manager was that once a month, he had a review with Dean McVicar. On those days, he wore nice clothes and had an "office day" where he would take care of any paperwork or personnel issues that needed addressed.

During the summer, on what was to be his review day with the dean, he was called into the office a little earlier than normal. When he entered the lobby, outside the dean's office, Rob always marveled at the rows of patent plaques that lined the walls. There were dozens of them, mostly relating to materials science, the college's specialty, with several relating to research work in chemical or electrical engineering. Each plaque represented a patent that faculty members or graduate students earned for their research work at the school.

The Dean's assistant smiled at Rob and sent him straight in. Wondering why he was being summoned early, he entered and was surprised to see Isobel there along with their niece.

"Kate!" Rob exclaimed.

He leapt across the room and picked her up and carefully twirled her around before setting her back down. Kate had blossomed into a curvy, full-sized, grown woman who struggled from time to time with her weight, so his twirling her with such ease was a welcome surprise for Kate. The three of them were all smiles when he stepped back from her.

"I cannot believe it's you! My, God. Look at you. You're so beautiful. I knew it. I knew it. I told my mom before you left that last time, that you were going to be even more beautiful when you grew up. I told her. How are you? How have you been?"

Kate was caught off-guard at the show of affection. She wasn't really certain how he would respond. When she left the campus for the last time, she didn't return his calls or emails. With the encouragement, nay demands, of her parents, she simply disappeared from his life to make things easier on everyone. It wasn't what she wanted, but she was compelled that it was what needed to be done, to prevent a crush from turning into more. She regretted it then and still regretted it now.

"Hey, Rob. I'm happy to see you, too. I've been fine. I was sorry to hear about your mother. She was a uniquely special and classy lady."

"Thanks. She always liked you, too."

Kate turned and stared at her aunt for a moment. Isobel turned away from the glare.

Kate said, "Also, thank you for the compliment. That is very sweet of you to say."

He replied, "Well, it's the truth. Anybody can see that."

Actually, not everyone could see that. Kate had allowed what a few people had said over the last couple of years to adversely affect how she felt about herself. Her confidence in her appearance had been broken. As a result, rather than dressing up to look good, she tended to dress down and do the minimum, because she couldn't see the point. Her copper hair was usually in a bun or a ponytail, like today. She was wearing slacks at the moment, but she usually wore loose jeans. Her tops were usually t-shirts, flannel shirts or sweatshirts. She was self-conscious about her breasts, which were larger than average, and so she tried to minimize and hide them. At the moment, she was at her ideal weight, but she could never shake the feeling that her hips or shoulders were too big for her height.

She should have looked like a young and vivacious Christina Hendricks, instead she looked like an insecure, big boned, boring young lady with freckles. Her aunt Isobel had been working on her without much success. Rob's comments did help, though.

"Guess what, Rob? I'm coming here for my master's degree. I'm moving in this week and will start classes in the fall."

"That's great. I'm sure you know I work there now. I'll be bumping into you all the time. I cannot wait for you to meet Debbie."

Kate was so happy for Rob. He had done so well. She hoped he was happy.

"Thank you for saving little Harry, bye-the-way. I'm pretty sure Aunt Isobel will never let you forget about that."

Rob replied, "Oh, I don't know about that. I'm sure anyone would have done it. I just happened to get to him first. Afterwards, your uncle gave me a nice chance to show him I could do a good job here."

"Well, that's not the way I hear it. The story continues to grow with each telling. Now you are slaying the dragon, while swooping through the research center to snatch the young boy out of harm's way, after which you hand him to the fair maiden and ride off on your gallant steed into the sunset. Before long, you'll be riding the dragon to save the young boy." She smiled at her embellishing of the tale.

Rob laughed, "That sure is a lot different than I remember it. I had been working to help get everything set up for the new induction furnace that one of our partner companies provided for research. The engineering maintenance crew needed extra help with the electrical lines, because the induction furnace needed so much power. We worked all night to make sure that everything was running perfectly and that we had backups in place should something fail. We were all dead tired for the ceremonial first pouring the next morning. I remember all the college faculty standing around and your uncle talking to the governor and Dr. Bryant up on the VIP platform. Then I saw a clear rubber ball, like one I used to have when I was near his age, come bouncing through the work area.

"The metal in the furnace had turned molten and the ladle was being moved into position for the first pour. When their grandson took off running after the ball, I took off after him. I reached him just ahead of that huge ladle, which could have, well...you know." He didn't need to remind Isobel what could have happened. "I got to him before the ladle, and pushed him out of the way, but the ladle hit me in the shoulder and tossed me like a rag doll into the base of the furnace, where I'm told that I hit my head. The next thing I remembered was waking up in the hospital seeing your aunt sitting there.

"I'm fairly certain the dragon was the ladle, and it almost slayed me. I may have pushed the young boy out of harm's way, but the gallant steed was the ambulance taking me to the hospital in the city and the fair maiden was your aunt watching over me while I was unconscious for two days. It's a good thing my head is as hard as it is."

Isobel couldn't help but tear up at the memory. The thought of losing one of her grandchildren was almost too much to bear. She said, "We were all just so thankful that you were paying attention. Your manager told us that you and several others hadn't slept any the night before to ensure that everything was done. Then you stayed to make sure things went smoothly. What was one of Harold's proudest moments almost turned into a nightmare. That was the third time you did something nice for our family."

Rob loved hearing Isobel and Dean McVicar talk. They still had most of their Scottish lilt when they spoke. He gave her a confused look and asked. "Third time?"

Isobel said, "Well, you helped Kate when those boys were picking on her. Then again, you helped her when she twisted her ankle. Plus, saving, little Harry makes three."

She continued, "I just happened to be there when you woke up. Me, Harold, your mother, and a few of her friends all took turns staying with you until then."

Kate said, "Uncle Harold says you've been working towards your degree."

Rob paused and looked really uncomfortable then. "Well, some. I told him that I appreciate his letting me sit in on some of the engineering lectures, but I don't think I'm strong enough in math to actually get an engineering degree. I'll never pass advanced calculus, much less differential equations. I'm happy as a bug in most forms of algebra, but that's about it."

"I'll bet you could do it, Rob, with a little tutoring. I'd help you if you needed it. You were always there for me. Let me return the favor."

He liked the sound of that, so he smiled at her and said, "Maybe one day. Besides, I'm rather busy right now."

Isobel said, "Well, for today, we are going to fix that. We are here to take you to lunch. We have permission from the boss. Why don't you call Debbie and see if she can join us?"

So, he did, but Debbie couldn't make it. The three of them had a great lunch, and it was good for Rob and Kate to catch up. Isobel was happy to see them rekindle their friendship. She still thought they did the right thing all those years ago by keeping them apart, because they were too young to start anything, and Kate had school to finish. However, she had seen over the years that Rob was a fine man and would likely be a good friend that Kate needed in her life.

Since Debbie couldn't join them, Harold and Isobel had them over for dinner one night, so Debbie could meet Kate. The two young ladies were not impressed with each other.

Debbie couldn't understand what Rob saw in Kate besides her brains. She seemed very plain, a little heavy and well...boring; at least to Debbie. She was just a boring female engineer, who was no threat to her and Rob. Debbie couldn't understand why she had a special kinship with her husband, but she didn't plan on encouraging it to grow.

Kate thought that Debbie didn't appreciate Rob enough. He was taking care of the house, providing the housing and the income that Debbie lived on. It seemed that Rob provided for everything, while all Debbie did was study. Kate wondered if Debbie had ever had a real job (she hadn't). While she was terribly envious of Debbie, she would never act on it. The looks of sympathy that Kate got from Debbie from time to time, as if she were in some way a lesser female, made her blood boil.

Rob was mostly oblivious to their interactions and feelings, but it wasn't likely that the two ladies would be hanging out together. Actually, Kate was a little hesitant to get too involved in Rob's life because of Debbie. She didn't want to say anything bad about her, so for the most part, except for bumping into him from time to time at the university and when on some of her dates, she stayed away from Rob.

__________________

That fall, the new president of the university began really promoting the renaissance history department. The university held an exhibit of Renaissance era art and it was a huge success, drawing crowds from all over Texas, the south and beyond. They had a few classic works by Da Vinci, Raphael, Botticeli, Fra Angelico and El Greco amongst others. Debbie had tickets for the opening night and was dressed in a very nice cocktail dress and Rob wore his very best suit. They were a nice-looking couple.

The curator for the collection of work was Richard Russo, a smarmy looking man, about ten years their senior, who had a PhD and an extensive list of experiences studying the Renaissance in his family's home country, Italy. Debbie was excited to meet him, and he seemed rather pleased to meet her, pissing off Rob when he kissed her hand. Of course, he did this with several ladies that were in attendance.

The entire drive home, all she could do was talk about how interesting Richard seemed and what it would be like to study some of the things he had seen. He was so cultured and worldly and spoke Italian and yada, yada, yada. Rob had heard enough.

The exhibit was in town for a month, but fortunately the curator was only there the first few and last few days. Unfortunately, before the end of that school year, the new president began making changes, and not for the better as most of the faculty saw it, nor Rob.

Since it was such a small town, during the school year, when Rob and Debbie would go out, they would occasionally bump into Kate and her dates. Rob would invite her and her date, which always seemed to be a different guy, to join them. To Debbie's relief and Rob's disappointment, Kate never accepted.

To be continued...

Next up- Chapter 3 - Entra nel cattivo (Enter the villain)