It was a very hot July week; well past Scott lunch hour, and nearly time to consider an evening meal; but he was still on the road peddling his company's products and still no sales. Scott was an agent for the Greater Northern Mutual Insurance Company and had been working a long list of company generated cold leads, given him by his office manager. Scott had been on a fast track with his sales in the life and annuity sales, but he had fallen behind in the health and disability areas. While it was true that the commissions from the health products were more lucrative, to both him and the office manager, they require a great deal of his time servicing the problems. Where as the life sales were only an annual review and follow up sales. However all the manager understood was that his commissions were dropping, and that was directly because Scott's commission was shifting away from health and more toward life. At the last meeting, the office manager made it perfectly clear: sell health or move on. Had he been a younger man and with out responsibilities, he might have told the manager to shove it, but when in your earlier years of winter, and a family still counting on you, he swallowed the gall and smile.
So here, Scott was sweating away in this ninety plus heat and looking at twelve pages of names and address of people who years ago had sent in response cards to the company for a free booklet on investments, and health insurance. Most of the names had come from an individual flipping through a magazine, and for some strange reason compelled to pull out the inquiry card; knowing full well that they were not interested in purchase any health or life insurance, but still compelled to mail it to the company. Regardless each lead had to be followed up by a field agent, but the problem was that these leads had already been contacted and considered bad by other agents. That alas, was Scott's punishment or should we say burden, as he pulled up to the mailbox and read off the name Victoria Anderson, 633 State Route 33, he took one more checked in the rear view mirror before making the left turn into the drive.
The limestone drive crunched under his car's wheels as it curved up from the main road and gently turned toward the left, as it rambled back behind the two-story salt-box frame home. The drive and the house were well protected by two rows of gigantic maples that stood silent sentry along the drive and surrounding the house. Behind the house and at the end of the drive way was a large concrete apron, with a basketball hoop at one end and a red brick two-car garage alone the long side of the apron. Scott braked to a halt in front of the first garage door and turned off the engine. As Scott stepped out of the car, he was suffocated by the wave of heat generated by the concrete and the baking sun. Although Scott's car was equipped with air-conditioned, the heat here was so overwhelming that Scott immediately felt the rivulets of sweat running down his temples and spine.
Scott made one last check on the name to keep it fresh in his mind as he crossed the apron toward the brick walk that led to the backdoor of the house. As he approached the back door and drank in the hot humid air that hung in the area, he was also alerted to the soft melodious sounds of music as he approached the back door. It was in the nineties according to the radio, but in this back yard surrounded by these giant maples, it was even hotter. The air did not move and the afternoon sun was beating down on the yellowing and burnt grass that covered the open area. Scott felt as though he was in a sonata, and his suit was a maze of wrinkles and crumpled folds. Scott was just about to step up onto the brick landing when a husky contralto voice called out to him from some were to his right.
"May I help you?"
Turning toward the voice, Scott's eyes centered and focused on a young woman stretched out on a lounge in the intense hot afternoon sun, slowly cooking her already bronzed skin to a deeper richer tone of cordovan. Scott put on his professional smile, stood a little straighter, and moved toward the woman. "Hello, I am Scott Ryan. Are you Ms. Victoria Anderson?" Flashing the 3 by 5-response card he added, "Apparently you sent a request card in to my company requesting information on whole life insurance."
"Oh, God that was months ago," the earlier husky tone now more light and lilting "In fact I think an agent called me on the phone, and we played phone tag for several days before he gave up." Her face now lit up with a broad smile revealing bright white teeth that were almost perfect. "Please pull up a chair." As she shifted, her body to set up, she leaned her weight onto her left elbow, extended her hand to accept Scott's business card, and greeting. Her eyes left Scott's, only long enough to scan the card and then return. The long slender fingers twisted the card between them, much as an illusionist would do to distract their audience. Her nails were finished in a clear polish, and her golden rings seemed to accent her hands.
"Well that is the reason I risked simply stopping. It seems that in this very busy age, people spend all their time on cell phones or computers. That is where old technologically and dinosaurs like myself come in handy."
Victoria gave Scott a small smiled and then said, "You don't mind setting out here do you?" Her dark eyes once again locked onto his, and he was drawn to her face despite his male hormones telling him to look ever were, but her face. What else could he say, Lady, I am being cooked in this suit and would prefer to do this in the cool shade or better yet in your air-conditioned house. Nevertheless, Scott simply smiled even more and settled his slightly dumpy form into the wooden Adirondack chair that sat near the lounge. Her long slender legs had such a gentle curve to them that one was instantly drawn to them, and the firmness of the muscled, that carried the smoothness of her line, like that of a dancer. Their long graceful assent to the firm round buttocks with its sensuous mound covered by the small Canary yellow bikini that did little to cover more then the absolute necessity.
"Besides, dinosaurs were supposed to enjoy the tropical areas over that of the ice age," see added with another great smile.