Chapter 6

John stood in line at the cafeteria with his tray full of food on the waist high shelf in front of him. It was a standard southern cafeteria where you push your tray along a shelf, selecting the items that you wanted to eat. The person behind the counter would serve up a single portion. At the end of the counter, you paid for your meal based on what you had taken. More often than not, a person would select a lot more food than they could eat. John looked at his tray and wondered how he was going to eat everything.

In the line ahead of him was another man who appeared to be about three years older than he was. He was dressed in a white shirt with a tie and dress pants. He looked like a normal businessman at dinner, but his posture reflected a sense of defeat. His eyes were down cast, his voice a flat monotone and his shoulders slumped. Listlessly, he pushed his tray along the shelf. At the register, he paid for his food and aimlessly walked off to find a table.

John watched him go. He turned to the lady at the register and commented, “He looks like he’s had a rough day.”

She shook her head, “He’s like that every day; both at lunch and at dinner.”

John nodded and paid for his meal. Stepping away from the register, he looked around the room. Most of the tables were occupied. He noticed the guy who had been in front of him at a table sitting alone. He walked over to the table and stopped, “Excuse me, do you mind if I join you? I really hate to eat alone.”

The man looked up in surprise at John. He asked, “Are you talking to me?”

“Sure, can I join you?”

“I guess.” The man arranged his tray to make a little room at the table for John.

John set his tray down and extended his hand, “I’m John Carter!”

“Jack Anderson,” replied the man as he shook John’s hand. The tired look fled his eyes for a moment.

“Nice to meet you Jack. Doesn’t this food look good?”

“I guess so. I eat here twice a day, so I don’t really notice. Fridays they have fried seafood. I usually get the shrimp for lunch and the fish for dinner. That’s pretty good,” replied Jack. It had been a while since he had talked to someone in a social situation. He felt like he was babbling.

“Well, I really appreciate you letting me join you. I travel a lot during the summer and it really gets old eating alone.”

“I know what you mean. I always eat alone.” Jack wondered for a moment if John was gay and trying to pick him up. His doubts were immediately put aside as he watched John eye an attractive woman as she walked past their table.

“So, what do you do for a living?”

“I’m an accountant.” Jack answered expecting to hear some negative comment about counting beans.

“Really? You know most people don’t think too highly of accountants, but they are the backbone of any well-run business. To be able to make good business decisions, you have to have good information. The accountant is the person you go to for that information. It’s a tough profession.” The respect in John’s voice was real. John also knew that the average businessman didn’t know how to ask the right questions of an accountant.

Jack stared at John in amazement. He wasn’t used to getting understanding and respect. “Are you an accountant, too?”

“No, I’m a physicist.”

“Oh.” Suddenly, Jack felt a little intimidated. It took him a minute before he recalled how his profession could impact others. He hadn’t thought that other professions could produce the same conversation killing effect.

“Yeah, that’s as good of a conversation killer as telling someone you’re an accountant.” John replied with a smile. He continued, “You know. Most women think that if you get a brainy occupation like ours that your sense of fun dries up. But you know what is worse, they think your balls fall off!”

Jack laughed and nodded his head in agreement. He didn’t know how often he had told a woman his profession only to be greeted with an ‘oh’ and a sudden excuse to be elsewhere.

He shrugged, “So how are you supposed to counteract that?”

“Well, that’s a tough one. Sometimes I pretend like I misunderstood the question.”

“Huh?”

“Well, if they ask me what I do for a living, I tell them I have sex. Usually that gets quite a reaction. Then I act as if I realize that I misunderstood the question. That’s when I say, oh you mean what do I do for a living. I tell them that I thought the question was what do I do to feel alive. Then I tell them that I’m a scientist.”

“Does it work?”

“Oh they usually go away thinking I’m a pervert or something, but they do know that I haven’t lost my balls.” John smiled across the table.

Jack laughed. He shook his head in surprise. This John fellow was funny. He looked down at his plate and realized that he had finished his meal. He hadn’t had such a fun time eating a meal since he graduated college. He observed, “I can’t believe that I had so much fun eating a meal. Thanks for joining me.”

John looked up at Jack for a minute and then stated, “I tell you what. I’m going to baby sit a five year old boy. Why don’t you come along? I’m sure you’ll have some fun.”

Jack was about to turn him down and then thought about going home to his empty apartment. It sounded like a weird thing to do, but it was better than nothing. “Sure, I’ll come along.”

They left the cafeteria after John retrieved his walking stick from the coat rack. Jack drove them in his car to Jenny’s house with John giving directions. John led the way up the walkway and then knocked on the door. Davie answered, surprised to see another man with John. John knelt down and tickled Davie, “How are you doing ace?”

Wriggling and giggling, Davie answered, “I’m okay.”

John stopped his tickling and stated, “Davie, I brought my friend Jack over to help tonight. There were just too many Bug Eyed Monsters the other day. I know you are the best shot in the known Universe, but we need help. The problem is that I’m a bad pilot. Jack here, is the third best shot. Can he join our team?”

Davie looked up at Jack with a serious look on his face, “Are you really the third best shot in the known universe?”

Jack felt like he was towering over everyone else and knelt down. He had no idea what was going on, but decided to play along, “Of course, he wouldn’t say so if it wasn’t true.”

Davie nodded his head quiet seriously, “Okay, he can join our team if it is okay with Mommy.”

Jenny showed up with a smile for John and then noticed Jack. Puzzled she asked, “Is everything okay?”

John looked up at Jenny. He broke out into a wide smile. “Oh, hi. Jenny, this is Jack. Jack, this is Jenny.”

Jack stood up and took Jenny’s hand. She was the most beautiful woman with whom he had talked in ages. He looked very uncomfortable as he stood there looking at her.

He finally stated, “John invited me to help baby sit. If that’s a problem, I’ll go.”

Jenny examined John for a minute. She didn’t really like the idea of two men babysitting her son. She trusted John, but decided that she would rush through her shopping trip.

She said, “No, that’s okay. I won’t be gone long.”

Jenny rushed home from her shopping trip. The chance to go grocery shopping without taking a five year old kid with her had been too tempting to resist. It hadn’t been as pleasant an experience as she had hoped. The whole time she had worried about leaving her son with two grown men. It just didn’t seem right. She quietly entered the house through the door next to the kitchen rather than front door of the house. She could hear giggling, laughing, and screaming coming from the front room. As she moved closer, she clearly heard John excitedly say, “There’s a bug eyed monster over there and one over there.” This was followed by two different voices going “zzzzzzzing”.

Puzzled she looked around the corner into the living room. The cushions of the couch had been removed and placed upright along the couch creating an enclosure. The three of them were sitting in the enclosure. John was making steering motions with his hands. On either side of him were the other two with their hands held in the position of pistols. All three of them were grinning like idiots.

John shouted, “Two more coming.”

Jack and Davie made the ‘zzzzzing’ noises again. John shouted out, “Jack, you only wounded yours.”

Davie suggested, “You have to lead them. That way they move into the shot!”

“Zzzzzzing,” shouted Jack. He looked around John and told Davie, “Thanks. Maybe one day I’ll become the second best shot in the Universe!”

John shouted, “Oh no! Another dust cloud.”

All three started bouncing in their seats, laughing and giggling the whole time. Jenny stared in amazement as the two adults played in the make-believe world of a five year old. She backed into the kitchen and unloaded the groceries. She realized that she should have trusted John a little more. He’d had several opportunities to take advantage of her and had always acted the gentleman.

After putting up all of the groceries, she made a pitcher of iced tea. After all the energy they were expending in the living room, she was sure they would be thirsty. She took a minute to relax and realized that it was the first time in ages that she had just sat in her kitchen resting. The past few days with John had been like a breath of fresh air.

She got up and entered the living room. Her entrance brought utter silence as all three looked around guiltily at the mess they had made of the room.

She looked around and stated in a mock stern voice, “What did I tell you about making a mess?”

Davie frowned and answered, “Yes, Mommy.”

John lowered his head with an exaggerated frown. “Yes, Ma’am.”

Jack brought up the rear assuming a like posture. “Yes, Ma’am.”

John eased himself off the couch. “Davie, how about you pick up the tool set we use to fix the rocket ship and put it back in your room. Jack will put the couch together. I’ll pick up the hand grenades over here.”

Davie smiled, relieved that there were at least two adults there to get in trouble. He agreed easily, “Okay John.”

Davie bustled off with his little tool kit to put it in his room. Jack started putting the cushions back on the couch. John went around the room picking up the other toys they had used as hand grenades. Jenny watched with an amused smile on her face. When they were all done with their respective chores she asked, “You boys care for some iced tea?”

John turned and answered, “That sounds great.”

Jack hesitated. Jenny understood and interjected, “Come on Jack, it won’t be a problem.”

Jack smiled and agreed, “That would be so wonderful.”

Jenny smiled and suggested, “Let’s all go in the kitchen and have our tea there.”

They were joined by Davie who ate a Popsicle. As they sat around the kitchen table, the conversation centered mostly on Davie and the activities that would take place next time they were to watch over him. Davie looked a little hesitant about continuing the space journey. John noticed that and asked, “Is there something else that you would like to do next time?”

His mother couldn’t teach him the one thing that he really wanted to know. Davie hesitated and then blurted out, “Can you teach me baseball?”

John frowned, “Gosh, I don’t know how to play baseball. Do you know how, Jack?”

Jack looked at John in surprise, “Sure, I know how.”

John turned to Davie, “Would it be okay if Jack taught you how to play baseball if it’s okay with your mother?”

Davie turned to his mother excitedly, “Can he?”

Jenny looked at John in puzzlement for a minute. She couldn’t believe that he didn’t know how to play baseball. She decided that she would just have to trust him. “I guess it would be all right.”

Davie screamed, “Yeaaah!”

Jenny smiled at seeing Davie so happy. She hated to tell him that it was bedtime, but he would be impossible tomorrow if he didn’t get his rest tonight. “Well, I hate to say this buddy, but it’s your bedtime.”

Davie started to protest, but Jack interrupted, “Hey, don’t you know that all ball players have to get plenty of rest.”

Davie felt like he was being tricked but decided not to take the chance of being wrong. “Okay, I’ll go to bed now.”

Jenny went to help Davie get ready for bed. She came back and refilled everyone’s glasses. With Davie gone, the conversation turned to the more adult topics of politics and the economy. Soon Jenny and Jack were arguing over the economic policies of the current president. The conversation went from that to the difficulties of running a business. Jack tended to view it in terms of return on investment while she tended to view it in terms of bringing in customers and making a profit on each one.

They soon had exchanged occupations and rather than halting the conversation, things became a little more animated. John sat back and watched the other two. Jenny was full of questions about how to better organize her books. Jack was full of questions about how she ran her business. John wondered how long it would be before there were Soup Shoppes everywhere.

It was soon late and they all agreed that it was time to head off to their respective homes. Jack was the first to leave, but had arranged to visit her at the Soup Shoppe to review her books. At the front door, he thanked John and Jenny for the best evening he had in ages. His sincerity was touching. Even Jenny realized just how lonely Jack had been over the past few years. It seemed to resonate with her loneliness.

As John left, Jenny grabbed his arm. He turned and she embraced him. Tears were running down her face, “Thanks so much John.”

“For what?”

Jenny replied, “For everything. You never pressure me, but you always do the right thing to make me feel better.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Jack is a smart guy,” stated Jenny.

“Yeah, he also has a good heart,” replied John. He added, “He needs someone like Davie to remind him how to play.”

Jenny was quiet for a moment. She knew John was leaving in less than a week and she was afraid of the day he would go. She realized that John had given her a gift that might help take the emptiness away. She still held John in a hug. She whispered, “He may need something more than Davie.”