Scene 2-Without A Hint Of Remorse

Doug sat at his desk, staring at the telephone.  The sunset was visible through the wall of full length windows of his top floor, corner office in his company’s building in downtown San Francisco.  The furniture in the office was oak, stained a rich espresso color.  The desk was situated so that when Doug was working, his back was facing the window opposite the door.  On the floor in front of the desk was a patterned rug with earth-toned colors.  There were two dark brown leather chairs facing the desk, and an oak bookshelf along the interior wall next to the door.  The book shelf was filled with books on topics including human physiology, biology, applied electronics and more.  A candle burned on  the desk, filling the office with the smell of cinnamon. 

Doug looked away from the phone at the picture on his desk in a frame engraved with the word ‘LOVE’.  The woman in the picture was wearing a wedding dress, with a diamond tiara in her dark brown hair. She stared back at him from within the frame with piercing hazel eyes.  Doug reached for the phone again and began dialing.

Riiiiiing.  Riiiiiing.

Doug exhaled gruffly.

Riiiii…”Hi,” began his wife’s voice mail message, “you’ve reached Alexandra.  I can’t take your call at the moment, so please leave me your name and number and a brief message, and I’ll call you back when I can.  Bye!”

“Hi honey,” Doug said, impatience showing in his voice, “It’s me.  Again.  I’ve been trying to reach you for a while.  Can you please give me a call back?  I’m starting to get worried about you.  I know you’re probably busy, but if you could…”  BEEP.

“Fuck!” growled Doug as he hung up the phone before snatching it back up and punching in the number to Alexandra’s cell phone again.

Rii..”Hi, you’ve reached Alexandra.  I can’t take your call right now, so please le…”  Doug slammed the phone down hard.

Doug looked back at the picture of Alexandra taken on their wedding day, and felt a lump form in his throat.  He did not dare admit to himself what he was thinking.  Not wanting to dwell on the thought of his wife fucking another man, Doug swiveled his chair around and watched the last rays of sunlight disappear into the Pacific. 

“Call for you Sir.” crackled the voice of Doug’s secretary over the intercom.  Doug started a bit as he snapped out of his trance.  Back to the real world.

“Who is it Angie?” asked Doug.

“It’s Jim Davies with the Department of Defense, Sir,” replied Angie, “shall I patch him through?”

“Yeah, put him through.  Lets have this conversation again.”

A second later.  Riiiiiing.

“Douglas Pike,” said Doug, picking up the phone, “How are you Mr. Davies?”

“I’m doing fine Mr. Pike, thank you,” came the voice on the other end.  Doug had never seen Mr. Davies, but judged from his voice that he must be a mousy little fellow, with thick glasses and a bow tie.  Doug pictured Jim Davies passing his leisure time organizing stacks of paper, or playing with a slide rule for kicks.  “I’m just calling again about your contract for the new line of equipment.”

“What is your question this time?” asked Doug, “I’ve outlined everything in the white paper I sent you guys a month ago.”

“Yes, I saw that,” continued Davies, “We’re just concerned about the effectiveness of this new equipment.  My clients would like a field test.”

“OK, first off,” started Doug, “don’t call here like you’re going to use your little lawyer tricks on me.  If you have a goddam legal question, you call MY lawyer.  Second, the Department of Defense has contracting folks, why are they having you call to ask me about a field test?  I’ve already got one scheduled for the end of the month.  They know that.”

“Well,” hesitated Davies, “yes, they do.  I’m not trying to bully you here Mr. Pike.  We were wondering if we could move up the test.  I’m sure everyone would be much more comfortable knowing that this equipment works.  This type of stuff is a hot topic these days.”

“No, we can’t move up the test,” replied Doug angrily, “have any of my other products caused problems?  I was under the impression that folks were pretty happy with the results.  And yes, you’re right.  Biometrically enabled intelligence is a hot topic these days.  That’s what caught over fifty percent of the assholes that were down in Guantanamo Bay.  And guess who’s equipment they were using.”

“Mr. Pike,” said Davies, “no one is doubting your previous accomplishments.  Your equipment is first rate.  Let’s be honest with each other.  I’m skeptical, not just me, but I’m skeptical about your claims concerning this new piece.” 

“I don’t really give a shit if you’re skeptical.  I’m sorry to say, I don’t work for you.  If you don’t want the equipment, I’m sure someone will.”

“Is that a threat Mr. Pike?”

“No asshole.  That’s just a statement.  If you call me again asking about this stuff, I’ll find you and punch your fucking teeth in.  That WAS a threat, by the way.”  Doug hung up before Davies had a chance to respond. 

Dipshit.

Doug sat in his brown leather chair thinking about things he should have said to Davies.  He laughed to himself at the thought of one particularly nasty jab.  Doug leaned back in his chair and covered his eyes with his hand.  His temples throbbed, and even the cinnamon candle did little to calm his nerves, in fact, it made his stomach feel a bit queezy. 

What the hell?  It’s not bad enough my wife is probably off fucking some guy on her ‘business trip’, now I’ve got to deal with this asshole calling me on the phone asking if we can move up a test date I’ve been setting up for three months…all because he’s SKEPTICAL?  Fuck him.  Fuck HER!  I know this isn’t the first time either.  She’s always gone on some or other trip for days at a time, and it’s always long between calls.  Miraculous how she always goes on trips to places with horrible cell coverage.  Who is her shitty ass cell carrier?  And that bitch always questioning me about sleeping around.  Fuck, that shit was almost ten damn years ago, and I’ll be damned if I’ve done anything since.  If I’m going to get blamed for something, then shit!  I might as well do it over and get it honest.  I wonder what Angie is like in bed?

Riiiiiing.  Doug jumped in his chair and turned around to grab the phone.  As he looked at the caller ID, his heart sank.

Damn.  Russ.

“What’s up Russ?” asked Doug as he picked up the phone, “how are you doing?”

“I’m fine man,” replied Russ, “Mom wanted me to ask you if you guys were going to be able to make it over this weekend for the barbecue.”

“Shit man, probably not.  Alexandra is on another one of her ‘vacations’ and she’s not returning my calls at the moment, so I’m not sure what the hell is going on.”

“That sucks man, I’m sorry.  I’m sure she’ll call, she’s probably just busy selling all that high tech spy gear she makes.”

“Too busy to call me back huh?” replied Doug sharply.

“I’m just throwing that out there man,” answered Russ defensively, “you don’t have to bite my head off.”

“I’m sorry,” said Doug, “I know it’s not your fault.  I shouldn’t take that crap out on you.  It just pisses me off, ya know?”

“Yeah, I know what you mean bro.  Well, hey, I have to run for now, but you coming to dinner or no?”

“Sure.  Let Mom know I’ll be there, and see if she can make those sweet potatoes again.  Those things were awesome.”

“Alright man.  I’ll tell her.  Later bro.”

“Later.”

Doug hung up the phone and immediately felt the pressure leave his chest.  The cinnamon candle no longer nauseated him, and he did not feel angry as he looked at the picture of his wife.  He felt ashamed.

I wish I’d never met that woman.  Every time she calls I just want to jump through the phone line and choke her ass.  I just want this to end.

Doug closed his eyes and tried to wipe the memory of that night from his mind.  He tried to think of anything but her.  It was no use.  His office was disappearing.  The cold Lake Tahoe air frosted the window of the small cabin bedroom, and snow was falling outside, coating the ground with a layer of white.  His body felt warm and tight from the whiskey.  He could feel her hand caressing his face, running her fingers through his salt and pepper hair.  He could taste her lips on his, and could feel her pressed against him, her scarlet hair draped over her shoulders, ticking his nose.  The lights dimmed and the smell of her perfume hung in his nostrils.  Doug moved his hand slowly down her back, past the small dolphin tattoo….

RIIIIIING! Doug snapped back to reality.  He was alone in his office again.  Looking at the display, his stomach knotted in shame.  Alexandra.

“Hey honey,” answered Doug, trying to hide his humiliation, “I’m glad you called.”

“I’m so sorry I missed your call sweetheart,” apologized Alexandra, “I was at the conference, and didn’t have my phone on me.  Who’d have thought that at a tech fair they’d be worried about someone spying with a cell phone?”

Doug chuckled at the irony, “yeah, it makes it even better that the stuff you make could steal a zillion times more stuff.”

“I don’t know about a zillion.  Maybe a bagillion…but a zillion might be a stretch.” 

“I guess,” laughed Doug, “I really miss you.”

“I miss you too baby.  I just have this one more thing I’ve got to do for work tonight, then I’ll be on my way home.  I can’t wait to see you.”

“I can’t wait to see you either honey.  I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Doug hung up the phone, more depressed than ever.