updraft

Scott was a big man. Good looking, but tall, wide and heavy. He wouldn't have seemed out of place outside a nightclub, dressed in an overstuffed tuxedo, vetting their clientele. Except this would have been so unlike him in so many ways. Scott had run his own web design consultancy from home for over twenty years. When he left college, he'd foreseen the Internet as the future of commerce. Now he was a key part of the success of many local businesses in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He never advertised. He'd never had to. He knew a lot about his clients, about their technology and their ambitions. His reputation was his fortune. People sought him out. “You're so good at dealing with people,” said Marco, one of his clients, as they were talking on the phone. “Putting stuff over, getting information from them, and leaving them feeling good about it.” “Ha! You're very kind,” said Scott, “but I really don't how that happens. I guess it's natural because I don't get a lot of practice.” “Too busy?” “Well yes and no. Business is thriving, but I spend all my free time in the workshop on my cars. I don't get out much – not at all really. I guess I'm a bit of a recluse.” “Ah, cars!” said Marco. “So that's why you stay single, my friend!” “Yup. Any woman who wants to be in my life is going to have to knock on my door!” Marco laughed. “Listen,” he said, suddenly more serious, “I may have a contract for you…”

A week later, Marco was in touch again. What he wanted would normally be out of the question: represent his company at an expo, check out all the exhibits, assess technology, talk to key people, attend a conference, write a report, and help their company decide which of three or four possible directions to take. Scott didn't usually have time for any of that, especially as this wasn't local. In fact it was far from local. It was in Italy, near Marco's parent company in Bologna. “At least it would be warmer than home,” thought Scott. He'd often considered moving way south, somewhere with a hotter climate like Arizona, but Mom was just down the road in Minneapolis. She was getting on now and he'd been reluctant to leave her, though recently she'd remarried. And he was happy being introverted. This was a big expo. Noisy. Thousands of people. Ouch. Then he saw what Marco was offering: the equivalent of three months' consultancy fees, all expenses paid, for just one week's work plus travel, and maybe some tidy-up when he got back. Hard to pass up.

The first leg to Amsterdam was uneventful. He'd wondered whether he would be excited by his first trans-Atlantic flight. No. He slept fitfully. Schiphol was fun and that surprised him; he hadn't expected any airport could be fun. “Too much flying in and out of LaGuardia has left me jaundiced,” he thought. Flying KLM was new to him, and he liked it. Over the Alps. Chocolate box mountains and valleys like seashore foam. And then Italy. On approach to Bologna, he felt there was a richness to the landscape he hadn't expected. Open. Welcoming. He shook his head. “I must be tired.” When he checked into his hotel, whether it was the journey or the deliciously hot weather, he lay down on the bed in his small but comfortable room, and slept for ten hours.

He'd planned everything out, got his timetable fully sorted, but there was no getting around it: the expo was grueling. So much walking. So much to see. He rented simultaneous translation headphones for talks, but he was glad of the accident of history that made English the international business language. Within three days he had narrowed down his client's options and he spent the fourth day confirming what his recommendation was going to be. And though he'd checked in with Marco's parent company on the first day, only on the last day did he spend much time at their exhibition stand. That may have been partly because, on that day, it was being staffed by the boss's daughter, Francesca. Francesca turned out to be very knowledgeable technically. She must have been almost his age, and she was stereotypically Italian, or so Scott thought. She was medium height with sparkling brown eyes and long dark, slightly curly hair, and she spoke excellent English with a lilting accent. She was also irrepressibly bubbly and moved her slender hands animatedly when she talked – and although Scott would normally have found that off-putting, for some reason Francesca could get away with it. When she smiled, she made him smile. “What are you doing this weekend?” she asked. “I was going to take the flight back,” Scott said. “Hmm, Marco told me you liked cars. So do I. It would seem a shame to come all this way and not visit our nearby treasures.” “Oh?” “Ferrari and Lamborghini in Modena, just thirty kilometers away,” said Francesca. “And I have contacts at Imola, thirty the other way, and if we're lucky, you never know…” Scott rearranged his flights and spent the weekend with Francesca in a heady haze of shared passions.

Two weeks later, back in the milder weather of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Scott had sent his preliminary report to Marco's people, who had received it enthusiastically. Scott's final report had gone to the printers and had just come back, glossy and bound. He called Marco. “It's all ready for your big board meeting next week,” said Scott. “Shall I bring it round?” “No, that's OK,” said Marco. “I've got someone new working with me here. They could be round at your place in half an hour or so to pick it up. That OK?” “Sure.” A little over thirty minutes later, there was a knock on the front door. Scott opened it. “Hi!” said Francesca.

#prose #story #longstory 2018-10-22