Oasis In The Desert Ch. 01
Keywords: In, The, Desert, 01, Ch., Oasis,
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"Thank you Noel for all your help."
It wasn't my idea to move to Phoenix; well it really was my choice on where I would live. But it wasn't my idea to quit my job as a commodity broker on Wall Street. That's not exactly a true statement either. It was my idea to quit my job after the doctor told me either I find some other job that was less stressful or die of a heart attack by the age of forty.
I walked into the doctors office thinking I had bad case of heartburn. All I needed was a couple of pills and I would be as good as new. Every one in my field had some sort of indigestion and they all had the pink and blue pills to relieve it. Why shouldn't they work for me? The doctor listened to my chest and the next thing I knew I was in the hospital so they could run a battery of tests on me.
I figured the doctor was just trying to make money on me. I had great heath insurance and it was paying most of the bill. I had nothing to worry about. I was young, thirty-five. I was in reasonably good heath. I wasn't overweight, in fact for my age and height I was underweight.
Okay I could have exercised more and the stress test proved that. I mean in no time I was breathing heavy and I could feel my pulse start to race. Within ten minutes I felt like I could have passed out. But the nurse, or whatever she was, giving the test stopped me.
She called the doctor and had me sit down. She kept asking if I was all right. When the doctor arrived he took one look at the graph and told me I was done for the day. I was taken back to my room and I rested the rest of the day.
The next morning my doctor came into my room with a folder thick as a bible under his arm. After going over the test results with me he told me I was in reasonably good shape but I couldn't handle anymore stress on a daily basis. I had to find a job that had little or no stress while my body recovered from the ordeal I had put it through.
I was no fool: I made sure to get a second opinion and even a third before I completely changed my life. Both doctors told me the same thing. One even went as far as saying he was surprised I wasn't already dead.
Once I realized that I had no other recourse I went into my boss's office and resigned. He thought, I was kidding and refused to allow me to take all the vacation I was due. With one call to my doctor's office he realized I was serious. He immediately approved my vacation and all other benefits due me. I walked out with twenty weeks of vacation and a hundred sick days.
Ten years on the job and not once did I take a day off. Well my ex-wife told me I would work myself into an early grave if I didn't slow down. In this, as in almost every thing else, she was right.
Seeing I made a killing in the market a few years earlier I was sitting pretty well financially. I got into the Dot COM market in the beginning and got out before the bottom fell out. So I really didn't have to work for a few years but why drain the well before you start to dig a new one?
I had a doctorate in applied mathematics, which is why I did so well in the market. Regardless whatever else goes on, on the Street math is the one constant. When the numbers don't add up it's time to get out.
After a week of sitting in my apartment trying to figure what I was going to do with the rest of my life, I decided that the best thing to do was get out of New York City. Sure the big apple is a partying town, but when you need to relax it's the worse place to be. Besides it's way too expensive to live there.
It wasn't until one of my friends told me I should get into teaching that I realized that was a good idea. I mean a nice quiet university somewhere would be a just the thing I was looking for. No stress right?
After looking on the Internet I found a small college outside of Phoenix that was looking for a professor of economics. I figured what better place to learn economics than on the Street. The market is driven by it. I whipped up a resume and faxed it off.
By six that evening I got a call from the school asking if I wanted to come down for an interview. I was surprised that they called so soon and I was a little suspicious. I agreed to fly down two days later at their expense.
I always thought New York City was hot in July but it was nothing like Phoenix. It was a hundred and twenty and that was before noon. I now knew where the saying came from about frying an egg on the sidewalk.
When I got off the plane I found a young women who was holding a sign with my name on it. When I introduced myself, she told me she was from the college and she was going to take me to my hotel. Since I was only staying a day or two, I only brought a carry-on so there was no need to go to the baggage area. She showed me the quickest way out of the airport and thankfully our limo was waiting just out side with the air on full blast.
As soon as we walked out of the airport I was hit by a wave of air so hot I thought hell had finally claimed part of the earth. I know I must have grimaced or staggered because the girl giggled and said, "That's the same reaction every one gets when they first arrive. It really isn't that bad once you get used to it. It's a lot better then Florida this time of year. At least you don't have the humidity."
The chauffeur took my bag as the girl held the door to the limo open for me. Once I was in the car I was relieved to find that the inside was cool. Within a few minutes we were on the road and out of the airport. Well at least it didn't take forever like JFK did.
Once we were moving the girl turn to me and said, "My name is Julie, Mr. Fenton. I work with the faculty affairs office and I'll be looking after you for the next two days. If there is anything you need or want please let me know. We'll take you to your hotel or if you wish we can go to the college for a luncheon. The luncheon is not mandatory but you will be able to meet some of the other teacher you may be working with."
I looked at my watch and saw that it was just passed three in the afternoon. I didn't know what they considered lunchtime, but it was almost dinnertime where I came from. I figured meeting the other teachers might be a good idea. I said, "Well it is getting close to dinnertime it might be a good idea to meet everyone else."
Julie giggled and said, "You might want to change your watch: we're on California time and it's just past noon." I laughed along with her at my ignorance. Instead of going to the hotel we went to the school.
Throughout the ride to the school Julie tried to point out many of the local points of interest along the way. There weren't that many as far as I could see. In fact compared to New York there wasn't much to Phoenix at all, but there was no place like New York, right?
The school was a lot smaller than I would have thought. It definitely was not a major institute of learning but it was quite nice in that there was plenty of open ground with lots of trees. The buildings were made of white stucco and they gave the appearance of the old west. Well at least what I thought the old west looked like.
The luncheon was rather nice and I met quite a few of the other teacher. This was surprising as it was July and school for the most part was out for the summer. Julie did her best to make me feel comfortable. She brought me several different drinks to try and each one I merely looked at and set the glass on one of the tables. I was actually surprised that they had alcohol at a luncheon.
After five different drinks Julie said, "I noticed that you didn't drink any of the drinks I brought you is there anything I could get you that I haven't offered so far?"
"Thank you for trying but all I really need is a glass of water," I told her.
Julie laughed and said, "That makes sense you're still not used to the dryness around here."
The luncheon broke up around two thirty, their time, and Julie took me to the hotel. It was a beautiful hotel that had been there since the early fifties. My room was one of the best the hotel had to offer and I could see the school spared no expense.
After Julie saw me to my room she handed me a card and said, "If you need anything please don't be afraid to call."
Looking at her card I said, "What about dinner?" The look she threw me told me I had overstepped some invisible line and I quickly said, "I'm sorry what I meant was do you know of a restaurant close by where I can get dinner."
Julie smiled and said, "I'm sorry I don't know of any restaurants close by, But I'll tell you what: I'll meet you downstairs at eight and I'll take you to my favorite restaurant in all of Phoenix. That's if you like Mexican food and not that stuff they serve in New York City. I'm talking about real Mexican food."
"That sounds great to me. Why don't you bring your husband or boyfriend to join us? It'll be my treat," I told her so she wouldn't think I was trying to come on to her.
Julie looked sad for a moment before saying, "It'll be just the two of us. Dress casual and I'll be back at eight." With that she was gone.
After a quick shower I laid on the bed to relax before getting ready for dinner. My thoughts went back over the day and before I knew it my mind had focused on Julie. She was a beauty that was for sure.
She had long straight brown hair that seemed to float in the air. Her eyes were large and looked like pools of milk chocolate. Her skin color was dark tan as if she spent hour after hour soaking up the sun. Her ruby lips were made for kissing and the swell of her breasts promised a treat for the lucky man who would see them au naturel.
She wasn't very tall, five foot four was my guess, and she was quite slim weighing no more then a hundred pounds. She had worn a blouse made of white muslin and a twill skirt that was knee length. But what I really remembered was the flowered scarf she wore around her neck like a bandana.
She was beautiful and I was very attracted to her, but there was an age difference. She was around twenty five, ten years my younger.
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Keywords: In, The, Desert, 01, Ch., Oasis,