She pointed. “That building is new, right?”
“Yup. That's the new reception and office building.”
A clean, bright two-story building of aluminum and brick stood out from the
dirtier work-oriented buildings around it.
Peter touched her arm and began to walk. “C'mon. The offices are closed,
but you can at least look around.”
She glanced back at the car. “Shouldn't you lock it?”
He looked back, chuckling. “In Golden Grove? You have been gone a while.”
* * *
They spent the half hour or so walking the grounds around the office building before heading back to the car. Then they slowly drove down the row of giant steel-sided factory buildings while Peter explained the purpose of each one.
Anti-foaming agents, corn oil, chemical synthesis. All things she had read about
and was still trying to grasp. It seemed like a first language to Peter though.
She was enjoying watching him ramble on about polymer-something-or-
other and reaction chemistry. He was oblivious that she had absolutely no clue what he was talking about. He seemed as excited about chemistry as he had been
about getting some new Star Wars toy when they were kids. His eyes were flashing, his crooked smile frequent.
“Well, what do you think?” Peter asked as they walked back to the car.
“I think I'm in over my head.”
“Oh, you'll be fine. You don't need to know all of the science stuff, anyway,
right?”
She frowned. “I suppose not. I mostly need to get the feel of what direction
the company is going. Then I'll have to come up with some preliminary designs
and strategies, present them to my group back home for approval before we make the proposal to Nitrovex.”
Which she had only done before for small businesses. Never for a company
this large.
Peter reached the Mustang first and held the passenger door for her this time.
“Want to take the scenic way home? You're probably a little curious how the rest
of the town has changed.”
Was she? But he didn't wait for an answer. A minute later, the car roared back to life, and he was pulling out of the Nitrovex lot.
They took a turn on a new road, which led towards the west edge of town.
The car slowed and made another turn. It looked familiar…
She peered out the windshield. “Is this…Palisades?”
“It is.” Peter maneuvered the Mustang down a smooth blacktop road, and a
brown wooden sign confirmed Palisades Park, in yellow letters. “The
playground is gone, but the rest is pretty much the same.”
“I loved that playground. It had that one long slide with the tunnel in it.” She remembered going down headfirst, getting a friction burn on her elbow.
They breezed slowly between stands of trees, early evening sunlight
mottling the shiny red hood of the car. It was picture perfect. They slowed and
then stopped at a pullout. Down a short hill and through a few trees sparkled a
wide lake.
She shaded her eyes with her hand. “I'm trying to remember…this is the place with the little beach, right?”
