Looft - Crossing Allenby Bridge

Crossing Allenby Bridge

Michael Looft

Copyright 2018 Michael Looft

All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Proteus Publishing.

ISBN: 0999881604

ISBN-13: 978-0999881606

Jacket design by Jason Cryer

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the authors imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

For everyone out there whose path has crossed mine.

ART

TURTLE ROCK

DWELLERS

Part I | San francisco

You are a wheel at which I stand,

whose dark spokes sometimes catch me up,

revolve me nearer to the center.

Then all the work I put my hand to

widens from turn to turn.

Rainer Maria Rilke

CHapter 1 | Mark

The first time I saw Mark I never would have guessed hed inspire me to upend my life and travel to the far reaches of the Earth. On that foggy afternoon in late June ten years ago, a typical summer in San Francisco, he was just another guy sitting around the table at the bank. Im not even sure why he was in that meeting, as he was a temporary programmer brought on to build us a database or a website or something like thatI really dont remember. I do remember that we were on a conference call trying to close a deal, so his job was to just keep his mouth shut and listen. He did that part well. So well, in fact, that as he sat perched at the end of the table, I recall studying Marks carefree expression with casual interest. He was no one I thought of as extraordinary. Yet, the more I watched, the more irritated I grew at him for being so sound in his own skin. He had no business looking so comfortable. Nevertheless, I decided I wanted to find out more about this calm individual whod drifted into my world.

A few days later I found Mark seated alone at a table in the outdoor caf next to our building on Pine Street, his nose in an old library book. Dark curly hair hung down over his pensive face as he sat unmoved while I studied him for a moment, deciding whether to interrupt. I knew he worked on the second floor, where all the operations people sat and where few of us from the fifth floor had a reason to stop. So, I guessed this would be one of the rare opportunities Id have him alone if I wanted to figure out what made him tick. Without a strong urge to talk to him, especially given my position at the bank, a subtle spark still drew me to his light. His suit jacket sat draped over the arm of the chair next to him. I took off my own jacket and lay it on the other arm, grabbing the seat opposite him. Even though I made a show of sitting down I had to harrumph to gain his attention.

Oh, hello Mr. Stone. How are you? he said, lowering the book and fixing me with purposeful eyes.

Please, call me Harry. Youre Mark, right? The programmer?

Yes, he whispered, closing the book and laying it down in front of us. It would have been easier had he revealed the spine with its title, but alas he forced me to intrude.

What are you reading there? I must have said it with a touch more interest than he expected, because he gave me a sheepish grin and spun it around for me to readthough I had to crane my neck sideways.

The Razors Edge I muttered, and paused to make a joke. Business secrets of Gillette?

Not quite. He threw his head back with a hearty laugh.

Whats it about? Id heard the title several years back, but maybe it was a movie.

Im not too far into it, actually. I think its about a guy that rejects the world and goes off to find himself. I found it at Green Apple Books the other day. I guess it just jumped out at me.

I suppose thats the way it is with some books. Well, youll have to let me know whether its worth a readwhether he does in fact find himself. Im guessing thats the case as no one wants to read a book where the main character goes off and gets lost and never comes back. Right? Though I cant say I read much these days. I leaned back and crossed my legs, letting out a breath and wondering what to say next. Im impressed; figured you computer guys only read stuff on binary code or something.

Nah, not for me. I actually didnt study computer science.

Really, how did you get into it then?

Ive been going to night school over at SF State. I kind of fell into programming when I was doing some accounting work. The job was so boring I decided to automate what I was doing. One day the guy I was working for was looking over my shoulder and told me I should do programmingthat I could make a lot more money doing that than what he was paying me to do. So, I just started doing it.

You like it much?

I guess so. Its fun in a waylike doing crossword puzzles. Im not sure how much meaning is in it, though. When you get down to it, its all just binary . He over accentuated the last word for effect, chuckling to himself.

His comment touched a slight nerve, but after turning it over in my mind, I decided not to dig any further. Well, we all have our calling in life, I guess. Maybe you just havent found yours yet. At least you can make some good money doing what youre doing until you finish school.

I actually just graduated a few weeks ago.

Oh! Well then, congratulations!

Our conversation was cut short when Don, the president, noticed me while walking by and stopped to chat about something important, forcing me to excuse myself. That was my life in a nutshellbrief exchanges related to my work that always seemed more important than anything else. Normally, it didnt bother me because I lived a narrow life with as few complexities or surprises as possible. I woke up at the same time every day and one could set a clock by my regular movements. My job was no longer work, but rather routine chats with subordinates resulting in someone else doing the work. So, there was something about Mark, about the way we spoke and how his words struck my ear that made me want to continue without interruption. Wed only talked for a few minutes, but as I said goodbye and picked up my jacket and walked away I felt a slight pang, as though we could have sat there for hours. I suppose it had been years since I found someone elses words interesting.

CHAPTER 2 | ELENA

I saw Mark every now and then and always stopped him for a brief chat, but never longer than I wanted to. The rest of the summer was a whirlwind of activity at the bank. As head of lending, I oversaw the underwriting of the largest deal the bank had ever made. Determining the fair market value of retail businesses, particularly chain stores, had become one of my specialties over the course of my career. Unlike some businesses, the anticipated cash flows of retail stores required a bit of foresight into the future of that business based on consumer preferences. The Pet Rock was a brilliant idea in the mid-1970s, turning its creator into an instant millionaire. Alas, it fizzled out after a mere six months.

As a boutique commercial bank, we couldnt afford to make mistakes by casting our lot on a silly box of rocks. I had a knack for spotting long-term successes and failures, both in people and businesses, and because of that Id made a lot of money for us even during the lean times. This last deal to allow a major big box electronics store to expand to a few key locations in the Bay Area gave us notoriety in the financial community. After twenty years of backhanded insults by the big boys who never lost a chance to refer to us as quaint or by some other diminutive term, just like that we became known. The deal insured a steady stream of income for several yearsas long as the financial world stayed intact, which we saw as a given in those halcyon days back in 2007.