Dream Life

By G. Edward Stone

Martin Rove is a thirty seven year old male with a life that others around him envy. He’s married to a beautiful woman who he loves and adores. He is successful as a Computer Technology Specialist for a Fortune Five Hundred company. He resides in Irvine California, an upscale community in the heart of Orange County California. Martin struggles however with chronic insomnia and becomes desperate for a solution. Being adverse to the use of prescription sleeping pills, Martin seeks treatment from a holistic sleep therapist who teaches him an unorthodox, yet strangely effective method of falling into a deep, restful sleep.
Soon after, Martin begins to experience dreams which remain vivid in every detail, even when he is awake. These dreams place him in a separate life, with a wife and children he has never met. Eventually these recurring dreams start to trouble Martin and create internal conflict due to his commitment and dedication to his wife, Terri. If that was the extent of his dilemma, Martin could likely cope and eventually move on. However, fate is about to make his life much more complicated as he is drawn into a parallel world which is unfamiliar and unexplainable.
One afternoon, on his way back from an out of town training, Martin unexpectedly encounters a woman he is convinced is the one he shares a life with in his dreams each night. Compelled to find answers and understand the significance of these dreams, he begins to follow the woman. Eventually Martin becomes obsessed, and even goes to the extent of stalking her. As a result, he is assaulted and subsequently arrested for suspicion of criminal stalking. Quickly his life begins to spiral downward out of control. Due to his all consuming obsession and his need to find out who this woman is and understand why he shares a life with her in his dreams, Martin will risk losing everything, his wife, job, and possibly his freedom.
Premise: This novel enters into the often vague realm of a man's dreams, and brings it to life. Embark on an exploration, not only of content, but purpose and meaning. Journey with Martin as he tries to reconcile the schizophrenic effects of living two distinct, yet parallel lives. Travel with him as he attempts to uncover the hidden purpose behind his dream life and enjoy the transformation he experiences ultimately being forced to learn how to completely trust and place his fate in the hands of the woman he loves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: G. Edward Stone
• Release date: May 24, 2011
• ISBN: 9781452438948

G. Edward Stone

G. Edward Stone is a 48 year old male residing in Moreno Valley CA. He has worked for the past 22 years in the field of child protection and safety. Dream Life is the very first novel published under his name, yet he is already working toward completion of a second novel. The author is married with three children, and currently works for a child protective agency in Southern California.

Book preview

Dream Life

A Novel by G. Edward Stone

Published by G. Edward Stone

Smashwords Edition

Copyright: Gerald E. Stone 2011

Prologue:

The lights overhead flickered and buzzed with an annoying, almost inaudible pitch. The hallway was bleak and cheap fluorescent lights caused the white walls to take on a faint, nauseous, green hue. Martin Rove sat hunched over and leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, looking down at the scuffed, cheap industrial linoleum. The hospital smelled like a mixture of bleach and God only knows what else. It smelled much the same as a slaughterhouse might if they were preparing for the health inspector.

Martin was sitting on a long metal bench which was fixed into the wall with the legs of the bench bolted to the floor. Everything in this facility was bolted down, nothing moved from its original spot. He understood that’s how things needed to be, but it just added to the dismal, sterile atmosphere.

He looked at the double doors down the hallway to his left. Martin was waiting, rather impatiently, for the doors to open and an attendant to summon him to the outside office for discharge processing. He realized it could be a matter of minutes, or possibly hours, before he’d actually be discharged from the hospital.

Martin was at the back end of an eighteen month stay in one of the most dismal and depressing places he’d ever experienced. When he initially agreed to a so called, voluntary commitment, the idea sounded palatable. Essentially, he had no real choice. His only alternative was to risk being prosecuted and then spend an undetermined amount of time in prison. Looking back, he wondered if risking a trial and possible prison time would have been the better choice. At the time though, coming to this place appeared to be the better choice for the sake of preserving his marriage.

Patience is one of many characteristics Martin was forced to learn in his lengthy stay at the Oak Hills Treatment Facility. He’d gotten used to waiting for an exceptionally long time for anything he may be looking forward to. This was particularly true regarding periodic visits from his wife, Terri. Her visits resembled a series of distant oasis stops scattered across a large desert in the midst of a grueling journey. The time between visits seemed to drag on endlessly, each visit looming ahead, approaching at an agonizingly slow pace. Martin experienced the most intensive down times shortly after Terri departed from each visit. Sometimes he wouldn’t get out of bed for days. He knew this didn’t help his prognosis any, yet somehow he couldn’t help himself.

Another characteristic Martin unwittingly learned more about in this place was the virtue of compassion. He’d never had much of an opportunity to learn about true compassion when he was growing up. For the majority of his later childhood, no one was available and he had little time, or energy, to have compassion for anyone other than himself. His mother was largely unavailable due to various physical complaints, along with an unbreakable addiction to pain and sleep medications. This left Martin to be the primary parent and raise his younger brother, Jake. The man who claimed to be their father was away from home for weeks at time as a long haul truck driver. Even when his father happened to be at home it was clear he didn’t want to be there. It was also rather clear that he didn’t want anything to do with raising kids. By the time Martin became an adult, he was convinced this person was not his real father.

Just at the point when he was about to enter college, his mother passed away due to an overdose of prescription drugs. Soon after, his father moved out of the home, leaving Martin to look after Jake. This didn’t last long though, as Jake didn’t wait a long time to get into serious trouble and end up in Juvenile Hall. Martin tried to do whatever he could to help, but the county probation workers wouldn’t even talk with him, as he wasn’t Jake’s official guardian. Martin lost touch with any sense of family soon after Jake was taken from him.

Like most men, Martin intellectually understood the need to show compassion at some of the more obvious and appropriate times. Until recently though, he didn’t have a sincere understanding for this vital piece of the human experience. Not unlike a vast majority of people in our society, he’d gone about his life taking a lot for granted.

Prior to the recent events, Martin always knew there were institutions like this one, but never gave the residents of such places a second thought. For the past eighteen months though, he had to live among these individuals, these residents who were treated like second class citizens. He was also forced to reconcile the fact that, due to very complicated circumstances, he was one of them.

Martin recalled spending his first two or three months trying very hard to convince the doctors and staff that he was not like the other residents, and that he deserved to be treated different, better, and with more respect. The process he labored through in coming to grips with the fact he was just like most of the other residents was exceedingly painful and demoralizing. Only when he began to accept this fact, did Martin begin to learn about true compassion, and to understand what it meant.

He would often observe staff members treating residents in a very demeaning fashion, and it would infuriate him. Initially he would react by trying to fight against the system by speaking out, interfering and causing problems, somehow convinced he could win. Eventually though, Martin learned the best he could do was to align himself with the other residents and do whatever was necessary to support and understand them. It was truly an us against them dynamic.

One fringe benefit to fighting the system was relief from the exhausting daily boredom. His days were supposed to be filled with various therapeutic activities, group sessions, individual counseling, anger management etc. Often these scheduled activities didn’t take place, and even when they did, the experience was painfully boring. For the most part, the treatment specialist spent a lot of time trying to convince him to try one medication or another, and then labeling him as non-compliant when he refused to take medication. The only reason he chose to stay put and tolerate the horrid environment was because of a promise he made to Terri that he would lay low and not cause any problems. This, along with the fact his voluntary agreement to undergo treatment here kept him out of jail. By the time he was being considered for release, he’d learned how to play along and minimally tolerate the bleak existence. He’d also learned what a farce it was to call this a treatment facility and how distant a departure that was from the truth.

The name, Oak Hills, was laughable and something Martin found humorous, in an ironic sort of way. The facility, as it is called, is located near the Chino dairy farms, and the nearby terrain is as flat as one could imagine. There wasn’t a hill visible within three miles from the secure, heavily barricaded, and permanently stained windows. Also, there weren’t any Oak Trees standing anywhere near the place. The only landscaping consisted of some half dead palm trees and scrub brush in the parking lot. He believed someone must have looked long and far to find the most depressing plot of land available to build such a place. He couldn’t imagine there could be anywhere more dismal than this.

Martin had been hospitalized here on a voluntary basis as a means of avoiding prosecution and staying out of prison. The term, voluntary was being used loosely. He didn’t see his stay here as voluntary. The doctors were finally signing off on the idea that he was capable of maintaining himself in a healthy and safe manner. According to them, he was no longer viewed as a threat to himself or others. If the truth were to be told, his private insurance was likely about to run out. He suspected that might be the reason he’d suddenly been determined to be healthy.

Martin knew he’d made some progress, at least in the eyes of the so called treatment specialist. Seven months into the hospitalization, he’d been able to convince the treatment specialists that the dreams had stopped. These dreams were the primary reason for the fact that he supposedly needed treatment. He’d never been convinced he needed to be here though, so the whole idea that he was somehow cured and ready to face society seemed ludicrous to him. The fact remained he never actually ended up hurting anyone. The reality is that he was the only one who ever sustained any injuries.

Now that he was being released, Martin felt apprehensive about what lay in front of him. As he sat there, his mind was plagued with questions like; would he be safe, what would he do, where he would live, and with whom. The latter part of this questioning was the unknown aspect that left him feeling exceptionally anxious.

Martin sat up straight on the bench, leaned back, and took a long breath. He could smell the lingering odor of bleach diluted in water. There’d been a recent licensing inspection, so the halls and floors were abnormally clean. The preparation that went into licensing inspections that were scheduled well in advance was also humorous to him. He’d witnessed two such events while he was residing here. He watched staff and maintenance staff scurry about for days doing everything they could to portray an image of comfort and concern for the residents. If they only really knew was the mantra that played in his head as he watched the staff perform their little song and dance for the state inspectors.

Martin thought back on the prior eighteen months and the previous events which resulted in his hospitalization. He still didn’t clearly understand everything that happened and how it got to the boiling point so quickly. Everything spun out of control at an alarmingly rapid pace. He couldn’t understand how, and why, he allowed it to happen.

Two years ago, he had the perfect life, perfect according to most anyhow. He was married to a beautiful, wonderful woman. He had a good job that he liked and he lived in a comfortable community. Then, very suddenly, his life steered out of control and began spinning downward quickly. Everything Martin valued was put in jeopardy, and he had no one to blame but himself. He felt blindsided, confused, and lost for answers.

Now he was faced with the prospect of trying to re build his life and get back what appeared to be all but lost. Martin knew he could find another job, and even continue living in Orange County, California, near where he grew up. The one unknown aspect was Terri.

They’d been married for 7 years when all the craziness began. Prior to these events his relationship with Terri was something others around him envied. Friends at work were amazed at how much he adored her and how much he continued to love being married to her. Up to that point their relationship was nearly flawless.

After the events over the last two years, Terri appeared to be standing by him throughout the ordeal and had promised she would still be there with him when he was discharged. Three months ago though, her visits stopped. The last time he saw Terri, she let him know he wouldn’t see her for a while because she had some important loose ends to wrap up regarding the property in Reno she’d inherited from her grandmother. Martin knew there were some unresolved legal issues surrounding that property, but he wasn’t clear about the specifics. When he probed for details, Terri refused to say anything more and just asked him to have faith that she would see him again when it was all taken care of. She also made one comment that added to his anxiety. Just before she departed, Terri again made him promise he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize his placement here. She said it was the only place where she was sure he’d be safe. At the time he didn’t react by asking what she meant by that, and she likely wouldn’t have explained. This left him feeling even more anxious and unsure about their future together.

Martin was plagued with doubts about Terri’s ability to persevere and remain dedicated to the promise they’d made when he agreed to enter treatment. His doubts didn’t have anything to do with a lack of faith in her. Terri never given him any reason to doubt her dedication. Martin knew though, if the roles were reversed, he would have a difficult time seeing it through. He was hoping, now more than ever, that his exceptional perception of Terri was accurate. He hoped more than anything she would be there when he passed through those large metal doors and stepped out into normal society for the first time in eighteen months.

The concept of walking outside the grounds of this place was hard for him to imagine. He hadn’t even been on any community outings as they were called by the staff. These were events where residents would go with staff to participate in activities like bowling, bingo at the local church, and other rather patronizing events. At first he was glad he was never placed on the list of residents able to participate. After a while though, it began to bother him that he didn’t even have an opportunity to go if he wanted. Martin asked about it a couple times and was always provided with a non-answer, basically staff trying to avoid the question. Eventually he just accepted it and let it go.

A sound of keys could be heard on the other side of the doors. Martin stood up and looked toward the inside slide lever which was a part of the locking mechanism. The top and bottom bars, which were connected to the lever, slid sideways and the door opened. One of the front attendants, dressed in the standard dark blue pants and white polo shirt, stepped through the door and looked in Martin’s direction.

It’ll be at least ten more minutes Mr. Rove, do you want to stay here, or wait in the rec. area?

Martin shook his head and stated in a subdued tone; That’s OK, I’ll just stay here.

He wanted to stay as close to the exit as he could. Anything else would be moving backward. He sat down and leaned against the wall behind him. Waiting a while longer would be easy after eighteen months of confinement, all that time spent waiting for this day.

Martin leaned his head back and closed his eyes. His thoughts drifted back to the events that started this whole nightmare. These were circumstances he never could’ve anticipated as resulting in catastrophe. Had he known, the choices Martin made would have been very different.

Chapter 1 (Two years earlier)

Martin turned over abruptly, the sheets on the bed were pulled half off and he was at one of those points where it was impossible to find a comfortable position. His perception was disoriented, his head and chest were damp from sweat, and he was barely conscious. Martin was in the process of just waking up, at least he thought so, it was hard to know. For him, languishing in that state somewhere between consciousness and comfortable sleep was becoming all too common.

The room was dark and the shutters were closed because that’s the way Terri preferred it. His eyes searched around and looked for anything familiar they could fix. There were horizontal slits of light piercing through the vertical shutters slats. Finally, he was able to recognize the stationary bike just beyond the end of their bed.

Martin settled down into the bed and drew a long, comforting breath. He looked over at the clock on the night stand; it read 3:00 am.

Dam Martin said under his breath. He’d only been asleep about 45 minutes. He rolled over in frustration, being careful not to yank too hard on the comforter so he wouldn’t wake Terri, his wife for the past seven years. He looked over at her with envy and adoration. She was sleeping peacefully, looking as beautiful as ever. He knew if he disturbed her, she would likely roll over and try to lie half way on top of him. She was a snuggler, one of those people who liked to sleep all snuggled up with someone else. Martin definitely wasn’t a snuggler.

He’d been coping with several consecutive nights of insomnia and it was making him exceptionally irritable. It wasn’t that he was having trouble getting to sleep, that was never the problem. He could fall asleep rather quickly, and almost anywhere. The problem is he was waking up a short time later. The last couple nights he tossed and turned most of the remainder of the night. Now it was 3:00 am and he was faced with several hours of the same thing.

Same song, third verse, Martin mumbled to himself.

He got up and slowly trudged out of the room, trying not to wake Terri, but only sort of. He’d be the first to admit he was jealous of Terri’s ability to sleep through almost anything. Her body was like a clock. Actually, it was more like a beautiful work of art, a priceless masterpiece. That was just one of the reasons he married her. However, she also had an uncanny ability to fall asleep at almost the exact same time every night. She could peacefully sleep through the night, and then wake up bright, beautiful, and ready for the day.

Terri was one of those people. The people the rest of the sane world refers to as Morning People. She was one of those few souls who wake up as if the birds are perched on the bedpost singing a special song just for them. You know the type; the people who generally irritate the hell out of rest of humanity, the ones who can’t seem to cherish the necessity of sleeping in. Terri never slept in, not even for an extra half hour.

When they first met, it was one of the traits Martin adored about her. Now, when he was feeling so deprived of sleep, it just irritated him.

In contrast, Martin was the opposite. He dreaded having to wake up when he wasn’t ready. He needed at least 30 minutes of lying in bed, getting his bearings, and putting off his rise into the world as long as he could manage. In his mind, he was normal, more like the majority of the sleeping public.

Martin recalled the first time he experienced the vast chasm that was the difference between their approaches to waking up.

He’d been dating Terri for almost a year, and they hadn’t gotten to the point of going away together up until this weekend. She was very cautious about moving toward a physical relationship, and had been fending him off for several months now. They’d been involved in more than a few mutual physical exchanges, each time she’d side stepped him in a smooth, almost effortless manner, somewhat like a sword fighter might do to their opponent.

In the past, Martin might have given up and moved on. For some reason though, Terri had an inexplicable hold over him which was difficult to explain. Her spell over him wasn’t just her beauty, yet that was definite a part of the equation. Her attraction was more substantive than physical beauty; Terri had a certain charisma, a quality that silently announced she had a beautiful soul. There was something fresh and alluring about her. He found, for the first time in his adult life, he was more interested in just being with her and enjoying the things they did together. Each time they separated, he would end up looking forward to the next time he’d see her with the same kind of expectation as a kid looking forward to going to a favorite amusement park. The experience was new to him and it felt unusual to him, but it was a good feeling type of unusual.

As far as the continued desire for a physical relationship, Martin felt like a fish who kept hitting the same hook every time. On one hand he knew better, he understood he wasn’t going anywhere. On the other hand, he just couldn’t help himself. In retrospect, Terri was very tolerant in their first few months together.

This first weekend away was the first real time they were going to be totally alone and also sleeping together. He sincerely hoped that would be the case. Martin remembered when they arrived at the room. He found himself searching to make sure there weren’t two beds, or another room attached. He was pleased to see there was only one bed, and no room attached. He knew this night would likely be a night he remembered for the rest of his life.

He remembered they had the most incredible, romantic night. The two of them went walking down by the beach, splashing on the edge of the surf. They walked for at least a couple miles; neither of them was paying attention to insignificant details, like how long and how far they walked. Eventually they made it back to the room they were staying. The inn was a quaint little place, just off the road on the coast, about 75 miles north of Santa Barbara. Martin had thought ahead and ordered a very exclusive bottle of Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon, one that he was sure they would both enjoy. He was leaving nothing to chance. He wanted everything to be absolutely perfect. Dinner was wonderful, and the rest of the night followed suit. They went back to the room after dancing in the moonlight on the beachside veranda to music provided by a local string quartet. They finished the night with some very expensive Cognac he’d been given and, up until now, had no use for.

He remembered seeing Terri completely undressed for the first time, she was angelic. Her golden blonde hair swept down just beyond her perfectly proportioned neck and shoulders. She had a light, golden, tan except where the bikini covered her more intimate areas. The curve of her waist and hips led to the most perfect, beautifully curved ass Martin could ever remember seeing. She had legs that were slender and long, and her skin was smooth like satin with the perfect sprinkling of light freckles. He could recall in great detail what it felt like to touch and caress the sides of her breasts and to kiss the nape of her neck. He recalled feeling as though he had just entered a long awaited Nirvana. To this day, he remembered it as one of the most incredible nights of his entire life.

Martin fondly recalled the next morning. He was smitten with a head over heels in love hangover. Everything appeared bright and wonderful, Terri’s cheery morning mood just added to the wonder he was experiencing. He remembered looking at her as she sat on the ottoman near the bed, getting herself ready for the day.

So you finally decided to join the living, she said to him half chuckling.

He focused his eyes and thought he saw a glow of light surrounding her. It reminded him of a scene from the introduction of the movie Grease. The animated scene, where Sandy gets up out of bed and all the birds and animals sit with her as she brushes her hair. Martin half expected to see a bird land on Terri’s shoulder, just to complete the scene. This was all a very fond memory.

That was then of course, now however Martin was cranky and tired, and all he could think about was how he was dreading the opening of the blinds to welcome the day. He wished now, more than ever, he’d stuck to his guns and chosen a house where the morning sun didn’t penetrate into the Master Suite. This was one of the big selling points to Terri though. Martin, as usual, went along with it, hoping it wouldn’t be as intrusive as he anticipated.

They had been married for just over 7 years now. Both of them went to college in Southern California. He attended Cal Poly Pomona to study Computer Sciences, and Terri attended Pepperdine University, obtaining her Law degree. They ended up settling down in Irvine; which is where Martin grew up, and eventually came back to for his current job. Terri hadn’t settled in with a firm when they first met, she was doing free lance and pro bono work for certain environmental causes. It wasn’t difficult for her to find a good position at a firm near Irvine. She had impressive credentials, and a gorgeous smile. Martin was sure every guy at the firm voted to hire her as soon as they met her.

Martin almost fell as he stumbled down the stairs. He loved this spacious house, yet suddenly he was wishing he didn’t have a house with a staircase. Funny how a grumpy, bleary-eyed, perspective can create all sorts of temporary regrets. When he reached the living room, or Great Room, as the real estate brochure called it, He turned on the overhead light. Dam that lights bright, he thought as he fumbled around in the haze to find the remote. For all her great qualities, Terri was always sticking the TV remote where he couldn’t find it. She didn’t even watch much TV, yet somehow he could never find the remote. He considered the possibility this was her subtle little ploy to let him know he watched too much TV.

Ahh, Martin yelled in a hushed tone as he unexpectedly kicked the remote across the floor. His foot had located it by accident. Shit he exclaimed in a low voice, theorizing Terri placed it there just so he would step on it and break it.

That’s ludicrous, he thought a second later, now I’m making up conspiracy theories about my wife and the remote control, what next!The TV remote control was something Martin was a fanatic about, keeping it in the same place was of great importance to the order of the universe. He wished he could convince Terri to see his point of view.

After some more fumbling around, Martin found himself sitting on the sofa lounger in the dark. He’d quickly turned out the overhead light because he felt like it was about to burn his eyes out. He hated bright lights, especially when he should be fast asleep upstairs in a comfortable bed.

Once he’d acquainted his fingers with the buttons on the remote, he located the small buttons on the side that activated the power and volume. He tried to recall the correct sequence so he could turn the TV on and the volume down almost simultaneously. A few seconds later, Martin realized he got the power button right, but the volume button sequence was opposite of what he thought. Martin thought he was pushing the volume down button. Actually, he was pushing the volume up button. The TV blared for a good 15 to 20 seconds before he could make the correction. He listened to hear if Terri was getting out of bed, or for her to call out to him, wondering where he was. Terri hated for him to be out of bed when she was asleep. She expressed to him on several occasions, I don’t like to sleep alone!Martin always thought to himself; what’s the difference, you’re asleep anyway! (He never did say it though). It wasn’t as if they were playing cards, having a conversation, or perhaps doing something more intimate. Anyhow, he didn’t want to wake her and then feel inclined to trudge back upstairs just so she could go back to sleep with the knowledge he was lying next to her.

Martin flipped through the channels rapidly. There were over 300 channels total, and at this rate he would be on the second round through shortly.

How could there be nothing worth watching on TV, he mumbled to himself. Martin continued the monologue in his head, I thought late night was always the best time to find great classic movies on!Nothing doing tonight though. Even the sports channels had Infomercials on. What about guys who’re usually up this time of night? he thought, adding, They might want to get a rundown of what’s happening in the world of sports!

Martin became more irritated as he remembered, most guys aren’t up this time of night, most guys are probably sleeping after having sex with their beautiful wife. The fact he and Terri hadn’t had sex in several days just added to his frustration. Terri had just started a new case, which meant she had to spend a great deal of time late into the evening prepping for depositions. By the time she was done each night, Terri was too overwhelmed and tired to even think about intimacy. Martin was confident he could’ve probably persuaded her to drop the work, but he tried as much as possible to be supportive when she needed to be prepared for something important. The end result was no sex for him. This was just another issue to be grumpy about.

After flipping endlessly through what seemed to be thousands of channels, Martin finally turned off the TV and focused his attention to the internet. After reading through all the news, information, and technology sites, he found himself musing over some of the stupid advertisements that seem to pop up everywhere when one is browsing the net. Penis enlargement seemed to be a very common one. Must be a lot of guys out there with small penises he thought to himself, chuckling quietly. Wonder how I measure up, he thought while briefly looking down toward his crotch. He looked up and thought, Things must be getting real bad if I’m looking at these ads in the middle of the night."He quickly went on to other, less personal, adds.

After a short while of scrolling down through some ridiculous add prompts, he finally spotted one that might interest him. Trouble sleeping? If you’re reading this when you should be sleeping, then read on, we may be able to help. Martin read further. Clinical sleep trial, new non medicated method being tested to assist in achieving deep, restful sleep. There was a link to respond and a phone number attached. Sure, he thought, non-medicated method for deep restful sleep, a hammer to the head might work.

"They’re all kooks," Martin remarked to himself as he closed the lap top cover and lumbered off to the medicine cabinet to see if he could find, and then take, some over the counter sleep medication. He fumbled around in the cabinet for awhile. There it is, he mumbled as he recognized the corny picture of some dude lying with his head on a pillow and ZZZ’s coming out from his mouth. Even he’s sleeping Martin thought as he took out the pill I’m going to feel like shit in the morning he exclaimed under his breath just before throwing the pill into his mouth and drinking the last of a stale beer he left on the table earlier.

Chapter 2

Martin began to cuss out loud at his computer screen. He’d been working for a couple hours straight to debug a new program the company purchased. This particular program was supposed to streamline the process of shipping out orders. Martin felt he had carte blanch to cuss, scream, or jump up and down on the desk if he wanted to. He’d been the loudest voice advising the idiots in purchasing not to get the shipping program. He’d gone all the way to the vice presidents over IT and Purchasing, they just brushed him off.

He looked up at the ceiling as if he was talking to God. I told you people this program is a piece of shit!

Actually he was talking to the stiffs in management upstairs who often seem to make idiot decisions. He cussed some more, got up and continued swearing up a storm as he walked away from his cubicle.

Martin walked past Dave’s cubicle. Want-a Putt? he asked in more of a statement format than a question.

Always, Dave replied and immediately stopped whatever he was working on and followed Martin over to the putting green.

Both of them hated cubicle life, so they went about convincing the eggheads above it would be a great form of stress relief to have a small, home built, putting green in one corner of the office where there was some empty space. The two of them actually spent an entire weekend at the office drinking beer and setting up the indoor putting green. It had 4 holes, spaced at various intervals, with varying degrees of slant. Each hole had its own flag. Since they put the green in, Martin’s golf handicap improved significantly. Actually, one of the eggheads, probably the chief egghead, loved golf as much as they did, and eagerly supported the idea. He was the one who donated the money for the supplies they needed. In repayment, he would often sneak down to join them in inter office competitions. Some in the office believed that Dave and Martin spent way too much time at the putting green. No one could complain out loud though because both of them produced more work than anyone else in their section.

Dave Roth was Martin’s closest friend. They’d grown up together surfing the same waves and hanging out together on North Pico Beach in San Clemente. Dave was quite a bit taller than Martin, close to six foot three. Even though Martin was always just average height growing up, he generally assumed the dominant role in their friendship.

Martin was always very taught and muscular, unusually quick and never backed down from a fight or a challenge. Dave on the other hand was very lanky and sort of clumsy in high school. Dave was always there for Martin, especially when he couldn’t rely on anyone else, which was a great deal of the time. Now, twenty years later, Dave was the one who had a noticeable paunch/ beer belly and was probably headed toward developing a close relationship with a local cardiologist soon. Dave was also beginning to sprout ever thinning strands of dark hair toward the front of his forehead. Martin sometimes teased him about the fact he would soon have to learn how to do a proper comb over.

They’d been friends throughout high school and soon after went their separate ways in college. Somehow the two of them found similar paths and eventually ended up working in the same basic jobs, for the same large company. Actually Martin got Dave this job when his first marriage failed miserably and he came stumbling drunk to Martin’s door late one night. Since then, he’d helped Dave to get his head back