Chapter 5:

Vacation

Just as soon as he landed, William had his phone pressed up against his ear, happy to find it still had a charge, if just barely. The other end of the line picked up, “Cityopolis Academy of Applied Science, you’ve reached Dean Sotherby’s office,” it was the Dean’s secretary that answered.

“Hi, Natasha. Is David in?”

“Hello, Dr. Kuykendall. He is. Can you hold for a second?”

“Thank you.”

The line clicked and Dean David Sotherby answered. “Hello, William. How have you been?”

“I’ve been better, which is actually why I called.”

“Feeling a bit under the weather?”

“Nothing time can’t heal, which is why I need a vacation. A week should be enough.”

“A week?! William, you’re putting me in such a spot.”

“Branson can handle my classes and watch the observatory. Valerie will be around to keep tabs on all the rest of it.”

“No she won’t,” Dean Sotherby corrected. “Valerie gave me her resignation, effective immediately.”

“She did what?” William blanched.

“She didn’t tell you? Did the two of you have a falling out? Are you to blame for this?” asked the Dean.

“I’m sorry. I haven’t talked to Valerie since the party,” William noted. “I’ve been incommunicado.”

“That’s rather unlike the two of you. But, needless to say, I can’t let you off without someone to monitor all God only knows what you have going on down there. As good as he is, I can’t ask Branson to take over both of your duties.”

“Honestly, aside from classes, there’s not much going on at all. We dropped everything on that government project, and although I don’t actually know what happened with that, I do know it’s no longer any of our concern,” William stated. “It’s been a bit hectic...”

“I know,” Dean Sotherby cut in. “Don’t know why you refused to tell anyone about all that...”

“It was a gag order,” William noted. “But I promise not to quit if you give me two weeks.”

“Two weeks?! You know, the more you talk about this, the more I want to know,” Dean Sotherby noted.

“One day I’ll tell you all about it,” William claimed. “Today I just... can’t. Hell, I gotta figure out how to tell Emily about all it,” he cringed.

“And maybe you won’t,” Sotherby speculated. “After all, if you break that gag order, the Pentagon might take these medals back.”

“Medals?”

“Civilian citations for you and Valerie. Whatever you did, you made somebody very happy,” Sotherby noted.

“Did they send a check with it?”

“They did, for the school. But I think there’s a bonus in it for you—if you can skip taking time off,” Sotherby stated. “Do you mind if I ask you where you’ve been the last few days?”

“Personal crisis,” William replied.

“I’m sorry to hear that, but it seems to be going around.”

“Hmph.”

“What if I can give you a week? I have an old friend over at City Tech that owes me a few favors. I bet he can sit in on your classes,” Dean Sotherby said. “I’ll have to use a bit of your bonus money to convince him...”

“That wouldn’t be Dr. Lemieux, would it?” William asked.

“It is. Is there a problem with him?”

“Great lecturer, terrible teacher,” William answered.

“He can lecture for a week.”

“Thank you. So Valerie quit?”

“Yeah, two days ago.”

“Did she mention where she went?”

“She was going to live with her aunt, in… Maine?”

“Maine? I didn’t know she had family in Maine. I thought she was from the south.”

“It was something like Maine—I don’t think it was Maine. Anyway, people move,” Dean Sotherby said. William could hear papers rustling over the phone. “But that’s what the note said—I think.”

“She left a note?”

“I walked in on her trying to slip it under my door. She still wouldn’t give me a concrete reason—just said it was time to move on. I’ve got it around here somewhere...”

“Time to move on…” William repeated with a frown. Still, he couldn’t blame her.

“Too bad. You two made a hell of a team.”

“Thank you, David.”

“Yeah, well, you may have hated it, but that party was extremely lucrative.”

“Figures,” William replied. “Listen, I gotta run—but thank you.”

“You can owe me one,” Dean Sotherby stated. “I’m sure to need a favor sooner than later.”

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