Page 41 - Three Adventures

Deflator Mouse

dealers in dangerous drugs strolled unflinchingly past dealers in junk
bonds, all willing—even eager—to experience themselves in a wildly
expanded social context.
It was lunch-time, and Ken had an appetite after a morning of
volley-ball and body-surfing. Deflator Mouse was history, as far as he
was concerned; the ninja outfit had been shredded after its single
nocturnal use. He would know by the following Friday if his activities
had resulted in the desired effect. It was a relief not to think about it
anymore: now he could concentrate on more important things, like
Cindy and the effect he desired to have on her. Today he would meet
her brother Bob for the first time. If they hit it off, it would be
another step toward his ultimate goal: marriage. He already had a
non-sectarian, do-it-yourself sort of wedding planned: the guests, all
in pastel fancy dress and barefoot, assembled on the beach at sunset
to hear Ken and Cindy repeat their vows.
The Yuppy Chow Doggy Diner provided its patrons a choice of
seating: indoors, or outside in a sort of pen where passersby might
glance enviously at entrées only inches away. Ken spied a pair of
golden heads at an outdoor table; one, Cindy’s, he immediately
recognized. The other had to be her brother’s. He smoothed his hair
and verified that the tails of his new white polo shirt were securely
tucked into his tan walking shorts.
“Hi! Hope I’m not late.”
“Oh, Ken. No, we just got here and lucked into this table. It’s
really a great table, don’t you think?”
“Yes, for sure. Hi: I’m Ken Oshima.” He extended his hand to the
younger man rising from his chair.
“Bob. Bob Johnson. Cindy’s told me a lot about you.” They shook
hands and sat down. “Is it true you work on some sort of secret
government project?”
Ken kept his affable expression. “Is that what you think, Cindy?
No, I’m just teasing you. Of course, I am an employee of a company
that gets a lot of defense contracts; and, yes, I can’t really talk about
some of them outside the office. But that isn’t all we do there; it’s
really a great environment for working on new ideas to solve some of
the world’s toughest economic and technological problems.”
“Oh, like a think-tank?”
40