A Project Called Rosie

Three

Upon conversing with Julie, I went straight to Gene's office in the psychology building but was unable to find him there. Luckily, his personal assistant, The Beautiful Helena, who should instead be called The Obstructive Helena, was also not present, which allowed me to access Gene's diary. I discovered that he was giving a public lecture that was due to finish at 5 pm, with a gap before a meeting at 5:30 pm. I only had to shorten my scheduled gym session, so I booked the vacant slot.

After a fast workout at the gym, where I deleted the shower and change tasks, I jogged to the lecture theater and waited outside the staff entrance. Although I was sweating profusely due to the heat and exercise, I was invigorated both physically and mentally. As soon as my watch showed 5 pm, I walked in, which caused a ray of light to enter the room, making the audience focus on me as if anticipating my comments.

"Time's up," I said. "I have a meeting with Gene."

People began to leave immediately, and I noticed the Dean sitting in the front row with three individuals in corporate attire. I presumed that they were there as possible sources of funding and not due to any intellectual curiosity in primate s****l attraction. Gene is constantly trying to solicit money for research, and the Dean is always threatening to downsize the Genetics and Psychology Departments due to a lack of funding, an area I don't get involved in.

Gene spoke over the chatter. "I think my colleague Professor Tillman has given us a signal that we should discuss finances, critical as they are to our ongoing work, at another time," he said, looking toward the Dean and her companions. "Thank you again for your interest in my work, and of course that of my colleagues in the Department of Psychology." There was applause, and it seemed my intervention had been timely.

The Dean and her corporate friends passed me by, and she said, "Sorry to hold up your meeting, Professor Tillman. I'm sure we can find the money elsewhere." Although this was good to hear, there was a crowd around Gene, and I didn't want to risk body contact with the tall blond woman ahead of me who spoke with a Norwegian accent.

"Professor Barrow?" she said, meaning Gene. "With respect, I think you are oversimplifying the feminist position."

"If we're going to talk philosophy, we should do it in a coffee shop," Gene replied. "I'll catch you at Barista's in five."

Finally, we had time to talk. I had already shifted my jogging schedule to 5:45 am to accommodate a visit to the market for dinner purchases, which meant that I had to go to bed earlier the night before and had a flow-on effect to a number of scheduled tasks. The Wife Project now had maximum priority.

I waited until exactly 7:30 am the following day before knocking on Gene and Claudia's door. Their daughter Eugenie opened the door, and I realized that I might be able to include Eugenie and her half-brother Carl as my friends, making a total of four.

Gene and Claudia were eating breakfast and were surprised to see me. I suggested that Gene put his diary online so that he could remain up-to-date, and I could avoid unpleasant encounters with The Beautiful Helena. However, he wasn't enthusiastic. I noticed that Gene was overweight due to the sweetened yogurt he was eating, and I pointed it out to him. Claudia asked me whether I had enjoyed the Asperger's lecture.