David's little hacienda apartment was finally coming together. When Megan left, it seemed like she had taken the soul of the place with her. But little by little, David found cheap items at yard sales that made the place feel more like home again. One weekend, he picked up a pair of nice old wooden chairs from a free pile on the side of the road a few blocks down. When he found them, they were in pretty bad shape with a bunch of bangs and nicks and loose pieces hanging off. But with a screwdriver, a couple long screws, a piece of sandpaper, and a small tin of clear finish (a grand total of $6.28 from Ace Hardware), they looked pretty good. For his dining room table, David picked up an old door and four posts at a salvage shop for twenty dollars and a can of grey spray paint. He used these little projects to stay busy when he wasn't working on Cryptobit.
Andrew joined David on his morning runs. But due to Heather's situation, the runs were more like somber walks. As they made it back to David's apartment, Andrew fell onto the black leather couch that David bought the week before.
"I can't believe you found this at Goodwill. The Goodwill guys must be making out like bandits."
David wasn't paying attention. He sat at his computer and logged into his bank account. He stared at the balance. After paying the invoices for the contractors he had hired and this week's rent, he wondered if he had enough to pay the hospital bill.
"How was your sister this morning?"
"Good, I guess. I thought she smiled, but the nurse told me it was just a reflex."
"They know when she'll wake up?"
"Not yet."
"Sucks."
They both didn't say anything for a while.
"When did the Rocketship guys say they would get back to you?"
"Was supposed to be this week, but who knows. It's Thursday, so if we don't hear back by tomorrow, it probably won't be until next week."
"What's taking them so long? Didn't they know by the time you walked out of the room whether or not they were going to invest? You told them I was back in, didn't you?"
"Yes, I told them. I don't know what's holding them up. But this whole thing has been so confusing, I don't know what to expect any more. Just when I think things are going to work out, they fall apart again. I should get back to work, though. We shouldn't put our whole lives on hold just for a stupid email."
Andrew jumped up from the couch.
"No. I know just what you need. And it's not work. Come on, you need to get your mind off things. Let's go to Carson Hot Springs."
"I should probably just go back to the hospital in case Heather wakes up."
"Just take a little time away. Clear your head. Lots going on. Trust me."
"Okay."
Upon arriving at Carson Hot Springs, David and Andrew walked into the white historic hotel that looked like it had been pulled out of a Wild West ghost town. The hundred-year-old building hadn't been used as a hotel for years since a modern resort had been built around it. But you still had to check in and buy your tickets for the mineral bath soak in the main lodge.
"Two soaks, please," said Andrew.
A large old man with a wart on his nose put down a newspaper, the Carson News. David snuck a peek and noticed he was reading the obituaries. The man wiggled up to the counter in no rush, as if David and Andrew had interrupted his important work. He looked the two young men up and down and took David's credit card without saying a word.
"Is the place pretty empty?" asked Andrew.
The man grunted.
Andrew didn't seem to notice the grunt and continued: "Can I ask you a question?"
The man swiped Andrew's card and handed it back to him.
"I guess."
"The new resort is huge, but it never seems like there are many cars parked out there and I haven't seen anyone walking around the resort building. What's going on?"
He rolled his eyes.
"The place was bought by some Koreans with more money than sense a few years ago. I guess they had a Field of Dreams moment."
David snorted: "If you build it, they will come."
"Yeah, well, they built it and you can guess what happened next."
"So now it's like a ghost resort?"
"I guess. Here, sign this and hand your tickets to Henry in the bathhouse."
They walked out the front door. It was cold and drizzling rain, but it felt good, refreshing. They went into the bathhouse. It was dim and lined wall-to-ceiling with cedar. The room with the attendant was filled with cots sitting low to the ground. They handed their paper tickets to the attendant, a middle-aged man with a handlebar mustache reading a paperback novel. If you had seen this man walking down the street, you would assume he was a lumberjack with his checkered shirt and faded jeans.
"Take off your clothes and go to tubs three and four when you're ready," said the man. "And turn off your cell phones." The attendant went to the tubs and turned the water on.
David reached into his pocket and checked his email. He only got one bar of reception and the Cryptobit email client seemed stuck. He left the phone on, but put it on mute, and stuck it back into his pants.
Stupid technology.
After they soaked for thirty minutes in scalding hot mineral-rich water with a sulfur concentration so high that the room smelled like rotten hard-boiled eggs, the attendant wrapped the friends in thick wool blankets on their cots and they lay there sweating for another thirty minutes. David fell asleep in the warm cocoon, but at some point his internal body temperature got so hot that he sat up panting and pulled off the blankets. Andrew had already gotten up and was in the shower.
David's phone buzzed. The attendant looked over at David with a scowl, even though there was nobody else in the room with them. David picked up his pants and stuck his hand deep into a pocket. Nothing. He stuck his hand in the other pocket and pulled out his phone.
"Hey, this is David," he whispered.
"David, this is Frank. Where have you been? Did you get my email?"
"Sorry, I was just...let me check."
David pulled the phone away from his ear and went to his email. It was still refreshing. One bar.
"Hold on, I've got terrible reception here."
David looked at the attendant, who was trying to burn a hole in his head with his stare.
"Is there a place with better reception?"
"Try outside," said the man.
"One second, Frank."
David pulled on his pants and ran outside, still topless. The cool rain felt good on his sweaty hot skin. David checked his phone again. Three bars. He went to his email and saw two new messages. One from Frank Atari, and one from Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital.
"Look David, you did great. Just like I said you would. I am sorry it took so long to get back to you, but we were just finalizing the term sheet with our lawyers. You should find it in your inbox now. And we're ready to sign right now if you are."
David clicked on the attachment and waited for it to load. Two bars.
"I am pulling up the doc now. Can you give me the net-net while it loads?"
"We're ready to put a million dollars in at two million pre-money valuation."
David was stunned. He stood there silently.
"David? You still there?"
"Yes, sorry. That's great."
"Good, so take the letter to your lawyers and let them look it over, and let Andrew see it too. Send back all your comments at once. If we can get this signed on Monday, we can be off to the races by the end of next week."
"Wow, I'm so excited. Frank, I don't know if now's the right time to ask this, and I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but my sister's got some major health stuff going on. I'm kind of in a pickle. Can you tell me, do you think it would be possible for me to take a small loan from the million dollars if I pay it back before we need it for Cryptobit?"
"David? I can't hear you very well. Are you still there? Did you say you had a question?"
David's phone started beeping. He looked at the screen. It was a blocked number.
"Frank, I am sorry. I am getting another call, can I call you right back?"
"Sure."
David accepted the call on the other end.
"Hello, this is David."
"David, this is Dr. George Burnside calling about Heather Alexander."
"Yes."
"She has just woken up and is asking for you."
"Is she okay?"
"Yes, but she is tired and in a lot of pain. How quickly can you get here?
"I'm leaving right now."