Farmer's Market
Jack sold tomatoes at the farmer's market. He bought this huge place south of San Jose a couple of years back and had been growing tomatoes in his backyard. That year, thanked to the weather and his hard work, Tomatoes were growing well and he had a large yield. He's an amateur gardener but he had been entertaining the idea of growing organic produce professionally. He started to take his produce to the farmer's markets to test the market. Sandy knew of Jack's stand from a friend who used to work with Jack in the operating system group in the same computer company where Sandy worked. Sandy worked as the customer advocate for the User Interface group. Jack, being one of a handful of engineers who joined the company since it's start more than a decade ago, whose departure and reason of departure were well known through out the company. Jack wanted to down-shift. Many suspected it's only a front for his joining a red-hot startup like many others did. But Jack actually did down-shift. He became a part-time technical consultant working from home and devoted most of his time to gardening.
J.D. finished his coffee, folded his paper, looked for his car key, bid Sandy goodbye and headed for the garage. Sandy listened to the closing of the garage door and headed for the shower. She always went to the farmer's market. Vegetables were fresher there and many of them organically grown. This summer, a friend introduced her to the taste of pluots in the farmer market. The sweet and juicy flavor of the fruits hooked her instantly. The same friend introduced her to Jack. Now she looked forward to Saturday morning for more than just a nice stroll in the farmer's market. She enjoyed talking to Jack more than the cherry tomatoes she'd pick from his stand while engaging in conversation with Jack. Jack's story intrigued her and enticed her to know more about him. Finishing up dressing her hair, Sandy found herself putting a dash of perfume behind her ears. She laughed to herself. "It's not a date." The week before, Jack invited Sandy to join him and a couple of friends for lunch after the market closed in a microbrewery nearby. Since they had mutual friends Sandy went along. Sandy expected being asked again that week.
Sandy put the vegetables from the farmer's market in the refrigerator. Some of the leafy greens had wilted from sitting in the trunk too long. She washed the plouts and set them in a bowl. She took a bite out of one and savored the rich sweetness of the fruit. She took out a large bowl for the cherry tomatoes. While washing them, she popped one in her mouth. The tomato tasted bland in comparison to the tastes of the pluot. She washed the rice and put it in the steamer, inspected into the fridge and took out what she'd cook for dinner and prepared them. For the final cooking she'd wait till J.D. came home. It's Saturday and he should be home around 7:00. Saturday nights were the only nights that they would have dinner together at home. J.D. worked late Monday through Friday and Sandy usually did not wait for him to have dinner. Sunday nights, they always went out to eat. Restaurants were less crowded on Sunday nights than on Saturdays. It's only about six o'clock and the daylight's still bright. Sandy decided to go for a walk before taking another shower to get rid of the stifled smell all over her from spending an afternoon enclosed in a coffee shop.
Walking along the neighborhood, Sandy replayed the conversation she had with Jack and friends that afternoon. How interesting it was to know that Jack could afford to leave his engineering job because of his inheritance and that his father's death prompted his decision to change his life style. Rumor had it that Jack cashed in on his stock options but the timing would have been wrong. Stock price of Sandy's company had risen quite a lot but only after Jack had left. He would have missed out a fortune if he cashed in before.
Greeted by the smell of home cooking, J.D. went to the kitchen sink and washed his hands. Helping serve the rice into the rice bowls, J.D. recounted some issues he had had at work. Scooping the stir-fry into a big plate, Sandy pretended to be listening. Sitting to the dinner table, J.D. wolfing down some rice, Sandy asked "What do you think if I quit my job and go back to school?"
"What will you study?"
"I am thinking I could resume my doctoral in literature."
"How intimidating." J.D. said jokingly. "Our Controller's wife is a professor of English at U.C. You met her, last Christmas. I get tongue-tight in front of her. You are not serious about this. Are you? You know this startup of ours still have a few years of uncertainty before we know whether we'll make it. We need your stable income in a big company as insurance. Maybe you can wait a few year. If everything turns out right, you can do whatever you want then. We will be rich."
Sandy sighed. She knew the answer before she asked.
* * *
Pluots had a very short season, about two months in the summer. It's now near the end of August. Sandy went to the market, hoping to see perhaps the last batch of pluots. She looked toward where Jack's stand used to. Jack stop showing up at the farmer's market more than a year ago. He bought some farmland down in Santa Cruz and went into the organic farming business. At first, it was kind of odd not seeing Jack at the farmer's market but Sandy soon grew used to it. She did not need any tomatoes anyway, she started to grow her own, in her backyard. Just four vines produced more than enough for her and J.D. She had picked some that morning. Sandy picked up a few fresh vegetables along with some pluots, the vendor confirmed that those indeed would be the last batch, and checked her watch. She had an appointment with their Realtor. Their old townhouse had an offer and the Realtor was meeting her to go over the contract. J.D.'s company went public the summer before, riding the tail of the Internet tidal wave, much ahead of anticipated schedule. They had since moved to a house with a big lot in Los Altos and rented out their old townhouse. Once the housing market became to heat up, they put their townhouse on the market.
As Sandy headed toward the parking lot, a voice behind her stopped her. It was Tracy from work. "Sandy, I haven't seen you in ages. I've heard that you are on leave. Look how big your belly has grown. When is your due day?"
"Next month, the nineteenth. How have you been, Tracy."
"I'm just fine. When did you stop working?"
"Only a week ago, I figure I'll need the time to get ready for the baby. There are so many things to do. Besides, I now feel sleepy all the time. I am afraid I'll just fall asleep on the job if I stayed."
"Say, have you heard that Jack is back. He's now working with the network protocol group."
"What happened? I though he is in organic farming business."
"Apparently, that venture did not go well. Anyway, I saw him in our building the other day. I did not want to pry so I just said hi. But I heard that he had a bad business partner and bad luck. His crops had some kind of disease. He lose all his investment."
"That's too bad." Sandy debated between her curiosity and being late for her appointment. "Listen, I got to run. I've an appointment. But it's nice to see you, Tracy." Giving in to common courtesy, Sandy figured she'd make some phone calls later to fill in the details about Jack.