Equation

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oshaw
oshaw
3,211 Followers

The party finally broke up and as I said my farewells, both Teri and Ben followed me out. Teri gave me a kiss on the cheek and an open invitation to dine with them whenever I felt like it. Ben told me that he already saw too much of me during the workweek and that he would be damned if he would allow me to bother him on the weekends. Of course, he said it with a twinkle in his eyes and then he suggested I come over on Saturdays and help him restore his bike projects.

That first semester I came to rely on Ben as questions or doubts would crop up to me. He patiently advised me and I soon came to consider him my mentor. Our schedules conflicted at noon except for Thursday. So we had a standing lunch date for Thursday. Interesting enough, after that first week Ben always insisted on treating me to lunch. Apparently that first week served as a hazing period.

I started getting the hang of teaching my courses and started focusing a larger portion of time on various math theorems that had drawn me to the study of mathematics. I had always had a natural affinity to numbers which in high school quickly got me labeled as a nerd. As an undergraduate I blazed through every math course I could get.

I had a number of recruiters looking at me at graduation, but, I wanted to continue my studies. In short time, I had my Master's and my Doctorate and again the recruiters came calling. My parents were livid when I told them I wasn't ready to enter the business world. After reviewing my options I applied for the assistant professorship even though I was overqualified for it so I could continue working on the equations.

With Ben's guidance, I began running equations by him. Many an afternoon we would spend scribbling equations on the blackboard and critiquing our work. After many hours of excruciating labor, Ben thought it was time we published our findings.

That paper, Variation and a Proposed Answer to the Hodge Conjecture took the math world by storm. Heated debates followed as proponents argued with detractors. Almost everyone agreed that while we may not have solved the Hodge Conjecture, we had taken a vital step in the eventual solution. Notice I said almost everybody agreed. Ben and I faced dissension within our own department in the form of Dr. Jacob Feder.

No sooner had we published than Feder threw together a hatchet job ridiculing our work and published it. His poorly thought out reasoning was evident to most serious scholars and they wasted little time lambasting our department for allowing the publication. This was the penalty under Ben's guidance of allowing autonomy to each professor.

In my second year, I continued to hone my theory and Ben served mostly as my sounding board as I went through tangent after tangent chasing the Conjecture down the rabbit hole. Still I could not provide any progress, but, some things did change. My assigned office was now next to Ben's. This was a sign that I was being groomed for Ben's professorship if and when he chose to take emeritus status. Another change was I was given tenure due to the publication of our paper.

That was not taken favorably by Feder as he levied charges of favoritism against Ben. Ben argued that it was necessary to expedite tenure as an enticement for me to remain at the university. A review by the Dean and an independent commission exonerated Ben of the charge, but the infighting was taking a toll on him. With my promotion to associate professor, the entry level position of assistant professor was once again open.

In an effort to forestall any hint of criticism Ben formed a vetting committee for all the applicants. Ben, myself, Jason Feder, and two other members of the department interviewed and argued over the prospects. Feder, as usual, did every possible thing to make the task as painful as possible. Any applicant that was favorable to either Ben or myself was automatically disagreeable to Jason.

We were narrowing through the last set of applicants when she walked into the room. Laura Simmons, impeccable credentials and a charming personality ensured that she had a comfortable interview. As I watched the tall lovely blonde leave the room I knew instinctively that Jason Feder was attracted to her as much as I was.

Ben and I shared a look and we allowed Jason to take the lead on evaluating her. He spent five minutes raving about her. Ben and I simply agreed with Jason's assessment and the remaining two members sensing a consensus quickly affirmed as well. And that was how Laura Simmons became the new assistant professor.

As Ben and I left the room, I told him that he needed to give my cold drafty classroom to Laura. When he asked why, I told him because with the way she attracted attention that every male student of hers would need a cold shower to get through class. He laughed and clapped me on the back. When I got the memo concerning room assignments I bemusedly noted that I kept my old classroom, but, I no longer had to teach any of the freshman's courses. A tradeoff I could live with.

The next time I saw Laura, she was standing alone with an empty wineglass in her hand at Ben and Teri's annual party. I thought to myself why truly beautiful women often had trouble in social situations. Perhaps, it was because other people did not deem themselves worthy to keep company with a beauty like Laura.

Steeling myself, I approached her and I saw the look of recognition appear on her face and a small smile spread on her face. God, she could light up the room with a full smile, I thought. "Hello, nice to see you here! Let me reintroduce myself. I'm James Reed." As we shook hands I looked into the blue eyes and I could only hope I could find the willpower to break away from her gaze before she judged me as a creep.

"Oh, hello Dr. Reed, what an honor it is to be working alongside you."

The melodious voice caused all the other generic noise from the party to abate as I focused on Laura.

"Please, call me James or if you like, you can follow Ben's lead and call me Reed."

She laughed and crooked her head as she studied me and said, "Reed, suits you. Please call me Laura."

"Ah, Reed, I'm glad to see that you finally proved that you are worthy of something other than being a poor lunch companion." Ben laughed and then greeted Laura. "Laura, let me give you the grand tour. My wife is somewhere in that mass of humanity, let's go save her!"

As I watched Ben lead Laura away from me I was disturbed by the void I felt as she disappeared from view. All I knew was I wanted to spend more time with her. I made sure that I continued to bump into her at the party and engaged in small talk. I could tell we were getting more comfortable around each other. I excused myself to go get her another glass of wine.

Then I saw her talking with Jason Feder. When I walked up to them I handed her the glass. She smiled and told me, thank you. Feder had a look of distaste as he excused me from their conversation. I debated remaining there but I didn't want to cause any problem for Ben or Teri. I walked over to Teri as she watched Feder and Laura continue to talk. She shook her head and told me this was the first time Jason had attended one of their parties. It was obvious what had enticed him to attend this one.

"Where's Ben?" I asked.

Teri responded, "He got so disgusted on seeing Jason that he went to hide out in the shop. Are you going to join him?"

I pondered it for awhile, "No, I think I'll head home. Tell Ben, I'll be at the office tomorrow and I'll drop by in the evening to help him bore out the engine block on that BSA bike."

She gave me a hug and kissed me as I left.

Saturday morning, I spent all day in the office running through permutations, but, all I could focus on were images of Laura. Disgusted on wasting a day I finally left for Ben's shop and as I entered I heard a conversation going on.

"Reed, about time you showed up. I finally had to replace you with another mechanic."

Then, I noticed Laura dressed in casual clothes and seeing how clean Ben was I knew that no work had gone on before I arrived.

"Laura and Teri have decided that we need to take them out to eat. I told Laura that I insisted that it would be your treat." Ben continued.

Laura and I laughed as I agreed to the proposition. The four of us were soon seated at a fine Italian restaurant that ignored our snubbing the clothing requirement due to the long patronage of the Stevens. I winced when I got the bill, but, being seated next to Laura made it all worthwhile. From there we went to a small jazz bar and without too much prompting I asked Laura for a dance.

I gathered her in my arms and we swayed to the soft tune. I breathed in her perfume and thrilled as various points of our bodies made contact.

She leaned away from me and said, "I should be angry with you."

Puzzled, I asked why.

"You left me with Jason Feder. He made my skin crawl. He had the audacity to tell me, not ask me, but, tell me to follow him home."

I told her I was sorry. She told me I could make it up to her by taking her out on Friday. Then she snuggled against me and I would have agreed to anything right then.

We started dating and soon agreed to be exclusive. That didn't stop Feder from still trying to see Laura. Laura joined Ben and me in our little informal trivariate as we battled on the Hodge Conjecture and Feder would take every opportunity to interrupt us. Then he got so desperate that he offered to help. Try as he could, he wasn't successful in driving a wedge between me and Laura and after the school year, Laura and I were married.

For the next four years I was in bliss being married to the loveliest woman in creation. I loved my work and friendship with Ben. I finally helped restore a 1969 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide that I had purchased and now I had bragging rights whenever I went to Jocko's, the seedy biker bar that Ben introduced me to. The only fly in the ointment was that the Hodge Conjecture continued to elude me.

One day, I took a break from the equations. I was at a crossroad in my computations and it seemed whatever direction I took, the variables led into a one way direction to futility. I was beginning to despair that I would ever make another significant breakthrough in the Conjecture. I started to think that perhaps if I did not solve the Conjecture, perhaps I could teach the student that would solve it. That got me thinking on how lax our elementary levels were educating childrens. What was needed was a jumpstart that would get kids interested in math. I continued to germinate my idea until my entire idea was fleshed out.

Saturday evening, we went over to Ben's to grill steaks. After we ate, we sat on the patio and relaxed. That was when I brought up the subject.

"Guys, I want to talk shop for a second." That brought on some groans but I forged ahead. "Look, education at the preschool level and elementary levels are putting American children at a severe disadvantage in the field of math. We have to do something to reverse that trend. Now, due to our culture, the only way to keep children's attention is to entertain them. What we need is to script some shows that teach basic math principals in a way that kids will retain the knowledge and induce them to want to learn more. What if we used the university broadcasting system which piggybacks PBS and produce the shows? We invite celebrities to come on and spend an hour teaching math in a fun and enjoyable way."

My idea brought on some discussion and I could see Ben and Laura becoming enthused at the prospect. I hadn't told either of them, but, I was going to push for them to co-host the shows. Once all the preliminary issues were dealt with, the shows premiered and were a raving success. The broadcasts were syndicated throughout the country and brought in a revenue stream to the university.

It also enriched me and Laura and Ben. Laura and Ben became well known due to the show and I kept busy writing scripts for each week's show. That kept us busy for the next few years and frankly I was glad to be able to take a break from the Conjecture. I also co-authored several math textbooks. I was doing very well career wise and I kept discussing with Laura how I wanted to have children. It wasn't that she was against the idea, she just objected to the timing.

One day, out of the blue Ben announced that he had decided to take emeritus status. What that meant was he was retiring, but, would continue to guest lecture and host the show. He told me that he had put my name up to replace him. I was choked up thinking of the idea that I could ever presume to replace him.

I prepared for the process, but, Ben told me it was just a formality. When I attended the open hearing headed by the Dean, I was prepared for any eventuality, or so I thought. There I was at the table facing the committee, Laura was seated behind me. I was ready for my coronation. Then Karen Hudgens intervened and destroyed my perfect little world.

"Dr. Reed, I'm afraid the committee has received some information that has cast some doubt on your ability to head the math department. We will now hear from a graduate assistant, Ms. Karen Hudgens that alleges some impropriety on your part."

I sat dumbfounded as the weeping student testified how I had coerced her into having an affair for the years she had attended the university. I kept interrupting the testimony protesting my innocence, but, the Dean continued to allow the girl to continue. I kept looking at each committee member desperately willing them not to believe the lies being told.

I looked back at Laura and grieved as I saw the tears running down her face. Somehow, I tried to convey that she needed to believe me. More and more allegations came from Karen Hudgens and I heard sobs coming from Laura.

Finally Karen Hudgens stepped down. I was livid and shaking from anger ready to clear my name. Then the Dean had another little surprise for me. Two of Karen's roommates came forward to testify and corroborated every allegation that she had levied against me. I continued to reel from this Kafkaesque nightmare. I looked back again to see Laura and all I saw was an empty chair. I slumped down in defeat as the testimony finally finished.

Then I watched as the Dean with a smug little grin announced that I could make a statement. With a stunned stammering voice I began to speak.

"I do not know why these individuals came forth today to tell all the lies and disparagements cast against me today. I categorically deny every allegation levied against me and ask that an investigation be conducted to ascertain why these slanderous statements were made. I also request that this hearing be put on hold until the results of that investigation are made known."

The committee retired into another room. Ten minutes later they came out with a unanimous vote not to promote me to Ben's position. I staggered out of the building as people began to avoid me. I went home only to find that Laura had hastily packed a suitcase and had left me. Not knowing what else to do I went over to see Ben.

He was ashen faced when I came into the house. "Reed, I don't know what to say. I knew that the Dean disliked me for all the trouble that I caused him, but, I never had any idea that he would take it out on you. We will ask for a rehearing, we'll drum up support, get those girls to recant. We can make this right."

"Ben, Laura left me and I have no idea where she is. Right now my priority is to find her and get her to listen to me."

"God, Reed, I'm so sorry." Ben groaned.

I went home and started trying to track down Laura. Every possible contact I had denied knowing where she was. Weeks passed by and still I had not heard from her. The university had made Jason Feder the interim department head. I soon discovered that I had been evicted from my office.

Then one night I was woken by a call from Teri at two a.m. She was at the emergency room with Ben. I rushed down there only to find her crying. Ben had passed away from a heart attack ten minutes before I got there.

It was a surreal time as we struggled to get through the funeral. Laura did not attend. I kept by Teri's side trying everything I could to ease her pain. After the burial she took me aside and told me that she was leaving and moving to Florida to be with her sister. All I could do was to tell her I would miss her.

When I saw her leave for Florida it was as though I had lost my last remaining support. Soon I heard that the university had expedited their hearing and promoted Jason Feder to Ben's position. He called me into his office for a meeting and made me wait for two hours before seeing me. I could tell he was enjoying putting me in my place. He wasted no time in telling me that I had been accused of plagiarizing someone's work. When I asked who was accusing me he grinned and told me my wife, Laura had brought the charge.

I soon faced another committee chaired by the Dean looking into the allegation that I had stolen someone's work. This time I was represented by counsel and I nervously waited for Laura's appearance. She came in and fixed me with a look of sheer hatred. I began to call out to her only to be hushed by my attorney. She proceeded to tell the committee that for years I had stolen the work of one of my colleagues and passed it off as my own with the help of my friend, the late Dr. Stevens. The colleague that I presumably had stolen work from turned out to be none other than Dr. Jason Feder.

Try as he could to shake her story my attorney failed to catch her in any major inconsistency. She left the stand not looking at me as I continued to call after her. I could tell the handwriting was on the wall as the committee deliberated. Sure enough, they soon came back and told me I was terminated for plagiarizing Dr. Feder's work.

Two weeks later I was served with the divorce papers from Laura. Again, I tried to see her to persuade her not to go through with it. At the deposition, I was threatened to be held in contempt by continuing to interrupt trying to get Laura to talk to me. Finally, the deposition was halted due to my efforts to talk directly to her. I was brought before the judge and cited with contempt.

The judge remembered that when we finally had the hearing. The divorce was granted and Laura was awarded 65 % of all our assets. She was also given the house and I was ordered to pay alimony for two years. When she walked out of the courtroom, she still refused to speak to me as Jason Feder put his arm around her to comfort her.

The last straw was when I was served with her lawsuit over the rights to the TV show. I just threw the paperwork down, hopped on my bike and began riding. I really had no idea where I was headed. I suppose she got a default judgment against me, but, I never went to look. All I knew was everything I had worked for; everything I had cared for was now gone.

I hopped from town to town as I tried to figure out what to do. I couldn't get a job teaching with the shadow I had hanging over me. Nobody in the business world would touch me. I didn't have enough capital to start a business, and anyway I had no idea how to run a business. For all my intelligence I might be forced to do manual labor. I was at a coffeeshop on the outskirts of Las Vegas when I decided to go to a casino.

I wandered through the glitz and the lights and the bells and noise observing all the games of chances. I began narrowing down my focus until I determined that blackjack was the game most favorable to a player. Sure, the odds were still in favor of the house, but, if you had a system you could turn the game to your favor. I continued to watch and learn as I saw how the casinos used multidecks in an effort to thwart card counting.

When I felt comfortable I finally sat down at a table and began my education. I was quickly dispelled of the illusion that every player was a logical rational player as I saw time and again the action of one player negatively affecting the remaining players. Still by the time I got up six hours later I was up over three thousand dollars. $500 an hour profit. It was a eureka moment.

oshaw
oshaw
3,211 Followers