Employed 7 part 8

About a month after we moved to the cabin on Dick's and Betty's place, l got a phone call from Dulce. She had called a couple of times in the month that l
had first arrived there, and it was a delight to talk with her then, as always. 
But l had told her that l wouldn't be able to afford to call her on my income. ln
those days a call between Kenai and Oakland cost about $2.50 a minute, plus
tax. So it probably would be best if we both cut back on calling while continuing to write often.

So it had been some time since l'd heard her voice. At first l didn't recognize
it;it lacked the audible delight to which l was accustomed in her voice. This
callers voice was familiar but hostile. Oh, almost immediately l did know who it was (l didn't get that many calls, even local) and l also immediately knew
that some bad news was about to arrive. And it did.

"Hello?"
"Hi, it's me."
"Dulce, how's it goin', sweet stuff?"
"Ok.....l'm....pregnant."
"Did you say pregnant?"
"Yes."
"l'm guessing; this child is not ours?
"Correct."
"Ok, l understand that we are quit.  While l don't completely get it, l'm sure
that l will, in time.
And in time, l did know. While l was working in voice section l would often
use the American typewriter to write letters, when l found myself short of
assignment.Somewhere l encountered the idea of typing in "free association",
in which one types one's own stream of consciousness. Sometimes it works
real good, though an example of a good one evades me at the moment. l
wish l could produce a copy of the one Dulce received, to get some idea how it could have offended her, if it did. Something did. Frankly, l don't think something l wrote turned her off; l think it had to do with my apparent lack of
fertility.

Even as the only draftsman on the post l still had three or four days off per
week. Lil of Lil's cafe was my first painted sign customer and recommended 
me to other customers and l was on my way. ln Kenai, l contacted a great
mechanic( Lil's lead) and arranged with him to do auto mechanic work. First,
he would thoroughly check out cars l was interested in, give me a quote to
fix what is needed to make them salable, and if it makes sense, do the work.

For a couple of months things went so fine; working for engineering as draftsman, buying, fixing and selling cars and painting signs was keeping me very busy and better-fixed financially than ever before. l had no more than
just realized as much, when one Monday morning, as l reported to my drafting job, l was told to report to the boss. Sure enough. l'm getting fired again.
But the chief engineer tells me that l'm being "kicked upstairs" to a job at NSA in
Washington D.C.