Chapter Six
Flight: Boston to Washington D.C: Reclining in an airplane chair, Zachary checked his pocket for the business card that Windsor had given him for the photographer. He found it, along with a pack of gum:
John Perkins
Family Portrait Photographer
1-978-555-9735
Email:
[email protected] He considered calling, but decided to wait until he had landed in D.C. Windsor had insisted that Zachary fly everywhere first class, and Zachary, having only ever flown cattle class, did not argue the point. The woman sitting next to him slept the majority of the flight and he did not have to engage in too much small talk, which Zachary thought fortuitous because the woman mostly wanted to talk about her pugs, animals Zachary loathed, though he told her that her pictures of them were very cute and yes he could imagine that it must be difficult to be separated from them for the duration of her vacation. Research materials were packed on Zachary’s carry-on and he considered reviewing them, but decided to order a drink and just relax instead.
Once in D.C. he called the photographer, John, reaching his answering machine. He left a short message, stating that he had arrived as scheduled. While waiting he ordered bar food and a draft beer, paying with a credit card that Windsor had given him for incidentals. He had forgotten to use the card at Logan, which meant he wasted about $20 on a meal, but since he was making $6000 per week he could afford it, and smiled smugly, feeling pleased.
If only I can sell my house my financial situation will have improved substantially…
While fiddling with a mindless app on his phone, he realized that he had two new text messages. He opened the first:
Hey professor, you may not be on vacation but at least you are traveling. Text me when you land. I talk a big game about traveling and adventure, but planes still scare me. Jasmine.
He opened the second:
Zachary I am sorry. Been working on my Displacement Theory research too much lately, and I know I should not have snapped at you like that. Omar agrees with your decision to take job. Let’s talk about it. Sam.
Ten minutes later, time enough for Zachary to consume a burger and a draft, John called and apologized, saying that he was running late and would arrive in about 45 minutes. Zachary again decided not to open his research materials. He bought a newspaper. The front page was grim and depressing, so he read the sports section but found it boring. Feeling guilty, he changed his mind and gathered his research materials from his carry-on. Windsor had provided Zachary with the family tree that his brother Philip had mailed him one year prior. Philip had created this family tree and it consisted of limited narrative descriptions. Zachary had also conducted internet research, digging up as much publicly available information on various family members as possible. Windsor had provided Zachary with the 9th through the 12th generations of the family tree, generations which began with Windsor’s parents and ended with his great nieces and nephews.
For Windsor it must be an odd document: He only knew his father and brothers briefly. Besides his mother, everyone else in the family tree is a stranger…
He flipped through the narrative family tree which proved useful for placing family members in generations and for providing a general sense of their occupations and interests. However, Zachary had also constructed charts so that familial relationships could be better visualized and he now glanced at these charts while formulating working notes:
Thurmond Family Relationship Charts 9th through 12th Generations