Coffee (5 page)

Etty
didn’t want to push the decision any further, so she walked to
Knut, touched his elbow, and offered to lead him out of the office.
Knut accepted, leaving his cane where it lay in his pocket. They
passed the line of clerk desks. Etty took one look back while
waiting for the elevator. Warren had not moved from his desk. He
was staring directly back at her, spinning one of the paper clip
creations between his fingers.

- Chapter Four -

Knut
had his computer room office much cleaner when Etty arrived at
8:15am the next morning. Although a bit fitfully from excitement,
he had slept enough to regain some color in his cheeks and whiten
his eyes. He had showered, changed, and even combed his long thick
hair. Etty brought doughnuts and a thermos of coffee.

Knut
pointed proudly toward the computers he had set up and explained.
“The markets open at 8:30. I’m hooked up through the
Internet to a price service on these two PC’s so you can watch
both. This monitor here will show Coffee prices, this one here the
Option prices. I have Mantis set up for both prices too, for me. I
am also saving the results to a disk so you can keep them for
posterity. If the prices spike, we’ll be right there.”

“Have
you heard from Warren?”

“Nope.
Thought I’d let you call. If he chickens out, at least he
might want to join us while we watch the numbers.”

“I
have a feeling he’s going to do it, but let’s give him
some space.”

She
spread out the doughnuts, poured the coffee into paper cups, and
removed a computer diskette from her pocket. She pulled off her
parka, and settled in to a word processor on a PC in the corner of
the room. “I want to get a full description of this whole
event on paper and in the hands of administration before the
shooting starts, if it starts, just in case something goes wrong and
Warren gets in trouble. I want everyone to know it was my idea, not
his.”

“How
heroic. Of course, if it goes the other way and he makes millions
for Dartmouth, then this will make sure you get all the credit.”

Etty
grinned. “Well, yes, I guess that too.”

By
9:30, Etty had finished her five page summary and stood by the
printer. “Three copies. One for my Advisor, one for me, and
Knut, here’s one for your little safe.”

“You
better hurry up. Things in the past started lighting up around
10am,” Knut said with his head buried in Mantis. “Prices
are steady right now.”

Etty
looked at the two screens before walking out. Slightly jagged lines
cut across the center of both. She swung by the book check out at
the Library and slipped each copy into the jaws of the time stamper
with a ‘calunk.’ Then to Administration where she sealed
a copy in a manila folder, and left it for her advisor. Finally,
she went up to Warren’s floor just for a glance. When the
elevator doors opened, she saw him talking caustically to a clerk,
shaking his powerful fingers at her. Etty didn’t even step
out - she just pushed Knut’s floor number and disappeared.

“Still
nothing,” announced Knut without looking up when Etty
returned. “How’s Warren?”

“How
did you know I checked?”

“I
would have.”

“He’s
stressed. He was screaming at some poor clerk about something.”

“Do
you think he invested?”

“Didn’t
want to ask.”

“Hey!
Etty! Look!” He pointed his finger toward the screens on
the desk without moving his head from Mantis.

Sure
enough, right on plan, the price of coffee started to rise. Little
jumps up, one after the other, stair stepping higher and higher.
“My God, it’s amazing!” Etty sprinted over to
Knut’s desk and grabbed his shoulder hard. “It’s
really happening!”

Knut
sputtered, “I hope Warren’s watching this!”
Although Etty’s fingernails started to dig noticeably into his
shoulder muscles, he loved it. “Up, 1%, 2%! Blast off!”

Etty
glanced at the options screen and shook Knut. “Flip to
options. Looks like they’re moving already too.”

Knut
switched Mantis. “Yup - like clock work.”

An
hour later, the two were still glued to their screens. They watched
every twitch, speculating about what was happening on the floor of
the exchange. The price peaked at 3.2% higher than the opening,
wavered, and then started a much slower decline. Options moved up
and stayed high, with some of the contracts with five dollar
increases.

The
constant pressure of excitement made them giddy. Knut started
imitating the voices of the traders in different dialects, sending
Etty into hysterics. In an exaggerated English accent, “I say,
old chap, that last jump made me spill my tea!”

Etty
sighed, her grin almost hurt. “Did you know, Knut, there is
still more coffee drunk in England than tea?”

“You’re
kidding?”

“No,
in fact tea didn’t even start getting popular in England until
the late 1800’s, after a major blight hit the continent. I
was reading that in 1800, there were over 2,000 coffee houses in
England. Not a single ‘tea house.’ But in 1869, every
coffee plant in Europe and Asia died.”

“So
the Brits went from Coffee to Opium to Tea, one drug to the next.”

“Actually,
not far from the truth. The Opium trade opened up a route to the
Orient, and after the blight, the merchants started picking up tea.”

“All
coffee was wiped out?”

“No,
this is when South America stepped in, and became a world producer.”

“Your
Brazilian friends must have loved that.”

Etty
noticed that she had not sat down in almost two hours. “My
legs are killing me, and I’m starving.” She walked over
to the table and ate a doughnut in three huge bites, scattering
crumbs down her front. Being with Knut was so comfortable. No
worries about the little formalities that you would typically ignore
at home but practice in public, like not stuffing a doughnut in your
mouth.

“Shall
we head over to Warren’s place?” Knut asked, finally
pushing himself away from Mantis.

Etty
picked powered sugar specks off her flannel shirt as she talked. “I
want to stop by the liquor store and pick up a bottle of something.
There’s one a few blocks away. We can at least celebrate that
we saw it coming - and better yet, be nice to have a toast with if
he did take a position.”

At
half past 12, Etty returned, shivering from her brisk walk. She
left her parka on, still fighting to get warm. “Whoo, it’s
cold. Only the first week of December. It’s going to be a
deep freeze this year.”

She
grabbed Knut’s arm, and off they went. With Etty waving a
bottle of champagne all dressed in winter outdoor clothes, leading a
blind man with only a shirt, they did not fit the normal Tuesday
noon Administration crowd.

The
elevator door opened at Warren’s floor. Knut started humming
a victory march, and they stepped in unison toward his office.
Warren’s smile was so wide, it looked like it might snap.

“Here
she is!,” Warren said while giving Etty a ‘high five’.
Knut heard the smack and put his hand down low and waited for
Warren’s powerful slap.

“Well,
I couldn’t put all the money in one contract - I would have
bought the whole market. So I spread it around a little.”

Etty
leaped into the air. “You did it! You invested!”

Knut
contained his excitement. “Yea yea, big dog, get to the
bottom line.”

“We
made, well,” Warren almost couldn’t say it. “We
netted $18 million in profits.”

All
three of them started to ‘whooop!’, jumping up and down.
Etty hugged Knut. Warren hugged Knut. Etty hugged Warren. They
hugged in a big three way bunch. They talked simultaneously,
laughing, gesturing madly, and Warren even shed a few tears.
Although against office policy, Etty popped the cork with a devilish
grin. Foam oozed over her fist. Warren found paper cups in a
drawer. The other office workers stood in the doorway watching in
amazement.

“And
those New York guys thought I would grow cob webs up here in the
boonies watching Treasury Bonds pay interest!” Warren yelled
over the din.



The
rest of the day and night were consumed with partying. Warren
spared no expense. He hired a Taxi to stay with them, a personal
‘limo’. Although the little town of Hanover’s
limited selection could not match the elegance he wished, he made up
for it in class. Only the best liquors - 50 year old scotches, $300
bottles of wine, the finest champagne in the city. The most
exclusive service attended their every needs, as he greased the
wheel upon arriving at each establishment with a hearty tip.
Caviar, house specialties, and wherever possible - live music at
their table. They laughed, sang silly songs, and acted out the
events of the day over and over, each time as if it were the first
exciting time.

One
of their stops, a sports bar, offered darts. Etty lit up when seeing
the row of four high quality bristle boards. She corralled the two
men to a small table nearby, and quickly acquired three sets of
darts from the proprietor. “I’ll sit this one out,”
Knut complained, as he realized her plan.

“No
way! I’ll point you in the right direction, you watch.”

Warren
went along, amused at how she might pull it off. They played 301,
giving Knut the advantage of not doubling in or out. Etty won each
match with ease, and Knut enjoyed the warm attention of Etty while
she guided his arms and directed his stance.

“Either
you’ve played this before, or you’ve worked out a trick
with magnets. I’ve never seen so many triple 20’s,”
Warren lamented after losing the third round.

“Hell,
I’ve been a professional student for most of my life, I ought
to have something to show for it.”

By
midnight, their indulgence began wearing them down. They moved to
Henry’s, a quiet corner bar. They took over the couches by
the window with a view out to the snowy street. A blazing fire
behind them reflected dancing orange shapes on the window.

Warren
spoke solemnly. “You know, there’s nothing I can say to
you guys for today. It’s beyond words. Especially you,
Etty.”

Etty
had slouched down in her soft seat so her head pushed deeply into
the moldable upholstery. “Oh Warren, don’t get mushy on
us. Without you, Knut and I couldn’t have scrounged up enough
to earn one drink. You’re the star, not us.”

Knut
added, “Actually, you can thank me for all of it.” Etty
catapulted a peanut at Knut with a spoon. It hit him on the chin.
“Ow! Nice, Etty, you could blind a guy doing that!”

“You
know, Knut,” Warren still feeling melancholy, “For a guy
who doesn’t know what color his socks are, you manage to see
more than most people.”

“Sure,
sure, you’re just trying to butter me up so I can earn you
another 18 million.”

Warren
reached into his pocket and pulled out two envelopes, and handed one
to each of his guests.

“What’s
this? The bill?” Knut wondered.

“You’re
each holding a voucher for an all expenses paid trip to any place in
the world for two, along with a little spending money. It’s
the least I can do.”

“You’re
kidding!” Etty’s sincere excitement shined like a
beacon. “A tropical island? Beaches? Fresh coconut?”

“Rum
drinks.” Knut spoke. “But, for two? Like I have a long
waiting list of girls who would accept. I’m going with Etty.”

Etty
breathed deeply, thinking of the warm blue water, then turned to
Knut. “It’s not like you’re asking a girl for a
date, you’re asking one for a trip to paradise. There will be
a line, believe me.”

Knut
didn’t hide the disappointment that Etty didn’t take his
suggestion, even if it was a joke.

Warren
stood and stretched. “I guess I’ve had enough. Let’s
go home.”

Etty
nearly fell back from a rush of dizziness as she tried to stand.
“Whooh. I think that last Jose Quervo went to my head.”

Knut
jabbed, “Your head went south long ago. You danced with that
waiter, what, three bars ago?” Knut reached for Etty’s
arm and pulled himself up. “Etty, don’t you live up in
the woods some place? Up a big hill?”

“Yea.”

“You
shouldn’t be driving anywhere in your car, and it would be
unfair to our limo driver at this time of night to risk his cab.”

Etty
gave a demure look at Knut, then winked at Warren. “I
suppose.”

“Well,
you know, I do have a cot. I can sleep in the soft chair in the
computer room. Really.”

Warren
butted in. “Etty, you are in no condition to even talk to a
limo driver.”

Etty
didn’t mind the idea at all. She had so much fun this night,
and her blood was swarming with warm feelings. She had no intention
of leading Knut on to anything but companionship. But the thought
of sleeping all alone in that dark cold apartment for what was left
of the night, didn’t thrill her. “What the heck. You
behave yourself.”

“Gentleman
to the death, m’lady,” Knut said while bowing comically
with an outstretched arm. They all hooked arms, and walked out,
somewhat unsteadily, into the night.