It’ll Blow Over
From nine to five at an industrial fan company.
By Justin Brecheisen|Occasional Writer
9 am
The cube farm is quiet. Joyce applies another layer of makeup. Nick sips a Mountain Dew. Anne calls to check in on her mother. She talks about how long it took her grandson to fall asleep last night. She’s essentially raising him after her daughter got divorced. She loves being a mother again, but she’s getting too old for this.
10 am
Dave arrives. He explains to Nick that he had to drop off his kids this morning. The elementary school and the preschool are 30 minutes apart, but Dave doesn’t mind. He loves his kids. He spent most of his free time last week building them a swing set. The backyard is really coming along. He’s trying to start a garden, but his daughter keeps ripping out his tomato plants. He laughs. “The fence keeps out rabbits, but not three year olds.”
10:30 am
Nick asks Dave if the standard centrifugal fan can be manufactured with a backward inclined wheel instead of an airfoil one, and how the change would impact the airflow and static pressure. Can the wheel be made of fiberglass instead of steel? If so, would we have to apply a higher multiplier to the sale and invoice a special order to the factory? Dave answers right away. He’s an industrial fan expert.
Lunch
Al reclines in his seat, emitting a slow rumbling noise somewhere between snoring and sighing. Nick props his feet on his desk, another Mountain Dew in hand. Bill watches World Cup highlights on YouTube, occasionally releasing a yelp of surprise. Dave is asleep. The kids kept him up.
1 pm
Joyce has clocked out early to attend an antique car show. Nick is jealous. He spends all his spare time fixing up old cars with his dad. Instead, he’s stuck perusing fan blueprints on the company’s 1980s computer software. He’s embarrassed, but he needs to ask Dave about the capabilities of the belt drive on the Arrangement 3 axial fan. Dave is happy to help. He remembers when he was in Nick’s shoes.
2 pm
Rob from across the hall has lost another bet. He was sure the Dodgers would cover the spread. He hopes his fortunes will turn around next weekend on his trip to Vegas. Pete is griping about his delayed retirement again. Eventually, he gives up and resumes his snoring.
Meeting
Paul calls everyone into the conference room. There is little to report. Dave twiddles his thumbs. Cal doodles in his notepad. Then Paul mentions the recent steel tariff. Price shifts have slowed production in the South Dakota factory. Al is suddenly awake. “Does that mean orders will be delayed? My sales reps are gonna be so pissed.”
4 pm
Dave and Nick discuss weekend plans. Nick will be in the garage with his dad, who recently bought a 1984 Corvette. Dave smiles and nods. He knows nothing about cars. Dave changes the subject. He can’t wait to take out his riding lawn mower. He used to dread the chore when he had a push mower. Now it’s the highlight of his weekend.
5 pm
Al and Bill pack up and leave. Dave is staying late because he arrived late. Thank goodness his wife can pick up the kids. Nick is staying late too. He only started 6 months ago, and he’s realized he needs to put in more hours studying the fan manual. He also wants to spend more time in the test lab. They talk about the steel tariff’s effect on their clients. Nick worries he’ll lose business. Dave tells him this kind of thing has happened before, and it always blows over, but his voice wavers. Distant fans whir in the quiet air. Then Nick asks Dave about the rear joist on the single width integral inlet box.
