Claire Morgan pulled into the parking lot and stared at the building. It was a large structure of steel and blue tinted glass. She was several minutes early and wanted to calm her nerves before starting her first day in the building in front of her with the letters IBM prominently displayed at the top. She closed her eyes and reflected on the events in her life that got her to this moment in time.
A grin appeared as she recalled a ten-year-old trying to convince her dad that she was not too young to help him in his TV repair shop. They lived in a small town in Kansas and he had the only TV store for many miles around. He had his store as long as she could remember and as she got older, she would sit and watch him work on all kinds of electronic devices that needed repair. He took delight in explaining what he was doing. She didn't understand much of it at first, but over time, she began to grasp how TVs and radios worked and the troubleshooting technique he used.
Everything changed the day her dad yielded to her pleas and agreed to let her help. She started testing the vacuum tubes, and most of the time that would fix the problem. Later, with some guidance, she was taking on the sets that needed more work. By the time she was twelve, she could fix most of what came into the shop. At fourteen, she was accompanying her dad on service calls. Her birthday was in June and the day she turned sixteen, he took her to the DMV for her driver's license and told her, "Tomorrow we'll divide the calls. You go north and I'll go south."
It wasn't long before she was running the store while her mom and dad were on vacation. She loved what she was doing and dreamed of the day she would take it over. It was 1962, the beginning of her senior year in high school when she discussed her future with her folks. She voiced her desire to do more in the store but her dad felt otherwise. He believed she could have a better career with her skills than fix TVs. President Kennedy's space program was underway and he thought the electronic age was about to explode. He also suspected that the advancements in technology would one day render TV repair obsolete.
After graduation, she enrolled in an electronic technology school in Kansas City - not a college but more of a trade school. Twenty four months straight of classes with breaks only at Christmas. One hundred started the program and twenty-six completed it. She finished second in the class with only a tenth of a point separating her from tying for number one.
She interviewed several companies, and her background was certainly a plus. It was IBM that appealed to her, and here she sat in Atlanta, a long way from home, ready to start her first day.
She walked through the front door and stood in awe at the immense size of the foyer that literally sparkled from all the chrome and glass. "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
After a few hours with Personnel, she was introduced to her boss, Brian Duncan. She judged him to be about her father's age, a little shorter, and a whole lot less hair. He escorted her to her work area to meet and join the rest of the team. "I've heard good things about you and I think you'll enjoy our group. Most of the guys have been here for several years, and you'll have the distinction of being the youngest and the first woman."
"Not a surprise. Of the twenty-six in my graduating class at Central Tech, I was the only woman."
Claire brought the count up to twelve service techs, which elicited a remark about being part of Duncan's dozen. It was quite a diverse group of age and backgrounds. They were from all over the US and she thought it was funny that not one person was from Georgia. The oldest was much older than Duncan and the previous youngest was probably about five years her senior.
All the guys were dressed in the 'Big Blue' dress code: dark slacks, white shirt, dark tie, and everyone had a pocket protector complete with pencils, pens, and various tools. Fortunately for all, no one had to wear their suit jacket in the work area. Claire had been advised about the dress code and had a dark skirt with a matching jacket and a plain white blouse. She refused to wear a blouse with a pocket when she started wearing a bra.
Claire reached her height of five feet, ten inches by her sophomore year. She found being tall had its advantages when dealing with people. She developed some decent muscle tone from handling the heavy TV sets but, much to her chagrin, her bust size barely filled a B cup bra.
As expected, the eleven men eyed her differently. Before them stood a tall woman with shoulder length, dark wavy hair -- not a beauty but decent looking. She had a nice smile and seemed friendly enough. Some wondered just how good a tech she was, and if she would get preferential treatment. Some viewed her as a threat to their desire of one day to be the boss. Some viewed her like a little sister in the family. They all knew one thing, her performance on the job would quickly show just how good a tech she was.
It would be a few weeks before Claire joined the group because she had to report to a different building for training. Her instructors were impressed with the questions she asked and the methodical approach she took in troubleshooting. It was information her boss was pleased to receive. He was concerned about the impact of having a young woman joining the group. He felt her ability made her a good hire but working dynamics can be another story.
It didn't take long for Claire to feel comfortable with the guys. What pleased them most was the fact she enjoyed a lot of the same things. She enjoyed the same TV shows and added to the conversations when they would talk about them the next morning. She happily joined the group for lunch on Fridays and thought it was perfectly normal that they always went to the same restaurant. She quickly memorized the menu and knew each waitress by their first name. Claire easily became one of the guys. The one thing that separated her from her co-workers was her love of hiking. She was very pleased with what the Smokey Mountains had to offer.
Sometimes when she was on a hike and taking in a scenic vista, she would become nostalgic and think about Bruce. She was in a new city, new job, and no man in her life. There were days she missed him terribly. He was a fellow student at Central Tech, a few years older due to the fact he had joined the Navy right out of high school. It was Bruce who not only introduced her to hiking but much more. He brought her out of her shell and exposed her to a world of fun and play. One pleasure she became particularly fond of was sex.
For Claire, growing up in a town of less than five hundred people was limiting in many ways but even more so when it came to dating. For her, working with her dad and repairing TVs was more appealing than boys. Other than a few dances in high school, she never really had a date. When she enrolled at Central Tech, her folks encouraged her to take advantage of life in the big city.
A smile came to Claire's face when she thought of Bruce. They were about the same height and he was one of the few guys with a shaved head. It was something he did in the Navy and just kept it. Not a big or muscular man, but he did like to stay fit. His hazel eyes would sparkle when he laughed and he always seemed to be in good humor.
At the start of school, lab partners were assigned and by the luck of the draw, Claire and Bruce were a team. Naturally they shared their backgrounds and why they were in school. A comfort and rapport soon developed and a mutual attraction began to grow. It wasn't long before they even sat together in class.
When Claire voiced her frustration with learning FORTRAN V, he invited her to his house after school to lend a hand. Plus, he was eager to show her the computer he had built. If anyone deserved the moniker of computer geek, it was Bruce. He was all about building and coding computers.
Claire didn't know what to expect when she walked into "the room". The computer was a large box with wires everywhere. His pride and enthusiasm was evident by his animation as he demonstrated many of its features. Claire was very impressed with his skills and with the machine. Their interaction cemented the bond between them.
When Bruce invited her to dinner, Claire was thrilled. After all these years, she was finally going on a real date. She fretted, however, about her lack of experience. Would he try to kiss her later? Should she let him? Secretly, she hoped he would because she wanted to let him know she liked him.
During dinner, she let Bruce in on her deep secret. She was a total novice when it came to the dating scene. She wanted to experience it all, but she needed to be with someone she could trust. After some discussion, she was confident that her faith in Bruce was well founded.
