I remember back when Innis was working with JTnet out in Decatur, and he had to spend most of his time on the phone. Sometimes they would give him the overnight shift for clients that offered twenty-four hour customer service. What I mean is that JTnet would take care of the customer service side of things for you. That was their business, along with some other stuff I can't even remember.

Anyway, I was at the New Frontier Eatery in Springfield one morning when Innis came back from one of those overnight shifts I was telling you about. I had breakfast at the New Frontier most mornings in those days. Now I make breakfast for myself at home. I miss the company, but it's cheaper this way. I do miss the company, though.

So Innis joined me at my table and I hadn't seen him in months, you understand. I should have mentioned that earlier. You know, there was a time when Innis and Loewen and the rest of us used to go out every night to one of the bars down on 5th Street and around that area. We were all working for a start-up that had its ups and downs, and then got bought out by a firm out in Chicago. Some people stayed on, but the rest of us took it as a sign to move on. I don't think that Innis ever figured that he'd end up working in Decatur.

"I haven't seen you here in a while, " Innis said to me.

"I come here every morning, " I told him.

"Well, I haven't been in here in a while, then, I guess, " he said.

The New Frontier was one of those places that used to be nice and quiet. But then they started redeveloping the area, and the real estate people kept on describing the neighborhood as "up and coming". People moved in and now it's a lot busier.

"I really should stop coming here, " I said to Innis.

"Don't be a snob, " he said.

"This isn't about being a snob, " I told him.

"That's exactly what it's about, " he said. "You don't like it that this used to be the kind of area that people ignored. Well, now they're here."

"I hear you're out in Decatur, " I said.

"Who told you that?" Innis asked me.

"I know everything about you, " I said. "You know, I think it was Ross. I ran into him not that long ago and he told me that you'd been in touch."

"I'm looking for something better, obviously, " Innis said. "I heard that Ross got hooked up with some new software place in Bloomfield. I was checking in."

"Ross is doing well, " I said.

"He should be doing well, " Innis said. "He deserves to more than the rest of us."

"So you're not happy where you are right now, " I said.

"I get phone calls and I have to check what number they're phoning, " Innis said. "What I mean is that my phone is attached to about a dozen different numbers. There are all of these people that think they're phoning whatever company it is that they're dealing with, and they're all phoning me instead. But I have to make sure I get the number right so I know how to introduce myself. You can't mess that up. There is zero tolerance for that."

"I think I've heard of these JTnet people before, " I said. "Maybe we were thinking of working with them, way back when."

"I had this one call from this older gentleman who thought that maybe I could come over and take a look at the problem he was having, " Innis said. "Their server had crashed. You know, he was all the way out in Nevada. But he thought that I could drop by. That's what JTnet sells these people. It's an illusion."

"So what did you tell him?" I asked.

"I said that I could make a note in his file, " Innis told me. "That's what we do. We make notes and pass them on to the real companies. So maybe someone did come over to check out his problem. I don't even know."

"A story without an ending, " I said.

"Something like that, " he told me.

I signalled the waitress and held up my coffee up. She came over and filled it up. Innis and I sat there in silence for a while. "Remember that client we had from the insurance company?" Innis finally said.

"Which one?" I asked him.

"I forget the name, " he said. "They were a small outfit."

"Restoration Insurance, " I said.

"That's the one, " Innis said, tapping the table.

"You're talking about the time we had to draw a map for the rep, " I said.

"Right, right, " Innis said. "What was the problem? He wouldn't leave. We were all there until past midnight."

"He said it was something he did with every company he worked with, " I told him.

"Of course, " Innis said. "I can't even believe it."

"It was a pretend place, " I told him. "He wanted us to draw an ideal town. The kind of place where we'd want to live."

"He said he had all kinds of maps like that hung up on the walls of his office, " Innis said.

"So we were arguing for hours, " I said. "It was madness."

"Ross wanted to put in a fountain, " Innis said. "A fountain and a park, right in the middle of town."

"That was nonsense, " I said. "That was fairytale stuff. A fountain."

"That's right, " Innis said. "You wouldn't let him do it. You said you would veto any map that included a fountain in the middle of town."

"I took it seriously, after a while, " I said.

"I remember that, " Innis said. "You were far too intense, considering the absurdity of the exercise."

"We were there, and we were going to be there for a while, " I said. "I wanted to get it right."

"So you draw a square in the middle and tell us that that's where the market is going to be, " Innis said.

"Every Sunday, " I said. "'The Sunday Market.' I wrote it in."

"Ross gave up, " Innis said. "You won that fight."

"I wasn't going to lose it, " I told him.

"So there's a market in the middle of town, " Innis said.

"An open-air area, and then a hall in behind it, " I said. "I haven't thought about that in years."

"Good thing I dropped by, then, " Innis said.

"I wonder where that map is now, " I said.

"On the man's wall, " Innis said. "If he's still with the company. Which he probably isn't."

"On a wall in his new office, then, " I said. "We'll go with that."

"Fine by me, " Innis said.