Page 45 of Love in the Lab
That’s early enough that whatever restaurant or bar Dr. Perron has in mind won’t be too lively yet. “Sure, I can do that. I appreciate you thinking of me.”
“Great! I’ll text you the details.”
“Looking forward to it, sir.”
We hang up, and I wonder what kind of opportunity would have Dr. Perron speaking so vaguely and wanting to meet on a Saturday night on Conti Street.
I don’t know Dr. Perron well, only that he’s been the dean of the college for the past five years and tends to watch the research projects happening in the College of Coast and Environment at NOSU a little too closely, in a way that implies he doesn’t trust the principal investigators, the PIs, who are in charge of the labs. He gets antsy when a lab hasn’t produced any flashy findings that can be touted to the press.
I’m not savvy enough to understand the larger political landscape of the colleges and departments at NOSU. I just want to keep my head down and pilot boats. If Dr. Perron’s mysterious “opportunity” can help me do that farther away from Molly Delaney, all the better for my heart.
Saturday evening, I opt for jeans and a dress shirt for my meeting with Dr. Perron at a bar. Conti Street is in downtown New Orleans, and the restaurant where Dr. Perron asked me to meet him is near Jackson Square. Even though I live in Metairie rather than New Orleans proper, it’s only a twenty-minute drive.Parking is a challenge though; I pay to park in a garage and walk the last half a block to the bar.
When I arrive, Dr. Perron is already sitting at a tall pub table with a bottle of locally-brewed beer in front of him. The place is busy, but it looks like it’s still a normal dinner crowd. I hold my hand up in greeting as I sit across from Dr. Perron.
A server materializes out of nowhere. “Something to drink?”
“Ah, just a root beer, please.” I don’t have anything against drinking; it just feels weird when I’m meeting with my boss’s boss. This isn’t exactly a night out on the town.
As the server disappears again, Dr. Perron shakes my hand across the table. “Jonathan! How’s your Saturday going?”
“Pretty good,” I lie.Was rejected by the woman of my dreams yesterday, so, you know, two thumbs up.
“Good, good. Did you eat yet?” He takes a swig from his beer bottle.
I force a smile. “I can always eat.”
He hands me a menu, and I look at the options: typical bar-and-grill fare with a lot of local flavor. I haven’t had much of an appetite today. When the server comes back with my root beer, I order some chicken wings and fries. Dr. Perron orders red beans and rice, which of course makes me think of Molly.
Who am I kidding? Everything makes me think of Molly.
“So,” I start, hoping to prompt Dr. Perron to cut to the chase.
“So, tell me about your research interests.”
I talk a bit about my PhD topic—the ecological consequences of urbanization on marine life—then about the research teams I’ve been on the last few years. “To be honest, Dr. Perron, mostly I like being in the water or on the water. Fieldwork is my favorite part.”
He nods his head. “Call me Derek, please.”
“Okay.” Feels unnatural, but fine.
The restaurant is getting more crowded, with new groups of people coming in and sitting at the bar. A live band starts setting up in one corner, and the mood grows festive. I’m not at all in the right headspace for any of it.
Dr. Perron leans in, so I mimic his movement, leaning my forearms against the table. “Listen, we are on the cusp of receiving a large grant to research blue carbon offsetting. I’m looking for a PI to head things up. That could be you.”
I frown. “Carbon offsetting?” It’s a practice in which large corporations try to compensate for their greenhouse gas emissions through projects that supposedly remove equivalent amounts of carbon dioxide from the environment. Blue carbon offsetting is more specific to coastal wetlands, with corporations funding projects to compensate for carbon in the ocean, like restoring mangroves or seagrasses.
Blue carbon offsetting has been gaining popularity, but there are still questions about how effective it is and how much is just corporate posturing.
“Yessir. Could be huge for the university and for your career. What do you think?”
“What’s the funding organization?” I start to ask when my phone pings, and I’m distracted by a text message. “Uh, you know what? I’m so sorry, Dr. Perron, but I have to go. Can we talk more about this another time? Bit of an emergency.” I gesture to my phone.
Dr. Perron holds up his hand. “Sure thing. I’m interested in bringing you in for this, though. Let’s talk details another time.”
I pull out my wallet to cover my root beer and uneaten food, but Dr. Perron waves me away. “I’ve got it,” he says with a wink. “Business expense.”
I nod my thanks and speed toward the door holding my phone to my ear.
