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The siren kept wailing on. It was somewhere close to Dr V
and did not move anymore. “What now?” he thought,
“Campus building on fire?”
Come to think about it, he could’ve sat down at Starbucks
to enjoy a bacon-n-gouda with his cup. Better yet, he
could’ve taken the time to read the morning paper. Ha!
That would mean the first student having to sit outside his
office and doing the waiting for a change. Or he could’ve
walked the dog before leaving the house. Poor thing didn’t
get enough exercise. He sighed again thinking he should’ve
given his wife a proper goodbye, not the usual shout from
the doorway, one foot already out the door. He should’ve
offered to help. The siren continued. Help with what? Dr V
frowned. There was a knock on the door.
“Honey, can you
drop Leyla at the daycare this morning?”
his wife’s voice had
asked. When was that? Dr V turned to the door. From
behind a veil, he saw the blurred face of a female student.
She murmured something he couldn’t follow. The siren
suddenly sounded less like a fire engine.
“Yes, of course,”
Dr
V had answered.
Yes, of course
.
The baby asleep in the infant seat at the back. On the radio,
Rolling Stones painting it black. His mind focused on the
day’s chores. The missed turnoff for the daycare. The baby,
quiet and strapped in the back seat. The parking lot, the
rising heat. All those hours until lunchtime. The siren, the
wailing siren.