Small Places : Nick L Belardes [107 of 128]

• The offices are darkened. It's early. I continue to hum a tune as I turn on my computer. It blinks and turns off. "Damn thing," I say.
• I hit the button again. The computer turns on then flashes off. I grumble and crawl under the desk to examine connector cables.
• After poking around I realize the main power cable is loose. "Ha!" I say. As I crawl out from under the desk I notice Joan standing there.
• She's probably got fifty tasks for me. I press a button and the computer flashes on. "Yes!" These little victories can salvage any Monday.
• begin shuffling items on my desk trying desperately to remember how I am supposed to begin my day. Joan is still at the foot of my desk.
• Any early morning thoughts of a day's head start ended with the cop's loudspeaker. "You'll never believe what happened," I say.
• I continue: "I was walking on Main and this cop..." Joan isn't listening. She looks down at her feet, ignoring me. "She's dead," she says.
• I'm laughing and not even listening. Joan is crestfallen. "She's dead," she repeats. Suddenly my heart floats into the ether.
• I imagine Mulani's face smiling and then in agony. I fall onto my chair and can't breathe. I imagine her caressing me, her lips on mine.