Angel Food and Devil Dogs by Liz Bradbury Page B

is too, but he has to go on TV right now so he can tell a thousand parents their kids weren't hurt."
    It was the right thing to say. Shanna Allen nodded and went into the waiting area with Bouchet. Miranda followed. I heard Max talking to the press. He was in his element. He managed to convey that everything was safe and well at Irwin. Anyone watching would be completely confident that President Max Bouchet was in control. This guy should be the president of a country, I thought, he should be the President of this country.
    A minute later the doctor came in and told me my chest x-ray had shown no smoke damage and I could go. I was glad that Miranda Juarez was a model of efficiency, because now I had my cell phone.
    Outside I called Sara's cell but it was on voice mail, so I left a message saying I was all right. My sister Rosa was out of town so I figured I could call her when I got home. I called the office where Evelyn told me both Sara and Emma were in court. Evelyn said, "Where are you?"
    "Evelyn listen carefully, I'm at the hospital, but I'm OK."
    Evelyn said, " Ohmigod!" several times as I explained what happened.
    I still needed a ride home. It was fourteen blocks on a dark December night and I didn't even have a scarf. In fact, my new jacket hanging on the reception room coat rack, was probably ruined. Another expense account item. Damn, I'd really liked that jacket. I called my best friend Farrel Case. Before I could even get past, "I'm in the hospital..." Farrel and her partner Jessie were on their way to pick me up.
    Both Farrel and Jessie leapt out of the car to hug me after they pulled up at the hospital. Farrel, who is taller than I am, a little over-weight but strong looking in a traditional old time lesbian way, and Jessie who is smaller, slighter and quieter than Farrel, kept asking me if I was all right and I kept saying yes. It was a pain but it's also nice to have friends who really care.
    I was in the front seat with Farrel driving. I was telling them the story of the fire like I was on a rollercoaster and had to be finished before the ride was over, still on a rush from a successful life saving situation. Cops can begin to crave this sort of thing because the adrenaline high is addictive. Half way through the second recounting, Farrel rolled down the car window. I barely noticed the freezing air blasting in.
    She shouted over the icy wind, "Do you know how bad you smell?'
    "Why? What do I smell like?" I asked, because I really couldn't tell.
    "Like a burning pile of used tires," said Farrel.
    "Not even new tires?"
    "No, definitely used," said Jessie who was sitting in the back seat holding her nose.
    "Maybe with a bucket of model airplane glue mixed in," said Farrel.
    "Uh huh," said Jessie, "and there's a little essence of... what is that...?" she sniffed, "industrial solvent?"
    "Yes, exactly," said Farrel.
    "Yeah, OK, I get it. Take a shower when I get home," I said.
    Farrel said, "Take two."
    "You'll never get that smell out of your clothes," said Jessie.
    I looked down. I was streaked with soot and tar-like stuff. "I'll trash 'em," I said decidedly. "I wonder if I can save the shoes?"
    "No," said Farrel and Jessie in unison.
    When we got to my place, Jessie made me dinner while I took a shower and put on clean clothes. I was starving. While I ate a broiled mushroom and red pepper sandwich with a generous layer of Jarlsberg cheese, I told them the story of the fire all over again until they insisted I talk about something else. So I told them about meeting all the people on the Tenure Committee. Farrel, who teaches woodworking and furniture design at the College, knew most of them already.
    "I'm sorry about Bart and Georgia," said Farrel. "However, I have to say, Bart is one of the stupidest guys I've ever met. He's a disproof of the Peter Principle because he's risen way, way above the level of his incompetence. Does that sound too mean, since he just got hurt?" I shrugged so Farrel rolled on, "Amanda