I was one of the program’s testers.
If you’re not a computer geek, software testing is as engrossing as watching paint dry. But it had a kind of systematic, structured order that appealed to me. I needed that order today, needed to lose myself in making sure every feature of the program worked the way it should.
As I wobbled up to the door of my office one of our team’s developers bolted past me. Alex’s dark eyes were full of urgent frustration, and he dashed down the hall muttering “Crap, crap, crap!” with every step. He didn’t say hello, but I didn’t stop him; I knew better than to distract a developer in ship mode.
Within, my officemate Jude (‘not Judith, and please God not Judy’) Lawrence swiveled her chair around to me, saying breezily, “Hi, Kendis! I just found me a baby-muncher of a shipstopper, want to lay any odds on whether we’re going to get this thing gone today or—” Then she took a closer look, and her expression morphed from smug pride into bemused concern. “Whoa, babe, you look like hell on toast. Are you okay?”
What could I tell her? Jake and Carson were two of the three people in my life I could tell almost anything; Jude, my best friend as well as my officemate, was the third. But I hadn’t thought of a rational, ‘I don’t need a straitjacket, honest’ explanation for last night’s weirdness for the boys, and I couldn’t think of one for this morning’s weirdness for her either. I opened my mouth. I closed it. Then I mumbled, remembering the pseudo-story I’d babbled at the hospital, “I’m just dead tired is all. There was an accident on the Burke-Gilman trail on my way home last night. This guy got hurt…”
My mind spiraled off at the thought of Christopher. I wondered if he’d gotten my number, and if he was all right. With a jolt, it occurred to me that he might well have saved my life. That thought made my mouth go dry, and it took me a moment before I was able to finish, “Jake and Carson and I had to get him to the hospital.”
Jude’s eyes, good reliable brown eyes that hadn’t changed color since the last time I’d seen them unlike certain other brown eyes I could name, went wide in her heart-shaped face. “Holy crap! You’re okay, right? You must be okay, you’re here—why are you here? If I were in your shoes, I’d be home neck deep in a bubble bath right now!”
“I’m okay. And we’ve got to ship today,” I said lamely.
“Good grief, woman, the gods of software development can let a tester off the hook if she had to take somebody to the hospital!” Jude got up to give me a big, impulsive hug. “Was it anybody you know? Is
he
okay?”
I tried not to think of the troll nearly cracking Christopher’s head open, but I couldn’t pull it off. “He had a nasty concussion,” I said. “Had to have stitches. Him, I mean, not me. I hadn’t ever seen him before.”
“So you took a complete stranger to the hospital? You’re a better woman than I am, Gunga Din. I probably would’ve crawled into bed as soon as the ambulance showed up.”
Making a crumpled expression that wasn’t quite a smile, I shrugged. “There kind of wasn’t an option.”
“But he’ll be okay, right?” Jude plopped back down in her chair, and as I nodded, she gave me a critical frown. “Good, but how about you? You look like you fell off a ladder or something.”
“I, um, took a tumble on the way in this morning—”
That made her blink and then point a peremptory finger at me. “Say no more. Mama Jude will attend to your needs and get you through the day so you can go home and collapse as is your rightful due. Sit there and think peaceful, happy thoughts.”
With that, my friend sped off to the kitchen down the hall. She returned with band-aids and a packet of antiseptic from the first aid cabinet, two paper towels (one damp, one dry), and a soda and a breakfast bar from the vending machines. I patched up what damage I’d taken from my
If you’re not a computer geek, software testing is as engrossing as watching paint dry. But it had a kind of systematic, structured order that appealed to me. I needed that order today, needed to lose myself in making sure every feature of the program worked the way it should.
As I wobbled up to the door of my office one of our team’s developers bolted past me. Alex’s dark eyes were full of urgent frustration, and he dashed down the hall muttering “Crap, crap, crap!” with every step. He didn’t say hello, but I didn’t stop him; I knew better than to distract a developer in ship mode.
Within, my officemate Jude (‘not Judith, and please God not Judy’) Lawrence swiveled her chair around to me, saying breezily, “Hi, Kendis! I just found me a baby-muncher of a shipstopper, want to lay any odds on whether we’re going to get this thing gone today or—” Then she took a closer look, and her expression morphed from smug pride into bemused concern. “Whoa, babe, you look like hell on toast. Are you okay?”
What could I tell her? Jake and Carson were two of the three people in my life I could tell almost anything; Jude, my best friend as well as my officemate, was the third. But I hadn’t thought of a rational, ‘I don’t need a straitjacket, honest’ explanation for last night’s weirdness for the boys, and I couldn’t think of one for this morning’s weirdness for her either. I opened my mouth. I closed it. Then I mumbled, remembering the pseudo-story I’d babbled at the hospital, “I’m just dead tired is all. There was an accident on the Burke-Gilman trail on my way home last night. This guy got hurt…”
My mind spiraled off at the thought of Christopher. I wondered if he’d gotten my number, and if he was all right. With a jolt, it occurred to me that he might well have saved my life. That thought made my mouth go dry, and it took me a moment before I was able to finish, “Jake and Carson and I had to get him to the hospital.”
Jude’s eyes, good reliable brown eyes that hadn’t changed color since the last time I’d seen them unlike certain other brown eyes I could name, went wide in her heart-shaped face. “Holy crap! You’re okay, right? You must be okay, you’re here—why are you here? If I were in your shoes, I’d be home neck deep in a bubble bath right now!”
“I’m okay. And we’ve got to ship today,” I said lamely.
“Good grief, woman, the gods of software development can let a tester off the hook if she had to take somebody to the hospital!” Jude got up to give me a big, impulsive hug. “Was it anybody you know? Is
he
okay?”
I tried not to think of the troll nearly cracking Christopher’s head open, but I couldn’t pull it off. “He had a nasty concussion,” I said. “Had to have stitches. Him, I mean, not me. I hadn’t ever seen him before.”
“So you took a complete stranger to the hospital? You’re a better woman than I am, Gunga Din. I probably would’ve crawled into bed as soon as the ambulance showed up.”
Making a crumpled expression that wasn’t quite a smile, I shrugged. “There kind of wasn’t an option.”
“But he’ll be okay, right?” Jude plopped back down in her chair, and as I nodded, she gave me a critical frown. “Good, but how about you? You look like you fell off a ladder or something.”
“I, um, took a tumble on the way in this morning—”
That made her blink and then point a peremptory finger at me. “Say no more. Mama Jude will attend to your needs and get you through the day so you can go home and collapse as is your rightful due. Sit there and think peaceful, happy thoughts.”
With that, my friend sped off to the kitchen down the hall. She returned with band-aids and a packet of antiseptic from the first aid cabinet, two paper towels (one damp, one dry), and a soda and a breakfast bar from the vending machines. I patched up what damage I’d taken from my
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