Even if Ashley Eisenberg did get back to him, he decided, he would ignore it. A biologist would tell you that sperm comes from the testes. It was pretty clear to Dylan, however, that it originates in the brain, where it goes about filling your convolutions and making a fog of your thinking. Only when he was void like this could he think clear thoughts, and under ordinary circumstances the fog prevented him from believing even this. It was like when heâd tell Erin her PMS was making her into a bitch. Sheâd insist the PMS had nothing to do with it, until a day or two later when it was gone and she was her gentle, caring, clear-thinking self again. Then sheâd own up to what a hostage sheâd been.
He went to the bathroom sink to clean himself up, and then to his bedroom to kiss his great-with-child wife on the forehead and wish her a good night. She purred. He went to sleep with that rare appreciation for oneâs blessings that is the upshot of guilt.
When he awoke in the morning, Erin was goneâin the kitchen probably, feeding the kids. He got himself up and went to the bathroom. To his surprise, he found Erin seated on the toilet, her face wan and agonized.
âYou okay?â he asked.
âI canât pee,â she said.
âWhy not?â
âI think itâs time.â
âWhat, baby time?â
She nodded and winced.
âHoly Higgs!â 15
15 _____________
Given the ascendancy of physics over the past several decades, it was only natural that scientific language should begin to colonize colloquial speech. Even devoutly religious Anglophones could be heard saying âHoly Higgs!â at least as often as âDear God!â âSweet Jesus!â âChrist Almighty!â and the like. In fact, they generally preferred it because, though it referred to the all-important, mass-endowing âGod particleâ â discovered in a childâs home atom-smashing kit in Boise, Idaho in 1987 â it did not, strictly speaking, require them to take the Lordâs name in vain.
He called in to the department chair and told her the news. He said it didnât matter who subbed for him because he/she could just let the kids work on their Shakespeare scenes. Then he began the laborious project of getting the kids ready to go. Once they were buckled into the levicar, he supported Erin on his arm to the passenger seat and manifested the door behind her. Then they were off to the New Taiwan Medical Center Earthling Annex. They decided that Dylan would drop Erin at the ER and then take the kids to daycare and hover right back.
He dropped her off and watched her waddle through the foglet doors, and then hovered along the roundabout and back over the street. He was just in time for rush-hour traffic, but the daycare center wasnât far away and he was back at the hospital in twenty minutes flat. He let the car self-park and hustled inside. As he rode the elevator on the way up to maternity, he checked his omni to find out what room Erin was in, and was surprised to find a new message waiting for him.
How awesome! Of course I remember you! And yes! Triple yes! I would love to get together. I wonder when would be a good time for you? I am still in the Baltimore area. Itâs tough for me to get away. Maybe you can meet me at the Inner Harbor sometime for lunch?
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Ashley
How deeply unsettling to have his spheres cross like this, not to mention being reminded of what a fool he was, how in matters of the heart/balls he was really not much wiser than the adolescents he pontificated to on a daily basis.
He ignored the message, which, some part of him must have realized, was not the same as deleting it.
Erin, his omni informed him, was in room 342, just around the corner from the elevator bank. He found it easily enough and knocked on the door. A native nurse (you could tell natives by their double-jointed elbows and knees 16 )
He went to the bathroom sink to clean himself up, and then to his bedroom to kiss his great-with-child wife on the forehead and wish her a good night. She purred. He went to sleep with that rare appreciation for oneâs blessings that is the upshot of guilt.
When he awoke in the morning, Erin was goneâin the kitchen probably, feeding the kids. He got himself up and went to the bathroom. To his surprise, he found Erin seated on the toilet, her face wan and agonized.
âYou okay?â he asked.
âI canât pee,â she said.
âWhy not?â
âI think itâs time.â
âWhat, baby time?â
She nodded and winced.
âHoly Higgs!â 15
15 _____________
Given the ascendancy of physics over the past several decades, it was only natural that scientific language should begin to colonize colloquial speech. Even devoutly religious Anglophones could be heard saying âHoly Higgs!â at least as often as âDear God!â âSweet Jesus!â âChrist Almighty!â and the like. In fact, they generally preferred it because, though it referred to the all-important, mass-endowing âGod particleâ â discovered in a childâs home atom-smashing kit in Boise, Idaho in 1987 â it did not, strictly speaking, require them to take the Lordâs name in vain.
He called in to the department chair and told her the news. He said it didnât matter who subbed for him because he/she could just let the kids work on their Shakespeare scenes. Then he began the laborious project of getting the kids ready to go. Once they were buckled into the levicar, he supported Erin on his arm to the passenger seat and manifested the door behind her. Then they were off to the New Taiwan Medical Center Earthling Annex. They decided that Dylan would drop Erin at the ER and then take the kids to daycare and hover right back.
He dropped her off and watched her waddle through the foglet doors, and then hovered along the roundabout and back over the street. He was just in time for rush-hour traffic, but the daycare center wasnât far away and he was back at the hospital in twenty minutes flat. He let the car self-park and hustled inside. As he rode the elevator on the way up to maternity, he checked his omni to find out what room Erin was in, and was surprised to find a new message waiting for him.
How awesome! Of course I remember you! And yes! Triple yes! I would love to get together. I wonder when would be a good time for you? I am still in the Baltimore area. Itâs tough for me to get away. Maybe you can meet me at the Inner Harbor sometime for lunch?
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Ashley
How deeply unsettling to have his spheres cross like this, not to mention being reminded of what a fool he was, how in matters of the heart/balls he was really not much wiser than the adolescents he pontificated to on a daily basis.
He ignored the message, which, some part of him must have realized, was not the same as deleting it.
Erin, his omni informed him, was in room 342, just around the corner from the elevator bank. He found it easily enough and knocked on the door. A native nurse (you could tell natives by their double-jointed elbows and knees 16 )
Similar Books
