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“Tonight we asess the great risks and perils facing American soldiers as they marched patriotically-” * “Down the hall and to the right.” The young girl smiled and bowed politely, thanking the receptionist. The place was cold and sterile, lined with a pale, green tile that reminded her of a morgue she had been in as a child. The association was unpleasant and it showed on her face.

She passed several nurses, all of them smiling jovially. It was a wonder to Sarah they could remain so bright in these bleak surroundings; in these past minutes alone she felt she had aged several years. A slight hum prevailed in the background, and Sarah had trouble deciding whether it was a type of machinery or the screams of a patient from the upper floors.

She found room 119 and peeked in, unsure of what to expect. The room was the same sickly lime as the rest of the building. It was bare and unfurnished. Her brother lay listlessly on a gurney and beside him sat his doctor, who spotted Sarah and said, “Please, Sarah. Sit down.” She took the unoccupied folding chair and slumped in despair.

“What happened?” Not once did Sarah look up at the Doctor.

He sighed and put his hand on her shoulder. She cried. “We’ve got some bad news. Your brother-” * “Roberts?”

The dashing young man looked up from his desk, a sly smile across his face. “Yes, toots? What can I do for you?” At the door she stopped hesitantly. “Don’t worry, doll,” said Roberts, “It’s against my policy to bite beautiful women.”

She swallowed her doubt. “Look, here’s the deal, alright? I’ve got this guy down at Blue Tunes-”

“Blue Tunes? On West 43rd?”

“That’s the one. So I’m down there for a drink, right, and some guy has the mind to grab a piece of me. I get up and I tell him, I says, ‘Try that again and I’ll knock your face in.’ He gives me one of those loose glances and pats me on the ass. So next minute I’m rolling him over sideways, and after we bust a few tables the manager comes out and throws this guy off, right, and then he turns to me and says-” * “What’s the Magic Word today, friends?” * “Pathetic!”

“What?” Chris had just come upon the realization, and was deflated.

“Utterly pathetic. You had a perfect opportunity and you didn’t even take it?”

“It didn’t occur to me at the time.” This baffled his friend.

“Didn’t occur to you?” he said, rising and clenching his hands in frustration. “How could that not occur to you? Every guy in America would die to have this opportunity, and it didn’t occur to you?” He sat down again and took a deep breath, reordering the events in his mind. Chris kept his stony silence. “So let me get this straight. She came here?” Chris nodded. “And she was just stopping by-” * “-the plains of Africa. This land is home to some of the most extraordinary-” * “Father?”

Slowly he turned his head from the window. “Have you finished your work, Sister?” The quiet was so loud that it echoed through the church. She trembled. “Don’t think about it. It had to be done. You know that.”

“I do.”

The Father let out a heavy breath. “Then you have done your service to the Lord today.” He turned back to the window.

Behind him she sobbed. “But what do I tell Sister Mary?” * “Tell him to suck a lemon.” * “Oh my God! Don’t you boys ever think about the consequences? Didn’t we teach you any decency?” She charged forward, steaming. “What do you have to say for yourselves?” * He smiled.

“I plead the Fifth.” * “The evidence that will henceforth be shown in this courtroom strongly suggests-” * “-that Lemon-Glo is strongest brand of cleaner-” * “-on the showroom floor today.”

“What do you think, Bob?” *

“-I’m tired of everyone laying the blame on-” * “Michael Jackson-” * “-and I’m sure everyone will agree with me when I say that-” * “-I want to stop seeing people dancing around the-” * “-point of-” * “-madness.”

Click.

“I’m bored.”

“Yeah… Let’s go do something else.”