Page 32 of Sharkbait
She gasps. “See? What did I tell you? Love is on its way!”
“Or,” I emphasize, “it could just be that my job is to handlestarfish and sea urchins in the aquarium’s touch pool.”
“Whatever. I’ll give you that one. If you see a ladybug, though, you gotta let me know. It’s widely believed that if you catch a ladybug and then free it, you will be its master, and it will continuously whisper your name into your lover’s ear.”
I laugh. “Stop it, will you?!”
“Oh but holy shit, if you see a beaver? Then forget it, friend. A beaver means you’ve found your mate for life.”
“You really need to cool it with the animal spiritualism.”
Her energy instantly deflates. “Really? I thought you enjoyed that.”
“Idid. For a little while. But maybe it’s not something you need to add to the therapy toolbox when you start your actual practice.”
“Your feedback is noted, madam.”
“Okay, I gotta go. My brother is pulling up in his vulva.”
“It’s a Volvo, Louise. A Volvo.”
“Old habits die hard, I guess.” I gather my bag and stand. “Thanks for the chat, Gail. I appreciate it. I appreciateyou.”
“You know I love ya. Have fun at the shindig!”
I blow her a kiss, and we hang up.
Ralph jogs over in a classy trench coat and creates space for me under his umbrella. “Hey!” he says, a bit out of breath. “Sorry to cut it so close. I had to get the last few chapters of Callie’s new book recorded today, or she was going to miss her deadline.” He brushes a few raindrops off his forehead and offers me his arm. “Shall we?”
I hook my arm around his elbow, and we make our way toward the steps.
I give him a nudge. “I was about to head in without you.”
“No, you weren’t.” He chuckles.
“You’re right. I wasn’t. So what’s this one called?”
“Callie’s book?Tempting the Pterodactyl.”
I laugh and shake my head. “I still can’t believe my astronomer brother is now a porn star.”
“Louise. We both know that statement is completely inaccurate.”
“My apologies. My astronomer brother is now avocalporn star.”
“I havenarratedseveral of Calliope’s dinosaurlove stories,”he corrects.
“Alright. So is this really going to be the main thing now? Are you even applying for museum jobs anymore after everything that went down?”
“I don’t know. Applying for another museum position would likely mean moving to another city since I blew my chance at the only natural history museum in Philly.”
“Literally and figuratively.” I snort.
“Huh?”
“Youblewyour chance literally and figuratively.”
“Hardy har har.”
