was dressed in my business best, an itchy wool top and well-pressed slacks.
He wore a green sweatsuit and had a beard like Santa Claus.
"So what you're sayin'," he leans forward in the chair and scribbles something on my job application, "is that you have two feet firmly planted in mid-air."
Yes, yes, that's pretty much what I'm saying.
This was after he told me about his center, a foster home for children with AIDS. This was after he had told me about the children I'd be caring for, pointing to their awkward class photos hanging on the wall: "Keisha is about seven, she's fed by a tube she carries around in a backpack. We don't have a picture of Kevin cause he's only seven months old. Course, he doesn't have a brain."
What does that mean?
"It means he was born without a brain."
Oh.
"I can't quite figger how he keeps alive, to be honest. But I heard they can live up to 10."
Without ... a brain?
"Yup. That's something, idn't?"
Something, all right.
"So why do you want to work with the little critters, anyway?"
Because I love them. I love their spirit. I used to be a writer, well, I am a writer, or at least I want to be a writer, and it's really solitary, you know. Kids help me settle things. Inside.
"You're seeking balance."
Yes. I think so.
"But you're not really sure if you'll be around for a year."
No, see, because I just got back from South America, and I have to be honest that it's a confusing time --
"Of course that's a problem, 'cause the little critters need stability."
Yes, I suspected as much.
"Two feet firmly planted in mid-air," he repeats, and then he chuckles to himself. "You like that saying?"
Yes, I do.
"Ever heard it before?"
I don't think so.
"Well, don't worry. The good news is, you'll get through it somehow. You've got a lot of life left."
I guess so.
I shake his hand and dig my keys out of my purse, trying to keep my cigarettes from showing.
"Nice thing about living in this place is that on nasty days like this, you don't have to go anywhere."
I smile and wave as I step outside. The cold is madness, crazy cold, the coldest day I've felt in ages.
I wonder if I'll get the job. I wonder if I want it.