Catch a Falling Knife

remembered I wasn’t going to interrupt, so I kept quiet as Mark took a breath.
    After a few seconds Mark continued. “She did ask a question, but nothing very earth-shaking. In fact, I don’t even remember what it was. Then she stood up and I thought she was going to leave. I was sitting in front of my computer, but I got up to see her out the door. She went to the door and turned around. I was a couple of steps from her.  She came toward me and…” Mark faltered, then continued, “She kissed me hard—on the mouth.” Mark stopped, unable to continue.
    “What did you do?”
    “I pushed her away—gently—and said something stupid like, “I’ve already got a girlfriend.”
    “That wasn’t stupid.”
    “When I pushed her my hand may have brushed against her breast. Anyway, she stood looking at me, and with a straight face she said, ‘Now you know how I feel about you.’ Then she turned around, opened the door and went out, closing it behind her.”
    “Did you try to follow her?”
    “No. In fact, I didn’t move for about five minutes. I had that horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach, the one you get when you’re sure something terrible is about to happen. Unfortunately, I was right.”
    I had the same feeling. I asked Mark a few more questions about the incident to try to find out whether he had forgotten any details, but apparently he hadn’t. What now? I said, “Have you told Sandra about this?”
    Mark shook his head, looking miserable. “I’m afraid she won’t understand.”
    With reason. Sandra had shown annoyance with Mark’s flirting in the past. No telling how she would respond to this. Still, she had to be told. I said, “What’s your current status at Crescent Heights?” You haven’t been suspended yet, have you?”
    “As of right now I’m still teaching. In fact, I have two classes to teach tomorrow. The eight o’clock and a one o’clock.”
    We needed a plan. I knew some lawyers, but I didn’t see what a lawyer could accomplish in the short run. And apparently, we didn’t have a chance of getting the policy declared unconstitutional. What could we do immediately? “Take me with you, tomorrow,” I said. “I want to sit in on your class. And look around the campus. And maybe talk to some people.”
    Mark hesitated. “I leave here at 6:30.”
    “I’m an early riser. You can pick me up and jump on the Interstate.”
    “What about King?”
    King was my part-husky dog. I had named her after the lead-dog of Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, the Mountie on the old-time radio show, in spite of the fact that she was female. I usually walked a mile with her in the morning. “I’ll take her for a short walk and leave her outside with food and water. The cold doesn’t bother her. I’ll ask Tess to take her for a walk later. King likes Tess because Tess gives her cookies.”
    Mark acquiesced. He knew I wasn’t completely useless, as I had proven before. But I wanted to make sure he was going to do the right thing. I said, “Now you go home and explain the situation to Sandra.” Mark had been living in Sandra’s condo for a while, with Sandra and her two-year-old son, Winston. “And, hopefully, everything will work out.”
    Mark smiled, wanly. “But first, can I have some dessert? I saw on the menu they have do-it-yourself sundaes tonight.”

Chapter 2
     
    I waited for Mark in the parking area near my apartment, shivering in the cold and wishing spring would spring. He still hadn’t arrived five minutes after our agreed-upon time. That wasn’t like Mark. I waited a few more minutes, wondering whether I should call Sandra’s condo from my cell phone. Maybe he had forgotten me.
    Then his old Toyota appeared around the curve of the rim road, easily recognizable in contrast to the newer cars of the residents who still drove. As soon as I got into the car I could tell that his outlook hadn’t improved since last night. If anything, he looked and sounded more depressed as he greeted me with a weak hello.
    As we drove away I tried to think of something to say to cheer him up. Finally, I said, “We’ll lick this thing. Don’t let it get to you.”
    Mark looked straight ahead at the road and said, “Sandy kicked me out.”
    The first thoughts that came into my head were words that you can’t say about your granddaughter. Sometimes she seemed to have her head on backwards. With an effort I got myself under control and said, “She shouldn’t have done