A Day in May: In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

Today was a beautiful, sunshinny, finally-feels-like-spring kind of day. I went for a walk during my lunch break and bought stamps and Mentos chewing candies, which I sucked on as I meandered around the Upper East Side for 45 minutes. I walked in the direction of the stop lights, crossing streets when approaching green lights and turning corners when approaching red lights. Preferring the sunny side of the street, I walked while listening to the music that I listened to last summer, and my skin felt warm and so did my soul. I lost track of time and was a couple minutes late returning to my desk. My cheeks were flushed and my mind refreshed. I sat down to scheduling requests and prescription follow-ups.

Then, like a ominious cloud that passes past the hot sun causing people to look up at the sky with furrowed brows and then reach for their sweaters, the phone rang in the doctor's office next to my desk. I heard as Dr. M answered calmly and gave bad news to a waiting patient about a procedure, about a biopsy, about a cancerous polyp. I heard Dr. M's voice grow tender and comforting as he tried to convince the patient not to blame himself and instead focus on the next steps, the treatment, the way back to health.

The phone call ended. I went back to work. At 5:00PM I grabbed my jacket and left the office.
I stepped outside, and cold wet raindrops fell heavily on the sidewalk that hours before had been soaked in the sun.