“Sounds good,” he said. “I’m probably going to have to check out the menu before I order.”
Finally, Elgin came out, looking shaky. “Change my flight to D.C.,” he said. “I want to leave in the morning.”
I wasn’t completely up to speed on Elgin’s schedule. But I did know his presentation was in D.C. at four p.m. I opened my mouth to explain that with the time difference—
“Just—” he said.
“Fine.”
Then, wouldn’t you know, a Connector passed by. Elgin darted into traffic and stopped it. He conferred with the driver, then waved me over. “He’s taking you back to Redmond,” Elgin said. “S-plus me my new itinerary.”
What choice did I have? I boarded the shuttle. Pablo did bring me back an order of salt-and-pepper calamari, but it didn’t travel well.
From: Audrey Griffin
To: Soo-Lin Lee-Segal
This will have to be quick because I’m up to here with party preparations. The real “flash update” is that you’re starting to realize that God is driving the bus. (In your case, literally. Honk, honk!) I’d love to talk to you more about it sometime. Coffee, maybe? I can come out to Microsoft.
Email from the guy outside the library to his architecture professor at USC
From: Jacob Raymond
To: Paul Jellinek
Dear Mr. Jellinek,
Remember how I told you I was going to Seattle on a pilgrimage to see the public library, and I joked that I’d let you know if I had a Bernadette Fox sighting? Well, guess who I saw outside the public library?
Bernadette Fox! She was about fifty, her hair was brown and wild. The only reason I looked twice was because she was wearing a fishing vest, which is something you notice.
There’s the one picture of Bernadette Fox taken about twenty years ago when she won her award. And you hear all the speculation about her, how she moved to Seattle and became a recluse or went crazy. I had a really strong feeling it was her. Before I could say anything, she abruptly volunteered, “Bernadette Fox.”
I started gushing. I told her I was a graduate student at USC, and had visited Beeber Bifocal every time they opened it to the public, and that our winter project is a competition to reinterpret the Twenty Mile House.
I suddenly realized I had said too much. Her eyes were vacant. Something was seriously wrong with her. I wanted to get a picture of me with the elusive Bernadette Fox. (Talk about a profile pic!) But then I thought better of it. This woman has given me so much already. The relationship has been one-way, and still I want to take more? I bowed to her with my hands in prayer position and walked into the library, leaving her standing outside in the rain.
I feel bad because I think I might have messed her up. Anyway. In case you were wondering: Bernadette Fox is walking around Seattle in the middle of winter wearing a fishing vest.
See you in class,
Jacob
Mom and Dad went out to dinner that night without me, to some Mexican place in Ballard, which was fine because Friday is when a bunch of us go to Youth Group and they have fried shrimp, plus they let us watch a movie, which was Up.
Dad left at five in the morning to catch a plane because he had Samantha 2 business at Walter Reed.[1] Claire Anderssen was having a party on Bainbridge Island, and I wanted to go out to our house there, plus I wanted Kennedy to spend the night. Kennedy gets on Dad’s nerves, and there was no way we could have a sleepover if he was there, so I was happy he was gone.
Mom and I had a plan. We’d catch the 10:10 to Bainbridge, and Kennedy would take the passenger ferry after gymnastics, which she tried to get out of, but her mom wouldn’t let her.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11
Cliff Mass blog post
This storm is turning into a complex weather event. I will need some time to describe it because the media is not fully comprehending its implications. The cloud band leading the approaching weather system hit western Washington yesterday afternoon. The latest high-resolution computer models show sustained winds of 40–50 mph with gusts of 70–80 mph and the low going north of us instead of the southern trajectory predicted earlier.
On the radio yesterday, I expressed extreme skepticism at yesterday’s track for the low center, and the latest satellite pictures confirm that the center of the low will cross southern Vancouver Island and move into British Columbia. Such a position allows warm, moist air to move right into western Washington with the potential for heavy rain.
Yesterday, the media shrugged off my serious weather warnings for Seattle as a Henny Penny false alarm. This is no false alarm. The unforeseen storm path has allowed a low-pressure system to move north of Puget Sound and warm temperatures to abound.
In Seattle, warm temperatures, associated with moist, Pineapple Express air, have already produced a rainfall of two inches between 7 PM yesterday and 7 AM this morning. I am now going out on a limb and projecting that this flow will stagnate over Puget Sound and the deluge will continue for hours. We are in the midst of a most notable weather show.
See, that’s what I mean about loving Cliff Mass. Because, basically, all he’s saying is it’s going to rain.
From: Ollie-O
To: Prospective Parent Brunch Committee
REAL-TIME 
FLASH!
The day of the PPB has come. Unfortunately, our biggest get, the sun, is going to be a no-show. Ha-ha. That was my idea of a joke.
It’s imperative we run tight. It would be death-dealing for Galer Street if the prospectives felt their time was being wasted, especially during the holiday shopping season. Our objective is for the Mercedes Parents to see and be seen, and then spring them so they can storm U Village and take advantage of these astonishing fifty-percent-off storewide sales.
10:00–10:45—MPs arrive. Drinks and food passed.
10:45—Mr. Kangana and parent Helen Derwood arrive with kindergarteners, who enter, quiet as church mice, through side door and situate themselves for marimba performance.
10:55—Gwen Goodyear gives short welcoming speech, then directs MPs to sunroom. Mr. Kangana leads kindergarteners in marimba performance.
11:15—Closing remarks.
Gwen Goodyear will be stationed at the door, bidding adieux, and handing out Galer Street swag. There is no way to overemphasize the importance of this. Just because they’re Mercedes Parents doesn’t mean they’re not highly receptive to free shit. (Excuzey-moi!)
Cheers!
From: Soo-Lin Lee-Segal
To: Audrey Griffin
GOOD LUCK TODAY! I just spoke with Pizza Nuovo. The rain doesn’t affect their wood-burning oven. They will set up a tent in the backyard. I’m stuck in Redmond because Elgin is making a presentation in another city and he wants me at my desk to troubleshoot any glitches. No comment.
From: Ollie-O
To: Prospective Parent Brunch Committee
Crisis. Enormous billboard hovering over Audrey’s house. Erected overnight by crazy neighbor. (Fellow Galer Street parent?) Audrey hysterical. Husband calling city attorney. I don’t do black swan.
From: Helen Derwood, PhD
To: Galer Street Kindergarten Parents
Cc: Galer Street All-School List
1
I’m not divulging any proprietary Microsoft information when I say this. Microsoft is built on ideas, and you can’t just go blabbing those ideas, even to your family, because they might blab it to Kennedy, who blabs it to her dad, and even though he works at Amazon, he used to work at Microsoft and knows people, who he tells, and Dad hears about it, and you learn your lesson. Normally I’d never say where Dad was going on business, but I looked it up on the Internet, and there’s a video of his presentation at Walter Reed hospital that afternoon, so it’s totally public.