The Meeting

Am inordinately excited by donuts, which distracted me for the first few minutes of the meeting. Opened up box to discover four donuts, one for each of us, which seemed generous for the vice-boss. Imagined that the donuts were jelly filled and looked forward to first bite. Discovered that donut was filled with cream. "Cream," most certainly not real cream (question: what is it?) Caught thread of vice-boss's monologue even though hard to catch because she couldn't get her words out fast enough. It seemed that she was very excited about the prospect of a Greater Role in the University. I shared a look with the Contessa. The New Man doodled on his pad of legal paper. The New Man cleared his throat, we (we?) were going to start a brand new lecture series which he was going to be in charge of. Fine. The vice-boss was going to be in charge of the art collection for the school. She'd been given a budget, a large budget, by a certain donor, one of the trustees, and was charged with buying up more art. The vice-boss has lots of shoes and frequently returns to the office carrying bags of clothes and it was with the high of a life-long shopper that she delivered her news. She explained, We may have to go to Europe to buy art. We? The Contessa asked weakly. You and me, said the vice-boss. I will need an assistant when I'm travelling. The New Man turned to me, you are going to help me with the lecture series. His voice was rich and sincere. The Contessa reached for a donut and ate it mechanically.