THE BUS PULLED UP to the eight-story medical building on Halsted and Megan had her usual fantasy about remaining on board until the end of the line, but she heaved herself towards the doors of the bus anyway. Slumping along, sort of throwing her feet one after the other, she crossed the street, entered the building, rode the elevator, walked down the hallway, and then stood facing her office door. She stared at it. Then she went inside and there was Jillian.

“Hey, Miss Megan!”

“Hey,” said Megan.

“How was your night, do anything fun? Anything new?”

“Nothing’s really changed since yesterday, no,” said Megan. Megan put her knee on her chair and opened Citrix, the intranet portal that connected her office with the hospital. Citrix was complex and opaque, and to understand it fully a person would probably need to attend a three-day regional seminar. Megan entered her secret username, “Megan,” and her secret password, “password.”

“Well, if you don’t have any news, let me tell you about my crazy night.” Jillian separated out the words “crazy” and “night.” Megan tried to ease her weight slowly down on her injured haunch.

“I am going to get a dog and start my own business,” said Jillian.

“Oh yeah?” said Megan.

“Oh yeah. Do you want to see the dog?”

Megan did not want to see the dog, but she agreed anyway. She walked the two paces to Jillian’s desk and stood there with her arms crossed. Let’s see this fucking dog you fucking moron.

“She’s a special needs puppy,” breathed Jillian. “And she’s dog of the day. It’s a two hundred dollar adoption fee. I don’t really have that much, but I want her so, so bad. Isn’t she cute?”

They both took a second to admire the dog. Megan thought it was a completely idiotic idea. She was, in some ways, ethically opposed to pet ownership.

“Yeah, she’s cute. But the adoption fees are to make sure the new owners can afford dog food and vet bills.” Megan cleared her throat and walked back to her desk. Her foot slipped out of her shoe. “And, if she really is a special needs dog, you know the vet bills are gonna be high. Just saying, might not be the best dog for you. Or, maybe it’s not the best time to get a dog. You have to plan for that stuff.”

“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure my little boy really wants a dog, and I think the most important thing for a special needs dog to have is love.”

Oh my god, this dog is going to die within a week, thought Megan.

“Oh, and I have to tell you about my idea to work from home.”

Just as a thought experiment, Megan scanned the room for potential weapons. Jillian’s voice came in and out of focus.