sometimes, I'm not on the ball

“I was at the library yesterday” – that’s how I started a conversation with my youngest sister who so happens to work at the library.

“And you didn’t come by to see me?”

“Yesterday was Saturday and it wasn’t the main branch I was at it was a local branch”

“That’s right I wouldn’t have been there. Which branch?”

“The South End”

“What were you doing there”

if I were on the ball I would have made up some story about how I wanted to go to their book sale while enjoying the live classical music they were playing that day but instead she got the truth.

“Little g needed a book”

“Which one?”

“The Pearl by John Steinbeck” she made a face of dislike “You don’t like that book”

“Not so much but it’s short so Little g won’t have too much trouble getting through it”

“She gave me her card to check it out”

“And they let you use it?”

“Yup”

“They’re not supposed to”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought, that’s why I checked to make certain I had my card with me. I also had to pay a 15 cent fine. I gave them a quarter and told them to keep the change”

“Gee, that’s nice of you”