Day 581, February 3, 2022

Bump

I stopped to let a cluster of students cross the street, and moments later there was the heavy thud and the pressure of being pressed into your seat. It was a surprisingly solid hit, like a full shoulder into a door kind of hit. Headlights reflected in the rain. There was a bus nearby. I stepped outside and it was a woman in a light blue Geo Prism with black duct tape on the bumper. She suggested we pull on to a side street, so we did. We looked at our cars. I could not see any damage, it was raining and dark. It was wet, she said, as if that might excuse her car. One of her headlights was loose and jiggled in its housing when she touched it. There were a lot of things in her car in the back seat. Belongings. It was ordered. She asked if I wanted her license and I said it didn’t look like there was any damage. I asked what her name was. Valerie, she said. What are you studying? I asked. She wore a hand knit winter hat. Neuroscience, she said. I am your academic dean, I said. She let out a long exaggerated, No! Be careful out there, I said and gestured to the evening. It was raining, but lightly, so it was hard to see. It was dark. Students were walking to the dining hall. I pulled into a handicapped parking space to turn around. I stopped and let her pass further down the side street, before pulling out and returning on my way.

A twofer!