Pool_1

As usual the place was jammed and the table populated with a subset of the regulars. Today, nobody looked as though they were going to be hanging around vary long. Various Hi Shannons were tossed to the cafeteria din as she excused herself. "Mind, if I squeeze in?" There were the usual greetings, playful abuses and, hand gestures. A distinctive unexpected growl from behind flipped her gaze around. "Hey. You made it?" she smiled, "Your op schedule.. I just assumed you wouldn't be here." It was Dr. Macaluso pulling up two chairs, one for her. "Perfect," she went on without missing a beat. "Here are the revised copies of the three grant proposals.." "Christ! Gimme a break here. I didn't even sit... look.. I only just.. ugh.. What? Which three?" Macaluso obviously had come for escape, not be enlisted in more causes, and Shannon could really pile it on. The only limit to what she carried, he claimed, was the ceiling height. She expected others to dive into civic projects the way she did. He had once remarked, "It's amazing how far you can go if that broad is pushing you," making an off the cliff gesture with his hands as he said it. So these were not obscure over-the-cliff gestures that the entire table was making in jest while watching Shannon dump folders in his lap as he groaned. "Shannon!" "Proposal for Nurse Practitioner matching funds from the Woodward Foundation? Inner city project to evaluate the cocaine effects on babies in Headstart settings?" Reeling his eyes. "Hmn. OK. Yeah." "Here's the inter-hospital proposal to combine children's morbidity statistics. Statewide comprehensiveness and getting at the costs from noncitizen usage is revised."