How Can I Help You

by Laura Sims

She used the male pronoun for every scenario she described, so I wrote it down: he, he. And she was right, for the most part; the only times I’ve punched the numbers 911 into the phone, it’s been for men. Men can never keep their violence to themselves.

“The library is a community center now. It’s a gathering place. We want people to come together and, yes, talk, if they want to. We want young people to come here and hang out. If they grow up in the library, they’ll value it later, see?”

I feel twin things: the deep satisfaction that comes from a job well done, and the sense of loss that always follows on its heels. I had a project. Now I don’t, I