Q & A

Leaving the candidate’s file on the mahogany desk, in his study at home, was the first thing that Moss Erlich fumbled that day. It was only after he’d walked down the hill, his new loafers chafing his heels the whole way to campus, that he realized his mistake. It occurred to him just as his fingers touched the greasy metal handle of the front door to his building.

“Shit,” he said, just as Penley, the senior scholar of European intellectual history, was exiting. He braced himself for the enveloping cloud of coffee breath and intestinal rot.

“Oh, Moss, do you have a second? I know it’s early,” said Penley.

“Not early enough. I’m already behind for the day. Is Mandy in? I need her to print some documents for me. I left the job candidate’s file at home by accident.”

“Listen,” said Penley, coughing into his sleeve. “We’ve got to talk.”

“I know what you’re going to say. It’s about the one who got upset in my office the other day. She’s not my student, you know. I’m not her advisor. Though I did offer advice.”

“We all know you’re not a mean guy,” said Penley, “just emphatic. But the first-year PhDs don’t know the difference yet.”

“Another time,” said Moss. For God’s sake, he thought, did the man never brush his teeth?

Mandy’s swivel chair sat empty behind the front desk of the department office. Moss checked his watch. Where the hell was she? There were a million things for which he could use her assistance. No longer being chair of the department didn’t mean his workload...