Changing Hands by Nanette L. Avery

Author:Nanette L. Avery
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2024-10-09T13:44:17+00:00

Anarchy

Chapter 10

From Ship to Shore

Atay Bayani moved to the side of the road and let the four-wheeled dog cart pass. He meant to ask the boy what kind of a dog it was but assumed the canine to be a collie mix. The dog wagged its tail, and the boy, seemingly unhappy to be out so early in the morning, trudged alongside with a disagreeable mood. “Good morning,” Atay said, watching the pair. The boy, not more than ten, smiled faintly and responded with a meek salutation. The associate biologist thought of his boy, a few years older, and reminded himself to compliment his son on his good manners lest he become a dolt like the one that had just passed.

The morning had begun in its usual way; his wife prepared a simple breakfast of hot cereal and cocoa and then a quick scan of the morning paper before lecturing his son on the virtues of hard work. The family lived in a small colonial-style cottage, which they rented at a reasonable rate. It offered little more than a secure dwelling and a convenient walking distance to work; everything else concerning the home was a fixture of the family’s doing. His employment at The Woods Hole Laboratory, which touted its reputation as being founded in 1871, served the young biologist a promise of future enterprises between the oceanographic communities in the United States and Europe. Such an exchange of scientific ideas would certainly be an excellent opportunity to advance his career.

The morning sky had risen unlike any other; he couldn’t remember ever seeing clouds taking on a hue of saffron. Atay dug his hand in his pocket and removed the note his wife had given him. “Don’t forget the sand.” He smiled and placed it back, hoping he wouldn’t forget. Atay reflected on the day as he approached the laboratories housed in a pair of two-story wooden shingled structures. Not very fancy but commanding enough to be nicknamed Old Main. He was the figure of an academic, fitted in a tweed suit and carrying his lunch wrapped in brown paper. At noon, he would meet with the other marine biologists and discuss the day’s findings over his sandwich and coffee. Mrs. Varna, the resident housewoman, always provided coffee and tea. Activities such as these personify ordinary days when observed by those kept by habitual behavior; however, it is what one does with the time between the habits that makes for the unconventional. But it never seemed as though he had much extra time.

Bayani was resigned to the idea that his day would not be any more exciting than directing the move of the new specimens now filling the outer hallway. A live shipment of marine invertebrates needed immediate attention. Professor M.A. Didra’s last catalog of invertebrates detailed thirty-five species of sponges; however, with this latest acquisition, the publication would need to be updated, contingent upon the findings of Atay and his graduate students. But first, the tedious job of making room inside the laboratory relied on their reconfiguring shelf space.

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