Stuck Between Stations

Something about the timbre of her voice gives Pete a rash. That itching he gets at the back of his throat at the beginning of an allergic reaction, this is how he feels whenever she comes on the radio. Mary's voice is the aural equivalent of tree nuts and strawberries for Pete. Not a good thing considering the public radio station he listens to religiously has moved Mary over to the morning show from 5:30 to 8:30 am. The one upside is that she only does the traffic report; it's timed to ten minutes past the thirty and the hour so Pete can physically remove himself from the sound if he's in a room or if he's fast enough, mute it entirely. Still, he is plowing through his Benadryl which is making him rather sloppy at work. Coworkers wonder if he's developed a sleeping disorder. Maybe he's high from the night before- with Pete, no one can really tell; and as no one can see his hive-covered esophagus, Pete's not entirely convincing to his coworkers. He's thought about writing the station and explaining his rather unique and bizarre predicament. His cubicle mate Lucie suggests he simply change radio stations. Or better yet, turn the radio off altogether. Lucie asks why he even listens to the news in the morning- you just wake up to doom and gloom and that's no way to start the day. Why this has never occurred to Pete is baffling, even to him. Simple solutions are not his strong suit. It's not that he enjoys being difficult or obtuse, it's that his brain genuinely struggles to find the the most efficient manner of problem solving. Pete gets lost in the details, the minutaie of everyday repetition. Patterns and habits define Pete's existence. Without a sense of solid structure he becomes paralyzed by stasis. So he times a walkabout at 6:10 am, his shower at 6:40; pulls his headphones off his ears in the streetcar at 7:10 and if he's lucky, gets to work in time to mute the radio for 8:10. By then he's home free. Every now and then when he mistimes his route or there's a glitch in transit he catches Mary's intro and his breath starts to shorten. It could be worse. At least he's not anaphylactic.

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