Three Minutes

At four o'clock on February eighteenth, two hours before the hearing, Dolores called Frank from the hospital.

"Don't panic," she said, which made Frank panic immediately. "I'm fine. It's my daughter. The baby is coming. Three weeks early. I'm in the waiting room. Frank, I can't leave her. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry," said Frank. "Go. Be a grandmother. We'll manage."

He hung up and stood in his kitchen for a full minute, not managing at all.

Then he called the City Clerk's office.