en cuyo caso

a woman was staring at me. it was my boss.
i raised my head from the bubbler.
"good morning, jesse. thirsty?"
i nodded and smiled.
there were men arguing in a room. i was walking by the doorway. they didn't know that anyone could hear them.
"all i'm saying is! i've got this problem on my plate! and i've gotta deal with it! because it needs to be fixed!"
yesterday the room was too hot, and today it was too cold. but no one spends time in that room. they only go there to take a nap or use the bathroom. that's the problem that is on that man's plate. a man who was old, wearing a hardhat and well-worn denim pants, was the alone in the conference room, staring out the seven glass doors as he spoke on his cell phone. he was also involved with the problem. it was on his plate too.
a woman was staring at me. it was my other boss.
i said, "now press equals."
the student says, "that's it! i forgot to press equals!"
the boss could see how effectively i was mentoring these students.

i found the perfect epigraph to hang above a bathroom door, from Cortázar:
"Interregno del baño, paréntesis de la seca y vestida existencia."