by A. Non

Created on: August 16, 2010

David closed the door behind her quickly.

“Do I have any on me?” asked Ms. Blackerby. David never seen her unnerved, through all of the many discussions and negotiations.

“No” he replied.

“It’s like a pestilence. I’m from California. I’ve never seen anything like them.” Ms. Blackerby set her briefcase down, returning to her calm professionalism.

“The cicadas only emerge every 17 years.” David offered.

“The sound is deafening.”

“Actually, it can reach 120 decibels, about as loud as a blender.”

“Why so loud?” she asked.

“They are competing for mates. All of this is about mating and children,” explained David, “the males offer a ‘song’ to woo the females. The females plant the fertilized eggs in tree bark, which will then fall out, sink into the earth and burrow for 17 years. It’s just what keeps them going.”

“You must be from here.” asked Ms. Blackerby. “You know so much about them.”

“No, I moved here after college. They just interest me.” said David.

“So you’ve never seen them before?”

“No.” answered David.

“I have. When I was 17.” said Lisa as she entered the room.

After exchanging pleasantries, they sat at the dining room table to review the documents. It took about an hour. Towards the end, Ms. Blackerby called her office for some information. They waited.

“So Lisa, you remember the cicadas from when you were a teenager.” asked Ms. Blackerby.

“Of course. We all thought it was romantic. Waiting 17 years to be with the one you loved.” said Lisa.

David looked away. Lisa continued.

“They were a terrible problem for our prom. We had to move the venue to a restaurant on top of a building downtown.”

“That must have been nice.” said Ms. Blackerby conversationally.

“Yes, you don’t need anything more than windows to decorate a party. But I think we should have kept it at the high school. The cicadas made it special.”

Ms. Blackerby received the return call from her office. She hung up and turned to David and Lisa.  

“OK, that’s it. You are divorced. I wish you both good luck.”

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