Nora swallowed part of her doughnut, asked, “Good news?”, and took another bite.

“Yes,” Ted responded, head cocked so the telephone receiver would not fall. “GlaxoSmithKline’s willing to front us some cancer drugs. At least, that’s what this one guy in the top brass is saying.”

“Thank God,” Nora breathed, still chewing on the doughnut piece. “So when can we—”

“Ah, yes, hello?” Ted said, sitting bolt upright and grabbing the receiver. “When are we going to get—” His features contorted. “What do you mean you can’t fly them overseas? Can’t, or won’t?…Yeah, I know, I know the fallout is still in the Atlantic, but… Don’t give me any of that BS! Can’t you just fly them over the Arctic or…You’re kidding me. You’ve got to…Yeah, well, same to you, pal.” He slammed the phone down and exhaled exasperatedly. “They won’t fly it over the ocean because of the radiation all over the Eastern Seaboard. They’re going to send it the long way.”

Nora put the half-doughnut on her plate. Suddenly she wasn’t hungry anymore.