Gemotions

From the moment he got the invitation, Kevin had been plagued by an overwhelming need to keep moving. He couldn't settle. He paced, he fidgeted, he cleaned his apartment repeatedly, all to avoid the inevitable. The speech. The retirement party. It was all too much.

His phone buzzed with a reminder. He ignored it, then checked it again. His heart felt like it was doing somersaults in his chest. He felt restless and edgy, like a caged animal. He opened his laptop, but the screen swam before his eyes. He slammed it shut.

He felt an impulse to disappear, to simply vanish before the evening arrived. He needed to get away, to be alone. He grabbed his keys and left, driving aimlessly, the radio blaring, trying to drown out the internal clamor.