So, as soon as all of my co-workers were gone, I got up from my desk and hurried over to the elevator. I purposefully pushed all conscious thought and any apprehensions aside. Two weeks of internal wrangling convinced me that even the slightest doubt could push me away, send me back home for a quiet Friday night of intense frustration.

I have no actual memory of driving to the pet shop. It was about fifteen miles from my office building, which in Friday rush-hour traffic would take around and hour. But I don't remember any of that. I had complete tunnel vision. I don't remember anything except parking in the...