Strange Friendships

I am looking for a job. A woman from a temp agency has left a couple of messages on the phone about some jobs. One of them sounds really interesting – working retail at a new jewelry store that’s in my favorite part of downtown. I don’t call about the job; it’s too late or too early or the weekend. I go to that part of town to wander around, try to find the store. I run into my old friend from college, R. She wants to catch up but is super busy. I follow her back to her place, a studio apartment in a business district that she’s turning into a jewelry store. She’s the person looking for someone to work in her new store. Her jewelry is lovely, and I tell her I’d be honored to help her get on her feet.

Note: R turned out to be a terrible friend, and I can’t imagine that I would be happy to see her in real life. The “downtown” is the same one I’ve dreamt of many times before.