out. Just ask the mutual friends who won’t speak to me anymore.”
“And you’ve been so happy about it ever since,” Adrian said sarcastically. “If you’re better off, just get over it, okay? It’s getting tedious.”
“Thanks for your support,” Anthea said, her tone grim.
“There’s support and there’s indulgence.”
“I just need a little more time. I think my moon is in the wrong house or something. God, I hope it’s not too late for me to change. I’m still smoking ten cigarettes a day and I want more. The only good thing to happen is getting a car pool again, even if it’s with this woman from groundwater protection who thinks she’s superior because she works for a living, unlike those of us who just pretend, hiding behind our desks and computers.”
Adrian swallowed, then curled his lip. “A person who works for a living, how quaint.” He wrinkled his nose.
Anthea laughed. “Some of my best friends work
for a living.” What am I saying, she thought suddenly. She didn’t have any friends. Not anymore. Adrian was her only friend.
The two of them had been in the cost accounting department the longest. They were the two who could never be laid off because they were the two who knew absolutely everything about the costing system. Therefore they worked the longest hours and, because they had so much invested in the system, they were the only ones who cared about the quality of work.
She shrugged philosophically. “It’s been since before Christmas, and here it is Valentine’s Day. I can put up with anything at this point. I’m glad I found this woman before Lois did. I still can’t believe she had the nerve to suggest we go back to car pooling together after she made me turn in the pass. God, I wish this place was near a BART line. NOC-U couldn’t give a shit.”
“Disgusting,” Adrian said.
“Well, yes it is,” she said, flattered by his vehement sympathy. Then she realized he was talking about his tuna surprise.
Anthea was exhausted by the time she pulled into her carport that night. She hauled herself out of the car. Between the computer breakdown and an accident on 1-580, she was a dishrag. Medical emergency beam me directly to the Bahamas. At least today was the last day she’d drive alone.
As she fumbled for the key and let herself in, Anthea ignored the little voice that said Shay
Sumoto could be a pain in the ass to commute with. What if Shay’s favorite topic was men? Could she really go back to pretending interest, making jokes? She remembered what it had been like with a woman she had car pooled with before Lois and Celia. It had been easy then to nod knowingly about everything from birth control methods to penis sizes. But it had been a while since she’d been forced to pretend.
What if Shay was the kind of person who had confused sexual liberation with license to discuss the most intimate details of her sex life? If she talked about her boyfriend’s favorite technique, would Anthea be able to say in response, “I don’t need penetration to come. My lover used to make me come with her lips. Just her lips, not even her tongue. And when she did take me, one slender finger could drive me to orgasms that went on for days.” She started to blush, and knew she could never say anything aloud when just thinking it made her blush. Besides, she wasn’t about to admit to anyone that Lois had been a good lover.
Lois, Lois, Lois, she chided herself. Can’t you think about anything else?
She sighed to herself and went about her routine of hanging up her clothes and making a salad for dinner. Without someone else to cook for she couldn’t even indulge her love of working in the kitchen. Brownies from a mix didn’t count. The most she managed was salad dressings … today she would have lime poppyseed with fresh cilantro.
Ole.
She had only two cigarettes of her half-pack allotment left, and after dinner she savored both of
them down to the last ember. She
“And you’ve been so happy about it ever since,” Adrian said sarcastically. “If you’re better off, just get over it, okay? It’s getting tedious.”
“Thanks for your support,” Anthea said, her tone grim.
“There’s support and there’s indulgence.”
“I just need a little more time. I think my moon is in the wrong house or something. God, I hope it’s not too late for me to change. I’m still smoking ten cigarettes a day and I want more. The only good thing to happen is getting a car pool again, even if it’s with this woman from groundwater protection who thinks she’s superior because she works for a living, unlike those of us who just pretend, hiding behind our desks and computers.”
Adrian swallowed, then curled his lip. “A person who works for a living, how quaint.” He wrinkled his nose.
Anthea laughed. “Some of my best friends work
for a living.” What am I saying, she thought suddenly. She didn’t have any friends. Not anymore. Adrian was her only friend.
The two of them had been in the cost accounting department the longest. They were the two who could never be laid off because they were the two who knew absolutely everything about the costing system. Therefore they worked the longest hours and, because they had so much invested in the system, they were the only ones who cared about the quality of work.
She shrugged philosophically. “It’s been since before Christmas, and here it is Valentine’s Day. I can put up with anything at this point. I’m glad I found this woman before Lois did. I still can’t believe she had the nerve to suggest we go back to car pooling together after she made me turn in the pass. God, I wish this place was near a BART line. NOC-U couldn’t give a shit.”
“Disgusting,” Adrian said.
“Well, yes it is,” she said, flattered by his vehement sympathy. Then she realized he was talking about his tuna surprise.
Anthea was exhausted by the time she pulled into her carport that night. She hauled herself out of the car. Between the computer breakdown and an accident on 1-580, she was a dishrag. Medical emergency beam me directly to the Bahamas. At least today was the last day she’d drive alone.
As she fumbled for the key and let herself in, Anthea ignored the little voice that said Shay
Sumoto could be a pain in the ass to commute with. What if Shay’s favorite topic was men? Could she really go back to pretending interest, making jokes? She remembered what it had been like with a woman she had car pooled with before Lois and Celia. It had been easy then to nod knowingly about everything from birth control methods to penis sizes. But it had been a while since she’d been forced to pretend.
What if Shay was the kind of person who had confused sexual liberation with license to discuss the most intimate details of her sex life? If she talked about her boyfriend’s favorite technique, would Anthea be able to say in response, “I don’t need penetration to come. My lover used to make me come with her lips. Just her lips, not even her tongue. And when she did take me, one slender finger could drive me to orgasms that went on for days.” She started to blush, and knew she could never say anything aloud when just thinking it made her blush. Besides, she wasn’t about to admit to anyone that Lois had been a good lover.
Lois, Lois, Lois, she chided herself. Can’t you think about anything else?
She sighed to herself and went about her routine of hanging up her clothes and making a salad for dinner. Without someone else to cook for she couldn’t even indulge her love of working in the kitchen. Brownies from a mix didn’t count. The most she managed was salad dressings … today she would have lime poppyseed with fresh cilantro.
Ole.
She had only two cigarettes of her half-pack allotment left, and after dinner she savored both of
them down to the last ember. She
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