“He is, and yeah, he does, but I can’t spend my entire day doing nothing. I was thinking about going to college, but that’s not an option right now because it is impossible to join in the middle of a semester.”
“That’s a good point. Did you ever get to finish school at all?”
I shake my head. “No. I did two years and had to drop out. I couldn’t continue at Florida State and still take care of Nonny and everything.”
Traci makes a sympathetic noise. “To be honest, I don’t know if there’s anything open that won’t require a bachelors. I mean, maybe you can get something leveraging your husband’s connections, but job market’s rough, even for people with a four-year degree.”
I sigh. Traci isn’t telling me anything I don’t know.
“But I’ll keep a lookout. I can also ask at OWM, unless you feel awkward about working there.”
I’ve done it before, I think. “Not at all. I’m flexible.”
“Just to warn you, it may be really boring clerical work. When I first started, the HR director made me file for weeks. Her previous temp didn’t do much before leaving to ‘fulfill’ himself.”
“What does that mean?”
“He quit to go be a yogi in the Himalayas.”
“Really?” I find it hard to reconcile the cool, moneyed company and a man who is spiritual enough to want to become a yogi. Not that you can’t be spiritual to work at OWM, but Gavin Lloyd did not strike me as anything but a highly grounded realist.
“Except I heard from someone who’s really tight with him that he got arrested in Tokyo for pot possession.”
“Seriously?”
“He’s probably going to be stuck in jail for life or something.”
“No way.”
“Yeah. Apparently the Japanese take pot pretty seriously.”
“Wow. What a way to ruin a life.”
“I know, right?” Traci finishes her latte. “You still have my card?”
“Yes.”
“Send your résumé to my office email. I’ll pass it around and see what happens.”
“Thanks. Really appreciate it.”
“I get a referral bonus if you get hired. Not a huge amount, but I’ll take it.” She grins.
I laugh. Traci’s and my relationship isn’t what it used to be. We don’t have the easy rapport that we once had, but that’s to be expected after what’s happened. One step at a time, I tell myself. I can fix my life little by little until I’m whole again.
* * *
Elliot
It doesn’t take me long to pick up everything I need for the honeymoon from a couple of boutiques. Although my wife seemed happy about meeting her best friend, I’m not too sure. It’s entirely too convenient that this Traci chick suddenly wants to get chummy again. Or maybe I’m just too much of a cynic to think anything good will come of it. Friends who ditch you when shit goes south and come back when things are good again aren’t the friends you need.
My phone buzzes, and I pull it out of my pocket in case it’s Belle wanting to go home. But Ryder’s name flashes on the screen.
“Yo, bro,” I answer, walking toward my car.
“Hey dude. Am I interrupting anything?”
“Nah. Just g