Night By Night

Chapter 3

“I can’t believe you didn’t even get his number,” bemoaned Sara.

“Sara, would you just let it drop? It was to be just that one night. We both agreed on that, so stop the whining,” replied Jennifer.

“But he was so good looking. You two could have made pretty babies,” she grinned.

Jennifer rolled her eyes at her. “He was a nice man, but I wasn’t looking for a man. He seemed to have his issues as well.”

“Still, something could have come of it. How long has it been now?” she pursued.

“About a month ago, and it seems as if since then you have mentioned him every time that I see you. Why don’t you go after him if you like him so much? I think he would be your type more than he is mine,” said Jennifer.

“And you know, did I ever tell you that I did run into him at the club again?” she asked, wincing as Jennifer threw darts at her with her eyes. “Well I did and it seemed he was looking for you.”

“How do you figure that, and why on earth would he be looking for me? One time means one time right?”

“Maybe he was just lying to himself and he has wanted you since. I don’t know why, but I do know he likes you more than he told you, or perhaps the feelings came after. The way you stole out of that man’s bed and came home, I didn’t know you had it in you,” Sara teased, nudging Jennifer.

“Well it is most likely never going to happen again. I don’t know what came over me that night.”

“I know what. You needed to get laid and that’s what your body propelled you to do. You know, not because you are out of a job means you have to be out of a man too. You and Sam ended over a year ago. I think you have grieved long enough. Adrian may just be what you are looking for, even though you don’t realise you are looking.”

“Sara, you know I am not usually attracted to white men. I never seem to have any luck there. This time I want to meet someone of my race.”

“Someone of your race can be just as much of an asshole as Sam or any other white man. Focus on the person, not the colour.”

“That’s kind of a hard thing to do considering I have been betrayed by that colour so many times. Anyway, leave me alone. I need to go job hunting again.”

Just then the telephone rang. Jennifer leaned over and grabbed it from the cradle, and then stuck her tongue out at Sara. “Hello?” she whispered into the receiver.

Sara sat there watching her and noticed her eyes widening and her jaws dropping. She was nodding her head as if the person on the other end could see her response. Finally she opened her mouth to say yes and hung up.

“What was that about?” asked Sara.

“Remember that one place I told you about that the receptionist looked over the letter I dropped off and smiled?” Sara didn’t seem to remember. “The real estate firm, on that evening you came here and dragged me through the door to go to that club? Well, anyway,” she continued realising that Sara hadn’t the faintest idea what she was talking about. Maybe she hadn’t given her the details of it. “They have asked me to come in for an interview this afternoon,” she beamed.

“Well why didn’t you say that over the long intro? Where is it? I can take you if you like,” she offered.

“Would you? It is a few blocks over.”

“Sure. I don’t need to go into the salon today so I can take you there. How long before you need to go?” she asked.

Jennifer checked her watch and gasped. “At one,” she said and stared at Sara with wild eyes.

“Well you better get moving. It is a quarter past twelve now.”

Jennifer leapt up from the sofa and dashed to her bedroom. Sara could hear drawers banging as she tried to find suitable attire. Then she heard a door slamming as she made her way to the bathroom. In twenty five minutes she was done and re-emerged into the living area. “How do I look?” she asked, anxiety written all over her face.

She was wearing a pencil skirt with a high waist, pin-striped blouse tucked in and kitten heel pumps. “Very professional,” complimented Sara. “I am going to wait for you because if they don’t hire you, I am maiming someone,” she joked.

Jennifer laughed at how ridiculous her friend could be at times. “Come on, I want to make a good impression.” She grabbed her purse from the table and headed out, Sara in close pursuit. It took them eight minutes to get to the place and for Sara to get proper parking. Jennifer got out of the car, checked her reflection in the mirror, smoothed her skirt, tousled her hair, and then she took a deep breath and walked towards the glass door separating her from poverty.

Sara sat in the car, tapping her nails on the steering wheel. She watched as her friend disappeared behind the glass door. She hoped she landed a job pretty soon; the economic climate had made it difficult for Jennifer to get employment even though she had a college degree in management. She has had many part time and contractual jobs, but those came with leases that expired within three to six months. None had ever been renewed. Sara was self employed and owned her own hair dressing and tanning salon, and even with that, her customer base was dwindling as her clients found it more difficult to maintain the services they had started with; some had lost their jobs and others simply could not afford the regular services so they had scaled down. Still, it was her business and until no one wants a hair do, then she could still survive. She had capable hands on board so she didn’t even need to be there all the time, which gave her lots of free time to get into trouble.