The Distance Between Us

The day began like all others. Ben awoke. Ben brushed his teeth. Ben put on the same kind of white shirt and black slacks he wore to work every day. Ben had an utterly unfulfilling bowl of cornflakes, then walked to work. The building in which Ben worked was exactly ten blocks away. It afforded Ben a little exercise in the morning and gave him the chance to be on his feet a bit before the day really began.

Ben worked in a tall, glass building downtown. That building housed The New York Express, the paper for which Ben wrote. Ben wrote long, interesting articles about relevant issues- troubles in the Middle East, the genocide in Darfur, the slums of India. These articles were all dismissed by his supervisor, Stan Miller. Stan liked articles that were written at a low enough level that all readers would understand. He liked articles that had a happy ending, that were upbeat and cheerful. He did not like reading about the mass murder of eight-hundred thousand people in Rwanda first thing in the morning. Stan made Ben write lighter, duller articles about such things as the traffic problem in New York City, or the mayor making an appearance at a local preschool to read Dr. Seuss.

At precisely 11:30 that morning, Ben’s girlfriend, Priscilla, rang him on the telephone. Priscilla and Ben had been dating for an uneventful six months. Ben found that while she was good in bed, she wasn’t good for much else. She liked arguing and shopping, and wanted to include her boyfriend in both on every possible occasion. Priscilla was also a writer for a fashion magazine. She was very pretty, very well educated, and very bossy. Ben had the sinking feeling he did not quite match up to her level. Every time they went out, he felt like people looked at her- beautiful and too thin and with long, shiny blonde hair- and then at him- tall and on the gangly side, rather normal looking, really- and they would wander what she saw in him.

If looks were the determining factor, then Priscilla was out of his league. She was almost as tall as he was when she wore heels, which was really saying something, and she had impossibly long legs. Men saw Ben and envied him. He’d have gladly traded them places. Their relationship was going nowhere, fast. Both were just too comfortable with the other to finally end it. She liked Ben because he was a good listener. She liked to call him at work every day while he edited his papers, and rattle off the days events to him. Ben made the appropriate ‘hm’s and ‘really?’s, and their relationship went on with them always talking to one another, but with nothing actually being said.

Now, as the phone rang, Ben assumed Priscilla was calling to tell him about the fashion show she had attended the night before. He picked the receiver up and cradled it to his ear with his shoulder, flipping through a stack of papers in a manila folder.

“The New York Express, this is Ben.” he said dully, reaching for the whiteout on his desk. Sure enough, it was the beautiful Priscilla.

“Oh Ben, I’m so glad you’re there.”

“Yes, I try to be at work by 11:30. I’ve found it keeps me more employed.”

Priscilla missed the sarcasm and continued as if she hadn’t been interrupted. This was very common for her. “Ben, honey, I feel like we’re two ships in the sea,” she said. That was oddly poetic for Prissy, thought Ben. He didn’t say anything, just carefully whited out a sentence. “And lately, I feel like our ships are going in two different directions.”

Ben’s brow furrowed; puzzled. “Well, do remember that the world is round, and eventually you’ll just wind up where you started.” he said, trying to understand what she was getting at.

“Oh Ben, you’re so… so… How can you be so blind? My ship yearns to explore other waters!”

He frowned. “Are you breaking up with me?” he asked calmly. “Is that what you’re trying to say?”

He could hear Priscilla sigh into the mouthpiece. “Ben, it’s not you, it’s me. And, well… I’ve kind of met someone.”

Ben ground his teeth together. “So, your ship has already explored other waters, then?” he asked tersely, wrapping his fingers around the cord of his phone. Priscilla’s voice on the other line was strained.

“Well, when you say it like that, it sounds awful.”

Ben closed his eyes for a long moment and took a few deep, calming breaths. His girlfriend was cheating on him. She was leaving him. They were breaking up. When he spoke to her next, his voice was very calm. “Have fun with that, then.” he told her. “Bon Voyage!”

He hung up.

The day went by in a blur. Ben found that he wasn’t as upset as he probably should have been, but couldn’t muster much emotion. Priscilla had been high maintenance and shallow anyway. She was probably doing him a favor.

At five o’clock, Ben left the high-rise and walked back to his apartment on the lower east side. He took off his jacket and threw it over the back of the sofa, then picked up the phone and ordered Chinese. He looked around the apartment speculatively, trying to decide how best to move on. There weren’t any objects of Priscilla’s to be gathered up, which robbed him of that act of finality.

He scrubbed a hand over his eyes and sighed, then sat down at his computer while he waited for the Chinese food to arrive. He read through his emails, but it was a junk letter that caught his attention.

Come meet new singles! Online dating is the fastest growing industry in America. Be a part of it today! Not interested in meeting the love of your life? Swing by and meet the other friendly people of Quota Chat!

Ben stared at it for a long time, chewing on the inside of his lip, before he finally clicked on it. He wasn’t really interested in meeting his next girlfriend, but thought it might entertain him till the take-out arrived. He quickly created an account, answering each of the questions.

Name: Ben Keller
Age: 28
Occupation: Journalist
Eye: Blue
Hair: Black
Likes: Writing, travel, camping
Dislikes: Priscilla

He looked over that last part and deleted it. Best not to be childish, he decided.

Dislikes: Vanity, long movies, the subway

Now he got to the hard part- Finding a username. Finally he decided on one and entered it. It was available.

Username: Aldente

As in, firm but not hard, thought Ben. A fairly good description of him, and not too obvious. He clicked submit and then logged in.

Aldente has logged on
Aldente has entered the room 20-Somethings

He looked down the list of people signed on, wondering what he should do. His fingers hovered over the keys, trapped in limbo. He sighed and decided to just go for it.

Aldente: Hi everyone. I’m new to this site. Not really sure what to expect, just thought maybe I’d find a few interesting people around here.

He clicked send and it appeared up on his glowing screen. Now all he had to do was wait and see if anyone responded to him.

Opening her eyes just as her alarm rang at eight just like always, Katherine Upton found herself presented with a new day and for once, smiled at the idea. This was her first day in her new apartment and as far as she was concerned, the first day of her new life. New job, new home, and hopefully, new friends. Getting out of bed, Katherine’s eyes scanned the closed boxes around her and despaired, realising that she hadn’t really placed the boxes in the correct rooms, therefore meaning her cutlery and bowls could be anywhere and she was hungry.

It had taken her the best part of twenty minutes to locate her kitchen utensils and some porridge oats in her new kitchen, but she was now finally settled down in her old, comfortable kitchen chair against her table, eating some warm porridge, letting it warm her throughout. She had been so tired last night that she had forgotten to switch on the central heating and as a result, the whole house was decidedly chilly, especially considering the threadbare pyjamas that the young woman was currently wearing, her feet touching cold linoleum floor with protest, but she waited until she had finished her cereal before moving.

As she reached the small airing cupboard that held the central heating for the small apartment, the flicking of the ‘on’ switch started a lovely humming sound that Katherine approved of immediately. She then made her way back to her bedroom, finding the large suitcase that had carried her clothes safely all the way from Liverpool to New York and unpacking it slowly, setting down the clothes in piles before she found her lazy black jeans and a loose fitting maroon jumper, before dressing properly and taking herself to the bathroom to clean herself up properly.

She wasn’t starting her new job until Monday, so she only really had today to set her new home to rights before she had to spend her whole morning of work figuring out how to get to work, but she wasn’t daunted by the prospect, surprisingly cheery considering recent events. But really, what good would being sad and dreary do to fix what had already been done? The only thing Katherine was focusing on now was setting hew new home to rights and perhaps, going for a little explore this afternoon around her new neighbourhood.

Many cardboard boxes later, Katherine had managed to shift most of her belongings into the various cupboards, wardrobes and drawers that had come with the semi-furnished two-bedroom apartment, though she might need to invest in a proper bed as soon as possible, looking at her mattress on the floor with a mix of fondness and exasperation. Mentally, Katherine put it on a mental to-do list in her head, along with a huge first shopping trip for food, toiletries and anything else she might need.

Proud of how much had been unpacked in so little time with only the spare room and the living room needing to be unpacked now, Katherine lifted her telephone out of the its cardboard box and plugged it into the wall socket. Picking up the phone’s handset and hearing a dial tone, she put the receiver down, satisfied and a small yelp of surprise escaped her lips as it vibrated as soon as it was replaced on the cradle and Katherine raised it to her right ear almost immediately, cursing under her breath.

“Hello?” she said briskly, her annoyance clear through her voice.

“Oh Kathy, I’m so sorry if I woke you up. I completely forgot you’re five hours behind over there. It’s something I’m going to have to adjust to.” Her mother’s voice came down the receiver clearly, although the end of her sentence was tinged with sadness, much like Katherine had been for months after finding out about her husband’s indiscretions, frowning as she thought back that far, though her mother’s kind words replaced it with a small smile easily.

“It’s alright mum. I’ve been up for…” she paused, glancing around the room for a clock and found a small one propped up against her small table, “about six hours now. I’ve just plugged the phone in and it rang. It scared the life out of me, that’s all.” Katherine’s mind boggled at her mother’s apology. After all, it was one in the afternoon and Katherine hadn’t been that tired after the flight, sleeping as usual.

“I’m glad I didn’t wake you, but six hours Kathy? That means you’ve been awake since three in the morning!”

Katherine scoffed, looking over at her clock, which clearly said two o’clock. “It’s one in the afternoon mother, why would I be asleep?”

A worried gasp preceded her mother’s voice this time, “Kathy, have you changed your clocks yet? It’s one o’clock over here, which means it’s only eight in the morning over there!”

The young woman said nothing for about a moment, and then started chuckling. “I’m daft, aren’t I?”

“You’re not daft Kathy, you just forgot, that’s all,” her mother’s voice said soothingly and Katherine suddenly felt sick, being reminded of her husband’s sickly sweet pleas all too clearly, just about managing not to slam the phone down before she snapped at her mother.

“Please, please don’t talk like that. It reminds me of Derek,” Katherine asked sharply, maybe a little too sharply, but she hated being patronised and although she knew her mother wasn’t patronising her, it still stung for some reason.

There was only light breathing down the phone for a minute or so and then: “I’m sorry dear. I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”

Her mother’s apologetic tone made Katherine feel bad and the next time she spoke, it was gently. “I know mum, I’m sorry too. I’ve been so badly tempered since then. I didn’t mean to snap.”

“I hope getting away from here helps. You know I love you don’t you?”

“Of course mum. I love you too,” Katherine reassured as she felt tiredness overcome her. “I need to go and lie down. My biological clock is demanding sleep.”

“Not a problem sweetheart. Sleep well and keep in touch,” her mother’s voice asked as the line went dead, Katherine still holding the phone limply in her hand.

“I will mum,” she promised to the continuous beep of a dead line, setting down the phone on the receiver heavily, her mind clouded with tiredness suddenly, and had Katherine been more awake, she may have recognised the feeling as jet lag, lowering herself onto her sofa gently, a cushion substituting a pillow as she drifted off to sleep.



When Katherine was woken from her slumber by a beeping horn in the street below, she grumbled incoherently, her body stiff from her makeshift bed and glanced at the clock tiredly. It read just before nine o’clock, which led her to the conclusion that it was actually around four here. So she’d been asleep for eight hours and surprisingly after the initial waking up, felt well rested. Her stomach grumbled then and the sleepy woman went towards the kitchen in search of something resembling food.

Half an hour and a less than fancy meal of toast with peanut butter, chips and some cod, she sat down, munching away ravenously, realising how hungry she had been, eating in silence as she glanced around the room, assessing what still needed to be unpacked and when her eyes rested on her computer, she smiled unconsciously at a memory.

”Remember Katherine, as soon as you’re settled, set up your pc and come online.” Jane’s voice and request, as always, left no room for arguments, but the younger woman didn’t mind that so much as it meant her friend cared enough to want to stay in touch when Katherine moved abroad.

“I’ll remember, don’t worry. Quota is going to be like a little lifeline for us,” Katherine asserted as she embraced Jane, sighing. “I’m going to miss you.”

“Well, I’m settled, fed and watered. Time to set up the computer,” Katherine said in an commanding voice to no one as she set down her plate on the table, opening her computer’s box and beginning to set it up on the desk that had been brought over from England. It didn’t take her long to boot it up and thanks to her and Derek’s forward planning, she simply ran the internet connection disk and plugged in the wireless modem quickly, typing in http://www.quotachat.com as soon as she was connected.

Megami has logged in.
Megami has entered the room 20-Somethings.

There was some relief and normality in logging into the 20-somethings chatroom after the journey halfway across the world and that relief turned to delight as she found that Jane was logged on as well, under her usual name – JollyJane.

Megami: JJ! It’s so good to see you here!

JollyJane: Megami! *hugs* I’ve been on here all night waiting!

Megami: Sorry, jet lag caught up with me.

JollyJane: Well you’re here now, that’s the important thing.

They spent the next ten minutes chatting with the other people in the chatroom genially, whilst talking privately over the PM Service that Quota Chat allowed long-term members and Katherine found herself even more grateful to Jane for convincing her to give this a go in the first place. Jane had suggested the website about a month after the first incident with Derek, suggesting at least Katherine could chat with people who didn’t know about her personal life and the troubled woman had reluctantly agreed, and after a couple of days, found herself enjoying the chat room conversation immensely, and she had used it to chat to Jane and other friends that she had made on the computer since then. Now the chat room offered a whole new dimension, as it meant she could stay in touch with her friends without the huge phone bill. They had been chatting a while when a new message popped up in the chat box.

Aldente has joined the chatroom.

Aldente: Hi everyone. I’m new to this site. Not really sure what to expect, just thought maybe I’d find a few interesting people around here.

Katherine smiled absently at her screen. She remembered her first time in the chatroom and felt obliged to welcome the newcomer accordingly but before she could type anything, JollyJane offered her two cents.

JollyJane: Oh, a new person to tease!

Megami: Jane, be nice! Welcome to the chatroom Aldente, and to Quota Chat. There are lots of interesting people around on this chatroom especially… *motions to JollyJane* The usual question to break the ice is to ask how you got here. So, how did you get here?

Raising her hands from the keyboard, Katherine shook her head and chuckled at her friend. Privately, she received a message saying that Jane had already checked Aldente’s profile and that he seemed nice, but really, what could you extract from such a short profile? Katherine preferred to speak to the people in the chat and if they wanted to tell you what they did for a living and what their eye colour was, that was their choice.

Ben was surprised when not just one, but two responses popped up in quick succession to his own. He leaned in to read them, a curious smile on his face, then he laughed. Wow, two live ones, he thought with a smirk. Maybe Quota had something to it after all. He was glad he’d checked his email that day and even entertained the junk mail, which was unusual for him.

He was ready to reply, fingers poised over the keyboard, when there was a knock on his door. He looked from the computer to the door, then stood, grabbing his wallet off the kitchen bar on his way, leafing out some money. He opened the door, and a greasy-haired teen looked back at him, holding up a plastic bag with several paper cartons in it. Ben accepted the food and paid the teen, then closed the door.

If Priscilla had been over, he would have bothered with plates and silver wear and all that shenanigans. She was extremely high maintenance and didn’t believe in eating out of the container. The one time she saw Ben drink milk from the carton- from his carton, not someone else’s- she’d nearly lost it. There had since been many repeat performances along a similar vein. He smiled sadly at the thought that he wouldn’t be having to deal with that anymore. It was a bittersweet sort of smile. He missed Prissy already, though he was glad to be rid of some of her less desirable qualities.

Ben opened up the box of low mein and dug right in with the little plastic fork in the bag. He got a mouthful and then set it aside, looking once more at the glowing screen. He reread what the two people had written and smiled wryly before responding.

Aldente: You’ve found a new victim, JollyJane. I’m very susceptible to teasing, I’m afraid. Maybe Megami will protect me? *hopeful* I actually found this site among some junk mail.

He submitted then smirked. Hey, it was a chatroom full of people he’d never meet, why not have a little fun with it?

Aldente: Normally I have my legion of servants deal with such things (I’m a multi-billionaire, by the way), but I magnanimously gave them the day off.

He sat back and looked at what he’d written. It was obviously a load of bullshit, but it was all in good humor. He needed a laugh after his hellish day.

Megami, do you regularly let JollyJane harass new members? Or am I special?

He added that last part and then submitted, surprised at how amused he was already by the interplay of the chat room.

There was no immediate reply from the newcomer, so Jane merely settled for chatting with Katherine about her new apartment, which the younger female started describing, promising pictures as soon as she got hold of a digital camera. Picking up a piece of peanut buttered toast, Katherine took a bite out of it as a reply came up on screen from the new member – Ben, as Jane had helpfully told her.

Aldente: You’ve found a new victim, JollyJane. I’m very susceptible to teasing, I’m afraid. Maybe Megami will protect me? *hopeful* I actually found this site among some junk mail.

Katherine smiled at the screen. So, he had a sense of humour then? She could practically hear Jane’s cackling from across the ocean between them and as if in reward, a message popped up in the chat room from Jane, beaten just to the punch by Aldente himself.

Aldente: Normally I have my legion of servants deal with such things (I’m a multi-billionaire, by the way), but I magnanimously gave them the day off. Megami, do you regularly let JollyJane harass new members? Or am I special?

JollyJane: Haha, excellent! I do enjoy teasing people. It makes the hardships of the day worthwhile, and I’m sorry, but not even your legion of servants could protect you from me, nor could they stop Megami from trying to stop me!

Katherine stared at the screen, aghast. Jane didn’t usually flirt this outrageously and it was amusing and shocking at the same time to say the least, though Katherine managed to get through her sandwich bite and swallow it without opening her mouth in surprise. Lowering her sandwich to its plate, she rested her hands on the keyboard as she thought of an answer to Aldente’s surprising amount of text. It was uncommon to write so much in a chatroom, but it was fairly quiet today.

DaringD has logged on.
DaringD has joined the room 20-Somethings.

Megami: Well, I suppose I could protect you from her, but I don't know... *turns to JJ* Be nice to the newbie, otherwise I’ll leave. *joke* By the way, hello DaringD!

JollyJane: *pouts* You wouldn’t!... What would I do without you?

Megami: I imagine you’d move on and I’d chat with my new friend Aldente. They seem quite lively, I’d be fine without you. How about it Aldente, should I abandon JJ? Also, if you’re a multi-billionaire… can I have some? Please? =-)

DaringD: Evening Kath.

JollyJane: DaringD, get out of here you arrogant prick, and leave her alone!

Megami: Ah… JJ… Thanks.

DaringD has left the room 20-Somethings.

Furious wasn’t even close to the word to describe how Katherine was feeling right now. How dare he even think to intrude into the chatroom where she was free from her personal life?! Damn him! But he had left due to some choice words from Jane, whom she would be forever grateful towards for doing so and realising she hadn’t responded to Aldente properly yet, raised her fingers to the keyboard and began to type once more.

Megami: Anyway, as for JollyJane, she does like to break in the newbies, and whilst I normally let her have her way with them, I’ll make a special exception to try my best to save you from her, seeing as how you seem so nice!

JollyJane: You’re no fun… I’m still going to try though!

Smiling at the screen, Katherine realised how quickly her mood had gone from sour to cheery again, merely from responding to a complete stranger’s quirky comments and once again silently praised the healing presence of strangers and the chatroom’s ability to liven her spirits, no matter what her mood.

The two people he was chatting with were quick to respond, especially JollyJane, whose comments he regarded with an amused grin. He scooped up more noodles with his fork and chewed thoughtfully as more messages popped up. In the left corner of his screen came a private message from a woman called SexyChristineXXX. He read it with a disbelieving smirk.

SexyChristineXXX: Hey there Aldente, wanna play? Come see me live on my webcam.

He frowned, unsure. He’d never been in chatrooms much before. This was all new territory for him.

Aldente: Um, hold on a sec

He submitted that to Christine and got back to the main chat room, minimizing the PM window. In his absence, DaringD had logged on and was greeted by Megami, then told off by Jane. It seemed the three already knew each other. Ben didn’t know what to make of the exchange. DaringD quickly logged off, then another message came up from Megami, followed by a short one by JollyJane. He smiled and set his carton of lo mein down.

Aldente: Ah, thanks Megami. Where would I be without your sword and shield? JJ might kick me off the way she did DaringD. God forbid I get the boot on my first day!

He clicked send then sat back and pulled up his private window, where ChristineXXX had typed in several emoticons.

Aldente: Sorry I disappeared, what were you saying?

Her response was fairly quick.

SexyChristineXXX: Come watch me take it all off, live. Don’t you want to play?

Ben’s eyes widened in surprise and he choked on his noodles, beating his chest to clear his breathing way.

Aldente: Thanks, but I’m all out of playtime for now.

He sent and then x’ed out of that window with a very deep, puzzled frown. Some people, he thought. Best to stick to Megami and Jane for a while, at least till he learned his way around the chatroom a bit. He clicked on Megami’s username on the side scroll and pulled up a box to send her a private message.

Aldente: Thanks for the protection, M. I’ll share my billions with you any day. I’ll be sure to send some to you in my private jet, alright? ; ) By the way, you seem pretty nice yourself.

He clicked send and sat back with a chuckle. He felt like he was flirting, but that was preposterous. He didn’t even know these people. All the better, because then they could never really be disappointed with each other. It was hard to get hurt online.

Smiling at Aldente’s response, Katherine typed a response on the main chat window before reloading her private chat window with Jane.

Megami: I’m going to get a drink. How did you know that was Derek?

JollyJane: He’s been on here before, looking. I never helped him.

Silently grateful to her friend but wary of her ex-husband’s seemingly obsessive behaviour, Katherine stepped away from the computer, feeling quite uncomfortable about how close her chatroom freedom and real life were crossing over but not quite sure what to do about the whole situation. Hopefully he wouldn’t try it again and they could leave it at that. Once the divorce was through, there would be no worrying about him anymore and the young woman focused on that as she poured herself a glass of water before making her way back to the computer, ready to reply to Jane and Aldente, blinking as she noticed another private message window open, apparently from her new chat friend.

After scanning the new message, she smiled. His sense of humour was in just the right place to fit in around here, and she hadn’t really hadn’t made a new friend since Jane, so it was high time Katherine got back into the friendship game, but certainly not the relationship one. Quota Chat was a brilliant place to chat casually and meet new friends, but love online? There was more chance of her meeting her ‘true love’ in a coffee place, than on this chat room.

Megami: My pleasure Aldente, and honestly, Jane’s lovely once she’s stopped asking personal questions… well, mostly lovely anyway. I’ll never say no to money, I’m a little strapped for it at the moment, so can you make the jet go extra quick? =-) Thanks, I try to put my best face forward when I meet new people on here, so expect my moody self to surface soon!

She clicked send on the private message box to Aldente before returning to the main chat window, where she saw that Jane had replied to Aldente and sighed in defeat at her response. Didn’t the woman have any sense of privacy?

JollyJane: Heh Aldente, you’d have to do a lot for me to hate you as much as DaringD and speaking of swords and shields, Megami’s rubbish with those, but with a bow she’s nasty!

Surprisingly Katherine wasn’t offended by what her friend typed, and she sipped her water as she clicked onto the chatroom’s text reply box, smiling wryly.

Megami: And if you keep going the way you are, I’m sure I can manage to shoot over an ocean to get you. Excuse her, it’s about eleven over there, so it’s past her bedtime.

Immediately her private message conversation with Jane glowed orange and Katherine smirked in satisfaction at the answer she had received. It was hard to get a rise out of Jane but when Katherine wanted to, she could do so wonderfully.

JollyJane: Hmph! Fine, I’ll leave you alone with your new friend! I need to sleep anyway, as you said, it is late. I can stay on for another hour at most. I’m up at seven tomorrow.

Megami: Don’t stay up too late on my account. That’s what emails and phones are for! Seriously, off to bed with you. *hugs*

JollyJane: If you’re sure… alright. *hugs back* Sleep well Kathy and enjoy your new life!

Megami: I am enjoying it. I really am! Goodnight.

Quickly, Katherine closed her private message box with Jane to see the older woman’s quick goodbye on the main chat window, which was succeeded by many short “byes!” from various other chatters in the room and then Jane logged off, leaving Katherine to chat with Aldente and the other occupants of the room whilst she whiled her evening away.

Megami: My pleasure Aldente, and honestly, Jane’s lovely once she’s stopped asking personal questions… well, mostly lovely anyway. I’ll never say no to money, I’m a little strapped for it at the moment, so can you make the jet go extra quick? =-) Thanks, I try to put my best face forward when I meet new people on here, so expect my moody self to surface soon!

Ben laughed and then responded, an amused glint in his dark blue eyes.

Aldente: Ah, I should have figured you for the gold-digging type. How do the money-hungry always manage to find me? Does my affluence come off even across the wires? ; )

He sent, and was sure to include a smiley so she would know he was joking. Ben watched the interplay between Jane and Megami with interest, though his interest was quirked as to why there was hostility toward this DaringD fellow. He politely chose not to ask. After all, it was none of his business, and he didn’t know either of these people. They, however, seemed to either know each other personally, or else they frequented Quota quite often. Perhaps both.

Was it unnatural to be so curious about people in chatrooms? Ben ate his lo mein pensively, pondering that very question. He had never chatted before. It had always seemed a waste of time for a writer; why do for fun what he already did for a living? Now, he realized, chatting was quite different than he’d thought it to be.

He watched what the other people in the room were saying, and it was, for the most part, friendly banter. The only people he was directly chatting with were JollyJane and Megami, though.

Jane said her goodbyes and logged off. Ben got in a final good-bye before she was gone, and then he was left with just Megami. He pulled up the private message box.

Aldente: So, you chased her away. I should have known you wanted me all to yourself *wink* I hear seduction is a good way to land the big money from sugar-daddies like me. I’ll warn you now- I’ve an iron will against such tactics. I won’t be blinded by a charming bit of clever word play. Still, by all means try.

As Katherine scanned the conversation in the main chatroom, she noticed her private message box glowing orange and maximised it to reveal a couple of responses from Aldente, both of them equally amusing. This Aldente guy obviously had a good sense of humour and Katherine couldn’t help but smile at his comments, pleased that she seemed to have caught his attention as it was rare to find a good person to chat with in these rooms at the best of times. Most of the people currently in the chatroom knew her, but were deigning to socialise more casually this evening, as they knew that she was still in the process of moving and still not quite herself yet. Which perhaps explained her interest in the newcomer, as he didn’t know any of her past and as such, was a clean slate to begin a friendship on.

Taking another bite of her peanut buttered toast, Katherine eyed the screen for a moment, pondering how to reply to Aldente. He was obviously quite happy with chatting with her, which surprised him, as his introduction implied that he was not at all used to chatrooms, but he was probably grown up enough to take care of himself.

Megami: Ah, you have seen through my ruse! Indeed, I was drawn to your lovely self the moment you logged on, and your flippant comment on your wealth secured my interest, and so, if I can’t dig money out of you easily, I’ll just have to settle with seducing you after all. I must warn you, I have a number of ex’s buried in my old back garden.

Katherine clicked the send button, the message popping up flickering in her gray eyes as she scanned the message before leaned back in her computer chair, satisfied. She was being quite friendly with this individual and part of it she blamed on Derek’s unwelcome arrival in the chatroom. Moving to America had been the first step to moving on from him and making this new friend appeared to be the next and she found herself thoughtfully considering how different life over here was going to be, which prompted her next comment to Aldente.

Megami: As for JJ, no, she lives over in the UK so it’s kind of late over there, hence why she departed the chatroom. She will be back tomorrow to pester you, never fear.

She was so far from her old friends over here, as was proved by Jane’s departure from the chatroom and Katherine’s sudden feeling of loneliness and she looked away from the screen, as if the other chatters could see the tears forming in her eyes, but she brushed them away quickly. There had been enough crying done in last four months from her to fill a small lake and she silently made a vow right then to fill her future with smiles, laughter and happiness.

Ben finished his lo mein and got up to throw away the paper carton. When he got back to his computer, he’d received a reply. He chuckled and realized why this encounter felt so refreshing- it reminded him nothing of Priscilla. Prissy, he was sure, was more than capable of wit and cleverness, though she rarely exercised it. There was one exception to that rule, however. In her fashion column, Priscilla managed to write quite biting- though funny- critiques of the latest designs or what she thought of imposter handbags. The woman was a force to be reckoned with, a real force of nature. No matter what they fought over –which they did quite regularly- she always managed to win somehow. Later on he’d think over the conversation and wonder how she managed to back him into a corner and make it seem logical to surmise that he was wrong, but he never came up with a good conclusion other than that she must be right. He was just always wrong.

She was intelligent, beautiful, had traveled the world and met great people. Weren’t those all important factors that should have made her his dream girl? Yet, she wasn’t. It was the little things that drove him up the wall. Like, who in the world needed an hour and a half to get ready? It seemed disproportionate how it took attractive women longer to get ready than less attractive women. She was already gorgeous, so what was the problem? It shouldn’t be that hard to look good. Roll out of bed- Done.

His fingers lightly clicked over the keyboard as he wrote his reply, a soft grin on his lips.

Aldente: But you’ve already made a fatale mistake, my dear. Now I know your grand scheme and I will surely know to avoid it in the future. Besides, even if you did manage to off me, I’d have to haunt you for burying me beside all those other poor, unattractive saps. Did I mention I’m a model? Oh yes, a billionaire model.

He tapped the send key with the mouse and his response appeared under hers in the chat box. From the corner of his eye, Ben caught sight of his watch, which he checked. He raised his eyebrows in surprise at how long they had already been chatting. The time had flown by.

Aldente: The UK, huh? I’ll breath a little easier tonight then, knowing JollyJane won’t mysteriously wind up at my door. She seemed quite adamant. But, that’s beside the point. What makes you think I’ll be back tomorrow? Is that a bit of wishful thinking I detect? Is this going to become a regular sort of thing with us? Meeting in dark, deserted chatrooms, using false identities?

He wondered at the true identity of the woman –or man?- he chatted with, but also liked the air of mystery. It was so much easier to imagine personable people existed put there, as long as you never met them. He also didn’t want to let his new friend down, which he assuredly would, especially since he had introduced himself as the billionaire model. That couldn’t have been farther from the truth.

Her new chat companion was a little enigma wasn’t he?

It was highly likely he was lying about his career and money situation, but Katherine found that made him all the more interesting, particularly with Jane offline, therefore unable to scare away the liers and the fakers from Katherine’s presence. She was grateful most of the time, but this time, she felt like getting to know this particular person would be fun, as he seemed to have a good personality and if he was stunningly gorgeous and rich, bonuses! Plus, Derek had never this sense of humour. Derek, why on earth was she comparing him to Derek?

The emotions that were raised at the mere mention of her ex-husband forced her to focus on the glowing screen in front of her, a slow smile reaching her face as she thought of a reply, finding herself enjoying this conversation more and more.

Megami: Ah, how do you know my brand of seduction is one you have encountered before, though my dear? As for you joining the bodies of my exs, you’re already proving to be worth the effort of not joining them and even more so now you’re apparently rich and gorgeous.

Good gracious, she was flirting, and shamelessly too! But it was harmless wasn’t it? She had never met anyone off the internet and she would certainly not start now. Friends from the internet were to remain exactly where they were – online, despite a small niggling part of her mind telling her that she was curious.

As she scanned her reply to make sure that it was all correct, another reply from her ever more interesting companion popped up. Wishful thinking? Perhaps it was, but she was rather enjoying his company and at his comment about the chatroom, she smirked, fingers poised for a reply almost immediately.

Megami: I’ve never lied on here, Mr Mysterious and if you want to tell me about yourself proper, I will believe what you say. I couldn’t pretend to be someone else and chat with Jane. She’d think I was going nuts, and honestly?

She paused then. This was only the first time they’d chatted and Katherine felt that she should back up a bit, rather than tell him truthfully her thoughts at the moment, but really, what was her truth going to do? Make him leave? It wouldn’t be the first time and if he came back tomorrow, she’d have succeeded.

Megami: As for my wishful thinking, let’s just say it’s been quite a long time since I’ve met someone I can talk this freely with and yes, I know some of that comes from the anonymity that the internet offers, but you’re easy to talk to. I’ll apologise now, I do know the name you put into the server, as JJ decided to go nosying around, as she does. I didn’t listen to most of what she told me. Finding out yourself is much more fun, don’t you think? In turn, my name is Katherine. Megami is indeed wishful thinking on my part.

Also, I think this chatroom is rather well-lit, don’t you think? *Indicates the glowing white screen*

Katherine must have re-written her reply about three times at least before finally clicking send, sitting back. So, all she had to do was wait to see if he was going to run a mile now really. Beside her computer she noticed the paperwork for her new job, a bookstore clerk a twenty minute bus ride away, which was quite good. The pay allowed her to keep her flat, keep eating and pay the bills and as far as she was concerned, that was good enough. Plus, she got to spend her day around books and her vast experience meant that stepping into the role would not be hard at all. The only downside was that her boss was a good friend of Derek’s but she wasn’t going to let that stop her from working there, as she’d earned the job fair and square.

Thinking about her new job made her wonder about her companion. Katherine knew that his name was Ben, but that was all she had deigned to read in her private conversation with Jane, refusing to be the nosy gossip that her friend seemed to enjoy being. She highly doubted he was what he was portraying himself to be, but you never knew did you?

He'd mentioned Jane's location and Katherine's previous one and nodded to the screen, admonishing herself when she realised that he couldn't see her.

Megami: Yeah, the UK. I've recently just moved from there so I was letting her know I'd survived the trip across the ocean.

After clicking send, she brought up her profile and clicked edit, scrolling down to the location so she could change it from 'UK' to 'America', enabling the function for other users to see her location, one of the more advanced features of the site that most didn't tend to both with. As usual, her profile came up in full for her to scan over before she clicked complete.

Name: Katherine Upton
Age: 26
Occupation: Book Store Clerk
Location: America
Eye: Gray
Hair: Mousy Blonde
Likes: Books, the sea and Japanese culture.
Dislikes: Sushi (despite aforementioned love for the Japanese way of life), arrogance and shallow people.

Though Ben had absolutely no intention of taking this whole chat room business seriously, he was finding it to be very good for his mental health, which was a surprising little bonus. And as he talked to Megami, he began imagining ways he could rework their conversation into something that would make Priscilla quite jealous. She was already the jealous type, so it wouldn’t take much. He’d just casually let slip that he’d had the most riveting exchange with a woman over lo mein the night before. This, of course, would be entirely true. If Prissy chose to interpret that as him having dinner with the next beautiful up-and-comer, he could hardly help that, could he?

Of course, even as he thought that, he realized those were the actions of a man who wanted his ex-lover back. Did he? Of course Priscilla was splendid, in her own demeaning sort of way, but if he was honest with himself, he knew she wasn’t the girl for him. It sounded old fashioned, but Ben wanted a girl he could protect, someone he could look out for. Priscilla didn’t need that sort of ‘coddling’, as she called it. She was a modern woman, a feminist of the Jean Paul Gaultier and Chanel variety. She didn’t mesh with his inner-nurturer, and he didn’t mesh with her outer-bitch.

Aldente: You’re absolutely right, you little minx. What sort of a man would I be to turn down such a first-rate seduction? I’d have to be mad. (I’m not, by the way, though I very well may come off as a loon to you)

He looked over her reply with a frown, leaning back in his seat, arms crossed over his chest as he deliberated whether he should be honest with this stranger or not. He felt a sudden well of insecurity such that he hadn’t felt since grade school, and bit back a self-deprecating laugh at himself. You’re being crazy, his mind chided, and he ran a nervous hand through his black hair before writing back to her.

Aldente: Alright, that sounds fair enough.

He typed the words and paused, taking in a deep breath before plunging on, feeling silly for the sense of trepidation. Still, what if she was some sort of psychotic serial killer slowly gathering enough information on him that she (or he?) could come and murder him in his bed. Ben snorted in derision and quickly dismissed that notion.

Aldente: I suppose I might as well come out and say it then (because I’m sure JJ will find out one way or another, anyway). I’m not really a billionaire- far from it. And, you’re going to be disappointed, but I’m not a model either, I’m afraid. Please, I still hope you’ll consider my inner net worth. On the inside, I’m sure I’m worth loads. That sounds cocky, doesn’t it? But I don’t care, I’ll say it. If souls were stock, I’d put money on my own. I’m not some sleazy producer or something. Just a bad liar who apparently prowls chat rooms.

He chuckled and submitted, then kind of regretted doing so, but it was too late. His message already had popped up in their window, in all it’s truthful and perhaps slightly cocky glory. Was Ben overly confident? He didn’t think so, but he tried. It felt better to be arrogant than to be insecure. He fell in a sort of middle ground between those two, more on the side of ‘just don’t give a damn’.

He grinned mildly at her response, a warm feeling of something akin to acceptance bubbling up in the pit of his stomach that had him smiling like an idiot for some reason.

Aldente: Katherine, eh? Well, that sounds far too serious for the type of woman who seduces and then buries men in her backyard. No, I think I’ll have to call you Kat, instead. Or maybe Kitty Kat. Would you be horribly offended?

Clicking send, Ben leaned away from the screen and bit his knuckle with a wry smile. So, her name was Katherine, then. Or Kitty, if she allowed it. This was getting more and more interesting.

Aldente: In that case, congratulations are in order. Welcome to America! Tell me more about yourself (truths or lies, I’ll leave it to your discretion)

He submitted then typed out one last message, though he was reluctant to send it. He did, though, throwing caution to the wind.

Aldente: If you want, we can both pretend to be very nonchalant, and accidentally meet up tomorrow. Around sixish?

That sounded oddly like a date, he thought.

As Aldente’s replies flash up on screen, Katherine began to have a growing feeling that meeting him in this chatroom was definitely going to make life more interesting. He was a remarkably stark contrast to her ex-husband, joking lightly about matters that she could have never discussed with Derek. It was a refreshing feeling and she spared a thought for the man behind the computer, thinking that any partner he would have or indeed, did have was incredibly lucky. However, her needing to reply to Aldente drew her away from her thoughts of her past.

So, she was a minx was she? Despite her amused disbelief, a small blush had begun to tinge her cheeks. But it wasn’t embarrassment that caused the blush, no it was just a natural reaction the flirting, as Katherine couldn’t recall the last time she had flirted properly and she had quite forgotten how to react to it, and it threw her slightly off as she typed a reply.

Megami: Ah, clearly you have been deprived of proper female attention if seduction for the purpose of stealing is seduction you cannot turn down, though I can’t say I’m not pleased. I believe you when you say you’re not crazy, as long as I can ask the same courtesy of you for my usual sane self.

Katherine then surprised herself by being relieved at his acceptance of her trust in him. Of course, you couldn’t entirely trust a person’s word on the internet, but Katherine had never seen any difference between lying online and lying to someone’s face, but she had promised to trust what he told her about himself and therefore, she would always give him the benefit of the doubt.

As he confessed his lies, Katherine could not suppress her smirk of amusement, deciding not to make a big deal out of it, especially considering the fact that she hadn’t really believed him in the first place. Her amusement quickly turned into disapproval as his own judgement of his self-worth, as she couldn’t stand arrogance and the way he had portrayed it was certainly arrogant. Urging herself to read on, she found her disappointment lessened as he was merely trying to put across an air of self-confidence and although it was hard to do so in real life, it wasn’t so difficult on the internet and he portrayed no fear in telling her what he thought of himself, both good and bad. Despite the arrogant edge to his words, she respected the bravery and honesty in his words and tried to do the same in her own to him.

Megami: Ah, but as you say, even though you may not have riches abundant, nor amazingly good looks, your virtues that I have seen so far definitely outweigh the virtues of material wealth and beauty. I much prefer the virtues of immaterial wealth and personality, which as you stated so arrogantly, you seem to have in abundance.

She paused in her typing briefly, before deciding to add:

Also, you’re not a bad liar. I’m certain you could have convinced me had we been face to face and you had more tools at your disposal other than merely typed words.

At his usual request, Katherine giggled. Not chuckled but giggled like a schoolgirl, unable to help it as the asking of the question had been terribly cute and ordinarily, the nickname he had suggested would have been too sickly sweet for her tastes. However, at the moment the endearment seemed oddly appropriate for some reason, although she had never liked the nickname ‘Kat’, but Kitty? Kitty would do nicely, and the young woman suppressed the niggling feeling that she was trying to make this friendship as different from her last relationship as possible.

Megami: Seeing as you have confessed to me so kindly, I will give you the same courtesy. I lied about seducing and murdering men, as you may have guessed, particularly seeing as I don’t have a back garden at the moment! Despite that being untrue, if you would still like to call me Kitty I would not be offended at all, though it does strike me as oddly cute.

There she went again, flirting and now trying to create a personal link with this individual and before she had a moment to analyse her actions, her companion was congratulating her for moving to America, as if it were an upgrade from the United Kingdom. She found herself surprisingly unperturbed by this, despite her pride in her English heritage. Then, interestingly, he asked her about herself, which left her wondering how much was safe to tell her new friend and decided that save her address and workplace, most things were safe, though her current marital status was still an emotional issue that she was not comfortable discussing with a stranger.

Aldente: If you want, we can both pretend to be very nonchalant, and accidentally meet up tomorrow. Around sixish?

Katherine stopped typing her response upon reading that, seriously considering whether she was about to delve into internet dating, which probably wasn’t a wise idea, but nevertheless, she couldn’t help feeling pleased that he wanted to speak to her tomorrow. She waited a few moments to see if he was going to type anymore and concluding that he was patiently awaiting her reply, began typing rapidly.

Megami: Thank you for welcoming me to America, though I haven’t been here long enough to appreciate the beauty of American life. As for nonchalantly speaking with you tomorrow, I would like that very much. Ah, before I start talking about myself, what should I call you? Is Ben all right?

Now Katherine stopped typing, considering what she wanted to put across about herself. Should she give an overview of herself or just point out a couple of interesting facts that she liked people to know about her? It took a couple of minutes, but she finally decided on the former idea, as to tell him something important about herself but leave most of her to mystery and leaving him space to talk about himself.

Megami: As for myself, I’m in my mid-twenties and currently going through a rather uncomfortable divorce with our unwelcome visitor in the main chatroom earlier. I’m a rather cheery person, and I absolutely adore books and writing in all forms. My favourite food is battered sausages, which I don’t you have over here. I actually have no idea where I’m going with this, so excuse my rambling and tell me to stop if I’m talking nonsense, please!

Ben grimaced. She thought he was arrogant! Oh no, he’d gone and put his foot in it now, he thought. He’d already come off too strong. His sense of humor had gotten him into a lot of trouble in the past, so he wasn’t surprised it would do so now. He vowed to be more humble with her in the future, although another side of him felt relief that she knew he wasn’t perfect. Far from it, if he was being perfectly honest with himself. He was fairly successful for a guy his age, but he didn’t own his own apartment, he was often late on paying his bills (out of forgetfulness, not lack of sufficient funds), and his home had been scoffed at by many a member of the fairer sex.

It was a comfortably small apartment, but it was airy and had lots of windows. On every surface were piles of books. His bookshelf on the far end of the room was stuffed to bursting and in no distinguishable order, and on the wide mantle over the fireplace were stacks and stacks of old magazines he had written for or just liked to read. He had a hard time throwing things away, particularly literature. You just never knew when you were going to need to reference Holme’s Guide to the Philosophical Influence on Western Politics. His refrigerator was in a sorry shape as well; all but empty with an unopened bottle of wine (a gift from the publisher of the New York Express), a package of bacon that should have been thrown out at least a month ago, and a bottle of oyster sauce. Ben hated to admit that he practically had memorized the number of every place that would deliver in a ten mile radius.

However, the bathroom was meticulously clean, and he did his best to not let laundry pile up. Sometimes he couldn’t be bothered with making the bed, but he wasn’t a complete slob. But his apartment certainly lacked style, as his girlfriend, no- ex-girlfriend, he reminded himself- was apt to say. Men’s apartments usually fell into one of two categories. Either they were all about leather sofas, lots of chrome and giant televisions, or else they were cluttered and anything but stylish. Ben’s fit firmly into the second category.

Aldente: But if you met me, it would be instantly obvious that I am not a model, and probably also that I’m not a billionaire. I doubt people with that much money buy clothes off the rack.

What? You’re not a serial killer? I’m shocked! ; ) That does put a damper on things, but I guess I’ll move on. Damn, it could have been so interesting to be chatting with the next Mary Anne Cotton!

Ben read her reply to his welcome and laughed.

Aldente: The beauty of America? When you find it, can you kindly direct me there? Yes, Ben is fine, since apparently my ruse is up and I won’t be filling the role of ‘sugar daddy’ anymore.

Ben was surprised that she was so young and already getting divorced. To him, mid-twenties sounded too young to even be getting married. She’d already been through the whole ordeal. He wondered whose fault it was. Nagging wife or cheating husband? Didn’t it usually fall into those two categories? He hardly knew her well enough that he could ask, though. He was surprised she even offered up such personal information.

Aldente: I’m sorry about your divorce, Kitty. I hope that things go well and that you’ve at least got a good lawyer to see you through it.

Battered sausages? Sounds like a corn dog! And please, ramble on. You sound very interesting!

He submitted and then looked at his watch with a sigh. It was already getting late.

Aldente: I’ve got to be going for the night, I’m afraid, but I won’t be late for our little date tomorrow ; ) In the meantime, be thinking about what you would do if you won the lottery. Say, 5 million dollars, or pounds, whatever. I’m not an expert on exchange rates, but five million is a lot either way (unless we’re speaking of rupees, of course!) I'll be quizing you on it tomorrow.
I hope I see you tomorrow evening, then. Goodnight, Kitty!

As the first couple of replies popped up, Katherine quickly began typing a reply, grinning at his humour, but a little disappointed that she appeared to have knocked the wind from the sails of their conversation with her truth telling, but now that was out of the way, they could start to become friends.

Megami: Ha, money isn’t everything. I had money and although it bought me my apartment, it didn’t buy me happiness so I’m actually looking for someone who appreciates life for everything else about it, and as for buying clothes off the rack, I love charity shops, which reminds me, do you have those over here?

She carried on reading through his next two replies, her fingers typing nimbly as her resolution set in.

Apologies, but I’ll try to be as interesting as possible to make for it! Also, who is Mary Anne Cotton? As for the beauty of America, if there’s people like you in it, it can’t be a bad place now, can it and if you really want, I can still fleece money from you and then you can still be my ‘sugar daddy’. *shudders* Never ask me to say that again, it sounds wrong even typing it!

Ben’s apology stunned the young woman into not noticing the first time he called her Kitty, because he had apologised for something that her ex-husband still had yet to apologise for, unless he was grovelling that is. Derek was obviously even less of a man than she thought he was, if another man would apologise for his mistakes but he would not. It had seemed a bit personal to reveal so soon to a stranger, but she was right in her estimations that he wouldn’t ask, which made her smile. Also, it was going on in her life right now. Tomorrow, she’d probably bore him with complaints about her first day proper in New York!

Work! She looked over at her clock and sighed, it was getting late and despite all her sensibilities, she wanted to stay up all night and chat to this stranger, which bewildered her completely.

Megami: Thanks, I hope it goes well too. Unnecessary aggravation I do not need right now. As for my lawyer, there’s a reason Jane’s so sneaky and nosy! Corn dog? Maybe, sounds a little like it. Haha, I will do at some point. I’ll think about it at work tomorrow!

As his reply popped up, her fears were affirmed. It was getting late and even her chat partner was leaving her now and she sighed at the computer, despite the smile that grew slowly at her new nickname. It made feel special, which was odd, someone online had never done that before.

Thinking about sleep made her sigh once more. Katherine still only had a mattress to sleep on and it was getting lonely in this apartment after four months of living with her mother. Maybe she’d get a cat for company, but until then, she’d manage alone, with her computer and job to occupy her mind throughout the day.

Megami: I will think about it, as long as you think about this for me: What would your perfect home be like? I’m not meaning specifics here, just where and what style and such. Heh, mine’s more difficult than yours, sorry!

I’ll see you at six tomorrow then, for our date? Goodnight Ben, sleep tight and dream of lovely things!

Looking at the main chatroom, none of her regular friends were online and as such, Katherine proceeded to say a warm goodbye to those in the room before signing off completely from Quota.

Megami has left the room 20-somethings.
Megami has signed off.

After closing the internet browser down, Katherine stared at the computer screen, unable to move from the spot, afraid that she would wake up tomorrow and have completely imagined meeting such a nice guy online. However it was approaching midnight and sleep was being demanded from her exhausted body once more and even her mind protested at its still awake state now, so she shut down her computer quickly, standing slowly and making her way back to her bedroom, where she managed to find warm pyjamas easily this evening, snuggling into her quilt, her mind wandering as she set her alarm for seven thirty, but quickly lost the train of thought as she collapsed into blissful sleep.

*~*~*~*~*

Irritating beeping interrupted peaceful slumber, a disgruntled groan signalling Katherine’s awakening state. She really shouldn’t have stayed up late night, but she had been enjoying herself immensely and besides, tiredness could be fixed with a cup of tea and a good breakfast! She hoped. Well, she needed to get up soon, otherwise she wouldn’t have time to remember her way to work before she was supposed to be there, having travelled to her new workplace from this apartment once or twice before, but that was mostly under Derek’s direction, so this was her first time travelling there alone.

Ten minutes later Katherine emerged from her bedroom dressed for work in slim brown soft wool trousers that were teamed with a dark brown shirt and small rounded brown shoes with a small heel. Her hair had been fixed into a low ponytail, pretty but practical and her jewellery and make-up was at a minimum, though there was a white ring on her wedding finger still. But that didn’t matter right now, breakfast did and after treating herself to a large breakfast of Kellogg’s cornflakes, an orange and a small strawberry yoghurt, she tidied up the small mess and proceeded quickly towards the bathroom to finish her morning ritual before finally heading out the door.

Donning a long brown coat and a small brown suede bag, Katherine traversed the stairs of her apartment block quickly before stepping out onto the streets of New York for the first time since her flight, slightly bewildered by the sheer amount of people up and about at eight in the morning. Having lived in Liverpool for nearly all her life, she was well-adjusted to large crowds but this amount of people made Liverpool’s crowds look tiny in comparison. It took a couple of minutes for her to remember which way to turn out of the apartment block to get to her workplace and she turned the corner, recognising a small landmark and smiling. This was doable, Katherine silently reasoned as she made her way across New York for her first full day in America.

[Apologies for writing about the morning first, I hope you don’t mind!]

(I don't mind at all!)

Ben woke up before the clock, which was rare, and felt unusually refreshed that morning. He felt much more energized than usual and skipped the usual two cups of coffee (minimum) before heading into work. Instead, he magnanimously picked up donuts for the office and walked in that morning whistling, a skip to his step. Immediately, a very short, rather plain woman with nondescript brown hair in a ponytail and dark eyes approached him, a curious smirk on her face. She took the donuts out of his arms and handed him a Styrofoam cup of coffee.

“Ah, good old Amy.” He sighed, leaning down to kiss her cheek. She narrowed her eyes and set the box down on the counter of the small office kitchenette, a confused frown on her face.

“Why are you so happy?” she asked, leaning against the counter. She crossed her arms over her chest, not releasing the frown. Ben chuckled.

“Can’t I just be happy?”

“Not after being dumped by Priscilla.” She replied. He shrugged mysteriously, not giving anything away. Amy rolled her eyes and sighed. She’d known Ben forever, or at least, what felt like forever. They’d been best friends for almost six years, had dated very briefly four years ago, realized they were all rubbish for each other in any romantic sense, and had gone back to being platonic friends. She could tell when Ben was hiding something (which he did very poorly) and could usually ascertain what it related to. She had a feeling this had to do with a girl.

“Who is she?” asked Amy bluntly.

“Who?” asked Ben, very innocently, sipping his coffee with a grin. Amy again rolled her eyes, not quite up for games so early in the morning.

“The girl who’s got you smiling like an idiot!” she said, sounding much more grieved and put upon than she really was. Sometimes she let in to dramatic streaks, and Ben tolerated them commendably. He looked up from his coffee and smirked, very pleased about something.

“Amy, did you know you’re beautiful?” he asked, still grinning. Amy didn’t smile, didn’t blush, didn’t even bat an eyelash.

“Whatever,” she said, scowling.

“No, really, you are.” He said, and he sincerely meant it. Amy was certainly no beauty in the way Priscilla was. Amy was very small, wore no makeup at all, and didn’t bother with such notions as fashion. She wrote the sports column and worked hard to be taken professionally, which she was. But beneath her tomboyish exterior, Ben really thought she was amazing. She glowed from the inside out, and it had nothing to do with her pale brown hair or her dark eyes. She wasn’t traditionally attractive, but she was so down to earth, men often swooned. Ben loved that about Amy. “Okay,” he finally let on. “Last night, I kind of met someone interesting in a chat room.”

“A chat room! Ben!” she exclaimed, horrified. “Do you know what sort of psychos go in chat rooms?” she asked, aghast. Ben feigned being very hurt, jutting out his lower lip.

“I was in a chat room.” He said sorrowfully. “Am I a psycho?”

Amy massaged her temples, giving Ben an impatient look. “Alright, so you met someone in a chat room. Does this mystery woman have a name?”

“Yes?”

“And?”

“I’m not going to tell you.”

Amy groaned in irritation, spinning away. “Fine! I give up!”

Ben caught her hand and spun her back around, laughing. “Oh, chill out. I just… don’t want to jinx it.”

“You don’t… like her, do you?” asked Amy, horrified. Ben shook his head.

“No, nothing of the sort. But she does seem very nice. It’s nice to just talk to a woman for once.”

“What am I? Dog food?” asked Amy, mock-offended. Ben laughed.

“No, of course not. But you know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t, actually.”

It was Ben’s turn to look flustered and embarrassed. His cheeks turned slightly pink. “Well, it’s just… You and I have already done it.” He shrugged.

Amy’s eyes widened. “That was years ago!”

“I know, but I still know what you look like naked.” He shrugged again, this time apologetically. Amy spluttered, turned red, and strode away. Ben looked after her with a frown. He’d really wanted to talk to her about Kitty, too. Oh well, he thought. He’d have to wait till some other time.

Finally remembering the way and allowing herself to relax as she walked through the streets of New York, knowing that her job didn’t start until half nine and therefore allowing her a bit of time to herself and immediately a silly grin tugged at her mouth, making the nearest person raise an eyebrow, but Katherine found she didn’t care. Last night had been… fun and she wasn’t about to let anyone ruin the memory for her. Okay, so it was an online thing and it probably wasn’t ever going to go anywhere, but that didn’t stop her from enjoying talking with him did it? Besides she was single now, it was good to get out and explore the field, even if it was only online exploring for now.

Finally she arrived at the small book shop that for the foreseeable future would be her job. It was a simple nine to five timeslot, but for Katherine, this little book shop was so much more than a mere job and although she had been wary about working here after her break-up, especially considering her boss was a good friend of Derek’s, yesterday had convinced her that this was a step in the right direction and her love for books had definitely won out in the end.

The structure of the building was much the same as any other building on the street, but it was the sign that had originally set Katherine’s sights on a job here when she had made the move across the ocean. The quaint, curled text reading ‘Fantasy Books’ on a painted wooden effect had captivated her attention and although it had looked the same as the other buildings from the outside, inside the small, two floored shop made Katherine feel comfortable and safe.

As soon as the young woman had stepped through the small doorway, the little bell above the door had tinkled and she had stepped up to the small paying point, which she noted with a smile was devoid of a card reader. That suited her and the shop well she thought, as it only sold second-hand books and there wasn’t much material in the shop that screamed twenty-first century, though it did surprisingly well considering its market in a largely material-based city. But then again, there were many in the city she knew that couldn’t afford to buy everything new and this was what places like this little haven existed for.

“Katherine! You’re early!”

The young woman responded immediately to her name, looking behind her to the curved staircase and finding her enquirer in the middle of the iron railed balcony, a large pile of books cradled in his arms, his eyes warm.

“Jonathan!” she exclaimed, waving despite herself, her giddy mood making her feel different than usual. Quickly she moved up the staircase to him, taking some of the books off of him as she smiled kindly at her friend, whilst he said a quiet thank you.

“How are you holding up?” he asked gently, causing Katherine to use the excuse of balancing the pile of books she had acquired to avoid the question for as long as possible, but inevitably it had to be answered.

“As well as can be, I suppose. I stayed for as long as I could Jonathan, I really did! But…”

“He pushed it too far, I know. I’m sorry for asking.” He understood, Katherine realised, the pain that she was going through. He had done the same to Jonathan a long time ago, the difference being Katherine wasn’t sure she could ever forgive Derek for his mistakes.

“It’s all right, the past hurts, but I think I’m dealing quite well,” she assured as she indicated the books. “So, where do these go?”

Jonathan smirked. “Science fiction; some old Anne McCaffrey books I believe.”

Quizzically looking at him before wandering down to the science fiction section, which she recalled was on the ground floor with Jonathan following behind. “So, how’s tricks?”

Instead of answering her question, he started laughing and Katherine turned to face him, perplexed. “What’s so funny, Jonathan Edwards?” she demanded, not unkindly but confusion made her voice harsh.

It took a good minute for him to stop chuckling, throwing her an apologetic smile. “I’…m sorry Kathy, but your accent…”

Immediately stiffening, Katherine spat hotly, “Is my accent amusing?”

Some of mirth left Jonathan’s eyes immediately at hearing her heated question and sighed, wiping his eyes of tears. “No, that’s not what I meant at all. I’m just not used to hearing an English accent, and I think you’re going have many men finding it quite attractive and unusual.” His tone was sympathetic and Katherine immediately regretted snapping, but she hadn’t been able to help it. Anything associated with Derek seemed to put her on edge at the moment, even though her rational mind told her that she was over-reacting as she had spat out the question.

“I’m sorry Jonathan,” she began, sighing heavily. “It’s been so hard and I’m still so on edge, even around you…”

“Seriously my dear, it’s not a problem. I understand,” he started to reassure but Katherine had stopped listening at ‘my dear’, wondering what it would sound like to come from Ben’s own lips, as it was the same endearment he had chosen to use yesterday.

“Kathy? Anyone home?” A voice called her back from her reverie and Jonathan was smirking again. “You’re blushing.”

Looking horrified, the young woman turned quickly, hiding her blush as she headed to the science fiction section before setting the books down on the floor by the shelves, hearing Jonathan before she saw him.

“The staffroom door is just behind the counter, code’s one-four-three. Leave your coat, bag and your blush in there, come back here and I’ll give you a quick orientation,” he teased, his smirk growing if that was possible and she threw him a mock-hurt look as she walked past him quickly, her face down slightly, horrified at her lack of self-control.

In what seemed like record time, Katherine had hidden herself in the staffroom, sitting on the small sofa, head in hands. What was wrong with her? She hadn't even met the guy properly and she was crushing like she was fifteen again! Maybe after a couple more conversations this feeling would subside, but she had to get to work now.

Setting her coat on the hook with her bag under it, she smoothed down her clothes, spying a small name tag on the kitchenette side, approaching it and smiling at the handmade star edging. It read Katherine, obviously, but like Jonathan’s nametag, his own designed Celtic star adorned the edging, giving it the personal look. Pinning it to the right-hand side of her shirt, she headed out the staffroom, the blush nearly gone, particularly as she was focusing her mind on work now, something she would need her whole attention to do, even if the mysterious Ben kept creeping into her mind, every now and then, making her smile idiotically as she worked.

Priscilla was downright offended. Why wasn’t Ben calling her to beg her to take him back? Why hadn’t she gone into her posh little New York office and seen a lavish bouquet of roses waiting for her? Why was her phone not ringing, and why was her online mailbox completely void of emails from Ben? Didn’t he want her back? Wasn’t she so far out of his league that he ought to have been begging her by then? She couldn’t understand it. It didn’t make any sense at all. She’d been crazy to even take him in the first place. She made more money, she was far better dressed, and it was quite obvious who the better looking person in the relationship was. It didn’t take two guesses. So, why hadn’t he called?

Priscilla tapped her pen absentmindedly against a pad of paper, a deep frown marring the beauty of her face. She made an angry sound in the back of her throat and rolled her eyes. This was ridiculous. She had dumped him, so why was she the one worrying about it? She decided to use the technique that had become a bit of a standby for making her feel better. She was going to make a list of pros and cons. She made two columns and then chewed on the end of her pen thoughtfully before beginning.

Pros

Positively selfless in bed
Good social circle
Funny
Smart

Cons

Apartment sucks
Horrible fashion sense
Poor
Cocky
Not as good looking as me
Not as ambitious as me
Too old fashioned


There, she thought proudly. The cons far outweighed the pros, and that was a start, wasn’t it? Still, Priscilla found she still had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. If she were better at self reflection, she would have realized it was because she was offended that Ben didn’t want her back so badly. She didn’t want him, but she wanted him to want her. Was that so much to ask for? She tore the paper off the pad and thumb tacked it to the bulletin board over her desk so she could look at it throughout the day.

Until around noon, Priscilla stayed at work, getting very little done. She was just too distracted! Every time she got around to writing her column, something would remind her of Ben. It just wasn’t fair. She felt the world was being horribly unjust and hoped he was squirming at the thought of her a few blocks away in the tall building that house the New York Express. She jogged her knee, faintly shaking the desk with her tapping and pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. Worst of all, Ray (who she had been cheating on Ben with) was out of town for a week, leaving her utterly alone. Now she had no man to take her out and fawn over her, not that Ben had been very good at the whole fawning thing to begin with. He never noticed her new Armani suits or her Prada bags, was more interested in talking about boring matters than telling her whether she looked okay that night or not. He’d told her once, ‘no matter what you do, you look amazing, so don’t worry’ and felt that got him out of complimenting her the way she deserved. She was too used to the highly complimentary nature of her other boyfriends. She added that to her list of cons.

“I need to get out of here,” she sighed to herself, putting her pen back in it’s cup on the desk and pushing her chair out. She picked up the neatly folded trench coat over her chair and put it on, over a skin tight, drop waist purple dress paired with an expensive, silk, floral Hermes scarf. “I’m taking a long lunch.” She announced to the office, striding with long legs into the elevator, where she tossed her long blonde hair over her shoulder before the metal doors closed.

A little retail therapy was in order, she decided, getting to the ground floor. She began a quick pace down the busy sidewalks, Jimmy Choo’s clicking against the asphalt smartly. A few blocks away from her office, she passed a little bookstore that for some reason caught her attention. When she’d thought to go shopping, she’d meant more along the lines of purses than books, but something about the scrolling text of the wooden sign proclaiming ‘Fantasy Books’ caught her eye. It certainly wasn’t her type of store, and once more it reminded her of Ben. Boring Ben (add that to the list of cons, she told herself) who’d rather stay in and read than go to the newest designer restaurant. But she sighed and walked in, thinking perhaps she would send him a little present as a way to say ‘sorry for cheating on you. Take this book as a token of my apology, and let’s still be bed-buddies from time to time’. She didn’t know how a book was going to say all that, but it was worth a try.

Priscilla spotted a woman with mousy blonde hair in serious need of a few highlights wearing a nametag. “Excuse me, Miss?” she called, an irritated edge to her voice. “I need to find a book. What sort of book could you give a man to make him utterly want you back even though he can’t have you? I need that sort.”

After the initial show around, Katherine had dived into her new job enthusiastically, although Jonathan still hadn’t let go of her blush, occasionally teasing her when there was no one around, but she refused to rise to the bait. Plus, she would look daft if she admitted to someone that she might be possibly thinking about a man she barely knew, so she busied herself with customers, most of whom were eager for her help in the large second-hand bookshop, which sometimes proven difficult to find some books and nearly all of them had asked about her accent, so the polite conversation had made her well liked on her first day among the regular customers and the other two staff, which she was glad for.

For those difficult to find books, Jonathan kept an online database of where each book was stored, even if it was out the back in storage, so it wasn’t hard to check for any book a customer might want and the morning passed by quickly, if quietly and there wasn’t many moments to think about anything else other than books and customers, much to Katherine’s relief, but she was happy when lunchtime rolled around.

The shop didn’t shut at lunchtime, like some smaller shops were wont to do; instead the four staff rotated in pairs, having lunch at different times, but getting the full hour as stated in their work contract and it was during this hour, whilst Katherine was shelving some new stock near the entrance, that a very unusual customer came into the shop. Katherine had watched the woman the moment the little bell indicated that a potential customer had come into the shop, surprised beyond belief at her entrance.

To say she didn’t look like the typical customer of a second-hand book shop was a gross understatement, her clothes obviously of designer quality and her make-up delicately applied to make her look even more beautiful than she naturally was and for a moment, Katherine found herself intimidated by the woman’s mere presence as she strode confidently across the room. That kind of person tended to shop at bookshops that sold new books in contrast to old, used books, unless she was a book collector which seemed to be quite unlikely for a woman of her appearance, but you just never knew did you? Either way, Katherine felt a little subdued in the presence of an obviously confident woman, not that Katherine was a weak woman by any means, but she was not nearly so self-aware as this potential customer.

Deciding that enough time had been spent watching the new arrival to the shop and also that it was highly unlikely that the new stock of gardening books were going to stack themselves, Katherine turned back to the shelves, a book about growing lilies in hand when the woman’s harsh voice reached her ears. This left Katherine to assume that she was trying to communicate with her, as she was the only female attendant on the floor and the new arrival had clearly said ‘Miss,’ and she placed the book on the shelf before turning to look at the woman, who was standing approximately seven or eight feet away from her, the shop attendant almost expecting her to tap her foot from impatience.

“If you’ll give me a moment, I’ll be right with you Miss, I just need to finish shelving these books. There’s only a couple,” she conveyed as she returned to shelving the books quickly, the last five books shelved in a matter of seconds, cradling the small cardboard box that the books had come in as she walked over to the woman, smiling pleasantly, considering the customer’s request as she made her way over to her. It was an odd request and Katherine mused about whether she could fulfil it, thinking that a book wasn’t enough to make someone want you, though it would certainly be a good start and this was definitely the place to be searching as there were so many rare finds here that would cost a lot more on places like eBay and Amazon, where they could be accessed by the mainstream consumer.

Stopping a polite distance from the customer, Katherine found herself less intimidated by the woman now that she had asked her a question that placed her in her element. “Well, it would have to be a particularly spectacular book to be doing all that,” she said contemplatively, her English accent untainted by her short time in America and although the woman’s accent sounded strange to Katherine, she knew that it was her accent that was strange over here. “What kind of books and interests does the man have? That’s usually a good place to start when looking for a present for someone.”

Personally, if she was going to buy a book like that for Derek, it would have been a book about Formula One cars, which she was aware, was particularly clichéd for a man; not that she would try to buy back a man. If they didn’t want to be with her, she wasn’t such a bitter loser that she would try to make them miss her, then playing hard to get and it was then she realised that she didn’t like the woman for her tactics, not at all, an unwilling frown replacing her smile. But her job wasn’t to like customers, though she mostly did. Her job was to sell books to people who were looking for them and if helping this woman would make a fellow book lover happy, then she could grin and bear the next half an hour with that thought.

It was in that moment Katherine noticed Jonathan looking over at the new customer, seemingly bewildered by the presence of the high class individual and his flicker of recognition told her that the well-dressed individual was obviously someone well-known here, though Jonathan was known for his uncanny knowledge for knowing most people by face, possibly because of his rich and prominent heritage. Katherine nodded in his direction, a smile managing to work its way back onto her face as she looked at the woman intently, Katherine’s eyes unreadable as she waited patiently for the information needed to help the woman find the perfect book for the male who had apparently done her the injustice of spurning her.

The whole shop smelled like dust, thought Priscilla with a delicate wrinkle of her nose as she looked around with distaste. The place was musty and had that repulsive old-book smell. Her skin crawled at the thought of owning a book other’s people’s grimy fingers had already leafed through. She much preferred crisp, clean smelling, brand new books with no folded corners of broken spines. But she was there already, so she figured she might as well make the best of it. After all, many of Ben’s books would have fit right in here, and he’d probably attained them at some vile little second-hand store. The very phrase ‘second-hand’ made her cringe.

Priscilla carefully appraised Katherine, her arms crossed over her chest, an unimpressed look on her face. Her bright green eyes (normally light brown, but she wore colored contacts) traveled from Katherine’s modest, not-even-last-season shoes to her all brown ensemble with a frown. Obviously, this woman did not read her column, and she was in dire need of it. She looked like she shopped off the clearance rack at the mall, and Priscilla felt far superior already.

It also irked her that the book clerk- who admittedly had a very pretty manner of speaking, though Priscilla didn’t want to acknowledge that at all- didn’t immediately attend to her. Of all the nerve! Who did this woman think she was? Priscilla let out a loud, aggrieved sigh and impatiently tapped her foot, wishing she had a watch she could look at (but a watch didn’t really go with her outfit). Finally the mousy blonde finished her task and turned to help her.

Priscilla considered her question with a frown. What did Ben like as far as books, she wondered. What did he like to do? She felt foolish to admit it, but even after six months, she had absolutely no idea. She knew he liked to read, but that was hardly a helpful tidbit for a bookshop. She chewed on the inside of her cheek pensively, staring off to the side. “Well,” she said slowly, frowning. “I think he likes… traveling.” She said. It sounded more like a question. “But erm, I’m not really sure what else. Really, he likes reading anything, I think. Can you just recommend me a book? It doesn’t really matter which.”

She sounded impatient, and she was. She didn’t much like shopping for others, and she could have been in Ralph Lauren by then if the clerk hadn’t wasted so much of her precious time. She looked wistfully out the door, wishing she hadn’t stopped in. “Like I said, it doesn’t matter. He’s easy to please.” This was true enough. “I just want him to see how much he misses me.”

Katherine did not fail to notice the woman’s appraising look over herself, resisting the urge to reel off a string of very English curse words at the woman’s obviously disapproving look at her attire and appearance. The woman wasn’t here to judge her fashion sense; she was here to shop, so why on earth should Katherine feel threatened by her appraisal? But something was niggling at her, something told her that this woman was not one to be taken lightly, almost like a warning bell in her head, though she couldn’t even begin to think why.

As Priscilla began to attempt to explain what little she actually knew of Ben’s interests, Katherine managed a small polite smile to hide her frustration at the woman’s obvious little interest in the man she wasn’t trying very hard to make jealous and it half tempted her to try and make the little fashionista wait a little longer before leaving the bookshop, which the woman appeared to have absolutely no love for at all. Instead, Katherine focused on the unfortunate soul that was going to have this prissy woman forced back upon them, if only temporarily and she vowed to make sure they got a good book out of their troubles and through Priscilla’s wistful glance at the door, Katherine began to slowly form a plan that would make them both happy and get them both what they wanted.

“Well, from what you said earlier, it does matter about the book so how about this? You come back around closing time, which is about five and I’ll have a good look around the travel section this afternoon for a particularly rare and interesting book for your friend. Does that sound all right?” she queried as she began to collapse the small box that had held books only minutes before. “Also, in my experience, men are extremely hard to impress, even if they are easy to please.”

God, why had she said that? Katherine didn’t even like the woman and she was trying to make pleasant conversation! Silently praying to whatever gods existed that Priscilla would take her up on her offer, Katherine began scanning through the books she knew were in the travel section, none of particular interest for someone who the assistant had judged to be a avid lover of books, at least from the way the customer had described it. Then again, the woman appeared to have a very short attention span, so going on her word was probably a bad idea.