{"id":1091,"date":"2012-11-06T06:00:28","date_gmt":"2012-11-06T14:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=1091"},"modified":"2012-11-05T19:55:50","modified_gmt":"2012-11-06T03:55:50","slug":"season-8-episode-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/?p=1091","title":{"rendered":"Season 8, Episode 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sitting in her bedroom with the door closed Ana didn\u2019t need to hide the tears as they ran down her face. Homesick, jobless, alone. Ana was absolutely and positively miserable.<\/p>\n

For so many years, Ana felt as though her life was completely on track. Of course, there were several – fairly major – hiccups on the way, but when one is wallowing in self-pity regarding the current state of one\u2019s life, these incidents tend to get glossed over.
\nRight now it felt to her as though Mia and Willow were both going places and here she was, uselessly unemployable and woefully lonely. She was seriously considering going back to Melbourne, but what was left there for her?<\/p>\n

She felt another bout of hot tears welling up in her eyes and wiped them\u00a0 away angrily.\u201cOh, snap out of it,\u201d she chastised herself. Taking a few deep breaths she grabbed her towel. Time for a shower and another day of job hunting.<\/p>\n

Great.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

It was unseasonably gorgeous weather, the November greyness not having descended yet on San Francisco. Already at nine o\u2019clock the sun was bright in the sky and there wasn\u2019t a hint of fog anywhere. It wasn\u2019t hot sun, but it was sun nevertheless, and Ana basked in in like a lizard on a rock, hoping that an excess of vitamin D might snap her out of her melancholy mood. She was sitting in the small outdoor area and eating breakfast, slowly sipping coffee and nibbling on toast. The Vegemite that they had bought over was running low, so it was being rationed very sparingly by all of them. One piece of toast a day. Ana made sure she savoured every single crumb. After the last skerrick was devoured, Ana knew she could avoid the inevitable no longer. Firing up her laptop, she started the unhappy task of trawling through the latest lot of job offerings that were presented to her.<\/p>\n

She sighed loudly, wondering what delights of the corporate world would be on offer today, when her inbox showed a new message. Her heart brightened a little as she toggled between the screens. Anything to break the monotony of finding a job!<\/p>\n

Her heart skipped another beat when she saw who the email was from. She hadn\u2019t heard from Tom in ages. He had crossed her mind more than once in recent weeks, and having had no communication from him, she often wondered if he still thought of her at all.<\/p>\n

Hi Ana,<\/em>
\nHow is life going in San Fran? (I heard that no-one over there calls it \u2018San Fran\u2019 except tourists. Is that true?) I\u2019m sure that by now you have a fabulous job and have settled into your glamourous new life there. Things here are the same: We won a few more contracts so I\u2019m flat out with work again. It\u2019s good and I shouldn\u2019t complain but sometimes I just feel like packing it all in, you know? Apart from that, nothing really to tell. Except you\u2019re not here and that is pretty weird actually. I guess what I\u2019m trying to say is that I think of you always and miss you.<\/em>
\nMuch love,<\/em>
\nT.<\/em><\/p>\n

Ana re-read the email a number of times. She hit the reply button, but couldn\u2019t think of anything to write. Her pride stopped her pouring her heart out to Tom, telling him just how miserable she really was and how she wished that things could just go back to the way they were.<\/p>\n

She desperately wanted to tell him that she missed the way he made her feel like everything was going to be all right; she missed his strong hands, his broad back, his soft lips, the way he’d rake his fingers down her back when\u2026<\/p>\n

She shut the laptop lid quickly. Thinking about things like that<\/em> wasn\u2019t going to get her anywhere, so she decided that she needed a walk to clear her head.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Wandering down the street, she was surprised to see so many people out and about carrying posters and wearing t-shirts with slogans on them. Ana almost started laughing when she realised what it was. She had been so caught up in her own spiral of desolation, she had completely forgotten that today was election day! She followed a hoard of people carrying Obama posters, vaguely pretending that she could actually have some impact on the outcome of the election.<\/p>\n

\u201cAna?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana turned around, scanning faces to see where the voice came from. A tall woman wearing and Obama jumper and cap was waving at her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was you! How are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana peered at the person. She knew she\u2019d met them, but where? And how?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Joey.\u201d The woman pulled off the cap. It was the wonderful lady Ana had done a bit of work with before she\u2019d quit the job at Bleau.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoey!\u201d Ana grinned. \u201cI didn\u2019t recognise you.\u201d She greeted the woman with a hug and kiss on the cheek.<\/p>\n

They exchanged pleasantries about the weather and how the outcome of the election would determine whether the planned move to Siberia went ahead or not, and within a couple of minutes Ana\u2019s mood had brightened considerably. She had forgotten how much she had liked this woman when she\u2019d met her previously. Joey had an infectiously vibrant and delightful personality and Ana found herself wishing she could spend more time hanging out with her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing at the moment?\u201d Joey asked, as they ambled in the general direction of where Joey\u2019s friends were waiting for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike, right now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was wondering more in general. I heard that you\u2019d left Bleau.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. I had a\u2026 misunderstanding with the guy who owns the company.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s OK,\u201d Joey said grinning. \u201cYou can say it. He\u2019s a complete misogynist. I think you\u2019re way better off not being there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana smiled wanly. Misogynist or not, at least it was a job!<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, where are you working now?\u201d Joey continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cStill trying to find something else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally? I thought you would have been snapped up immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana blushed. \u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joey’s friends called for her to hurry up and Joey smiled apologietically at Ana. \u201cI should go,\u201d she said. \u201cBut let\u2019s keep in touch?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana nodded and waved as Joey ran to catch up with her group. \u201cGood luck today!\u201d Ana called after her. \u201cGo Obama!\u201d<\/p>\n

Joey turned and grinned, giving the victory sign.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Ana had nearly reached home when her mobile rang.<\/p>\n

\u201cAna, it\u2019s Joey. I had to double check something before I mentioned this to you, but do you remember me telling that our funding came predominantly from a single source? A woman who donates a pretty decent chunk of money to us every year?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I told her all about you and she said that we could use the funding the hire you outright. Full time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana was shocked. \u201cWow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not great pay,\u201d Joey cautioned. \u201cLike, really not great. Probably less than half of what you earned at your last job. And the contract would only be for 12 months to begin, but it would be fun and you\u2019d be really helping a fantastic cause.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWow,\u201d Ana said again. \u201cThat\u2019s\u2026 that\u2019s really flattering.\u201d She toyed with the idea in her head. It would be something different and an exciting project to work on. But, how could she afford to live on that little money? And did she really want to stay here for that long?\u00a0 \u201cCan I think about it and call you back?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joey paused and Ana could tell that she was disappointed that Ana hadn\u2019t made a snap decision.\u201cSure. Can you let me know within the week?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ana hung up the phone. The pay would suck, that was for sure. And it would mean she was locked in to stay here for 12 months, at least. But maybe once she was working she would be happier here? And Joey was totally awesome. Ana couldn\u2019t remember the last time she met someone so fun and kind and inspiring.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is there to think about?\u201d Ana said aloud, taking her phone back out of her bag and pressing callback.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in,\u201d she said excitedly, when Joey answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was quick,\u201d Joey said, laughing. \u201cWhat made the decision?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t think of anyone else I\u2019d rather work with,\u201d Ana said truthfully.<\/p>\n

She could hear the smile in Joey\u2019s voice. \u201cI think I\u2019m going to really enjoy working with you too, Ana. Very much indeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sitting in her bedroom with the door closed Ana didn\u2019t need to hide the tears as they ran down her face. Homesick, jobless, alone. Ana was absolutely and positively miserable. For so many years, Ana felt as though her life was completely on track. Of course, there were several – fairly major – hiccups on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes"},"categories":[228],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1091"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1091"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1094,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1091\/revisions\/1094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ravenoustales.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}