Alice’s couch became home for the next three weeks. Somehow, she even managed to keep her trap shut about it. I would put the bedding away in the closet during the day, so even when Dana or the others would come around to her place, no one noticed the extra inhabitant. And since nothing really changed in my habits, no one really noticed… which was completely fine with me. I was sitting at The Planet one morning with Dana and Marina when Alice came in, waving a card in the air before dropping it into my lap.

“Found something I thought you might be interested in.”

She ran back up to the counter before returning with her coffee and sitting down. I glanced at the card, saw the “Roommate Wanted” title on it, and pocketed it before taking a sip of my drink.

“Thanks Al, I’ll check it out later today.”

Alice smiled, “Well, hurry, it’ll go fast.”

Dana just glanced between us. “OK, what it going on? You two have been having these cryptic-type conversations for weeks now. What are you talking about?”

I shrugged, “Nothing, I’m just looking for some new stuff to line up. I’ve been in the same job and apartment for a while, it’s time to start branching out is all.”

Marina smiled, “Ah the restless soul. You know, if you want a new salon to apply to, you should talk to that girl back there.” She motioned to a table behind us. “She owns a place around the corner. It’s a bit bigger than the place you’re working at right now, and I’d be happy to put in a good word for you.”

I raised my mug to Marina, “I might take you up on that, thank you.”

We finished our morning coffees, and started getting up to head off to work when Marina stopped me. “Let me quickly introduce you before you go to work.”

She led me over to the table where a striking woman was sitting. “Sandra, how are you this morning?”