The Job Offer - By Eleanor Webb Page 0,6

without telling me."

"Come on, Anne. I know how you hate shopping for yourself, so I decided that you needed to lose the beatnik slash scientist look." Anne looked down at her blue jeans and button down white blouse and frowned when she looked back up at Carla. "Not that you don't rock that look, Sweetie. But when was the last time you bought something sexy for yourself or had your nails done? Probably not since the last time I took you shopping, so you are long overdue for a makeover. I love your hair, though, and if I had your body, I'd flaunt it."

"Ok. I don't want anything too sexy, though. I don't want to look slutty. I still want to look like me."

"You will look like you, only sexier. Trust me, Anne. You know that I've never steered you wrong in the past."

Anne took the dresses and the shoes reluctantly and walked to the changing room while Carla waited out in the store. The dresses and sandals did make her look and feel feminine and sexy, Anne had to admit. After changing back into her regular clothing, she suffered through Carla’s smug expression and took out her credit card. But new dresses required new underwear too, Carla said, so Anne bought some of that as well.

As Carla talked about how she soon would be wearing maternity clothes because short people always showed faster than tall people and that last week she saw some cute clothes in another store, Anne mentally tallied up the small fortune she had just spent. The maternity clothes came next, and Anne helped Carla decide on several fall fashions that would compliment her petite frame. Then with their purchases in hand, Carla led them to a shop for manicures and pedicures because, she reasoned playfully, there was no point in having sexy clothes and sandals without them.

"Maybe you’ll get lucky while up at the inn. With all those hot males, Anne, it pays to look good," Carla said as their toes were being colored. Anne laughed at the comment because she was just not the "getting lucky" type of women men went for.

Once their hands and feet were done, they worked their way along the waterfront past several busy stores and crowds of people who flocked to the waterfront on that Sunday afternoon. Eventually, they found a place to sit in a little coffee shop that faced the harbor. As they split a piece of fudge cake ala mode and drank their beverages, they discussed where to head next. Because they had a few more hours before they needed to be at Carla’s house in Bellevue, they decided to head in that direction and drive down to the Bellevue Square mall to look for furniture.

At six, they finished their shopping and headed to the house where Carla and Gary lived. Their house was located in a nice quiet neighborhood along a tree lined street and was located only two blocks from a large park and nature preserve. As Anne drove behind Carla up the street, she saw families outside in their yards either working on their lawns and flower gardens or tossing around balls and Frisbees. Several people waved at Anne’s car as she drove by. Carla and Gary’s home was located on the corner lot at the top of the hill. They had a Craftsman style house with a wide front porch, and the large lot had several mature trees. A two stall detached garage was tucked away behind the house. Carla parked in the garage while Anne parked behind her on the concrete driveway. They brought their purchases and Anne’s suitcase inside through the back door then decided to wait for Gary on the back patio and enjoy the early evening.

Gary returned about twenty minutes later from a walk with their dog, Bob, a golden Labrador retriever. The last time Anne saw Bob, he was just a puppy, but he had since grown to be quite a large dog. The two year separation did not stop Bob from showing his acceptance of Anne, and he surprised her with a slobbering wet tennis ball dropped at her feet. Gary quickly shooed Bob away and went into the house to clean up before he joined them again on the patio to start up the grill.

Gary had not changed too much physically in the past few years, Anne noticed. He was about Anne’s height and had a wiry build that today was covered in a pair