I had almost made it to the bottom of the stairs when I saw her. She was standing at the front desk talking to the shift supervisor. Dressed in black leather high heel boots with a matching skirt and blouse, she was in the height of fashion. She looked as though she was an escaped model from the front cover of a magazine.

I hated even seeing her! It usually wasn't like me to be so jealous of who Bosco dated, but she was something totally out of this world. She was a nice girl, a good girl. He liked her and I could tell that he was thinking about getting serious with her. So be it. He needed to get serious with some one for once in his life. I just had trouble with the fact that I was leaning toward myself as being that someone.

I sometimes got the feeling that he needed me too. That he thought about me as much as I thought about him. It was never a spoken thing between us, but there was always the feeling that there was so much more. Now, I might never know what could have happened between us.

I hated feeling so....so......petty and...childish. This was beneath me, for heaven's sake! Here I was, a newly single woman and I was worrying about me and Bosco. I knew I needed some fresh air and a few drinks so I could think about my current situation.

As I walked toward the door, she turned and waved to me. She tucked her long hair behind her ears and walked toward me, a huge grin on her flawless face. It almost took my breath away, how pretty she was. At five foot six or seven, she was slender, but not too skinny. She had milky-white skin, complimented with her full, red lips. Her hair was long with a hint of a curl. Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she called out to me.

"Faith, wait up a sec!" Her high heeled boots made a clicking noise on the tile floor as she sprang into action.

She had me. There was no way that I could just keep going and pretend that I didn't see her. It sickened me, the way every man in the place just had to stare at her. Clickity clack, went her boots, twanging on my last nerve already.

I looked down at myself in my sweatshirt and jeans. Yes. I felt like I could definitely compete with her. With my hair in a ponytail and no makeup on, I felt like Cinderella in her grunge mode. Could I have picked a better evening to run into little ms. Posh?

I stopped and scuffed the toes of my dirty tennis sneakers on the polished floor as I waited for her.

" Hi there. I'm Sarah. We met at Haggerty's, remember"?

Did I remember? What was I? Stupid?

"Ya. I remember. Nice to see you.". I said, holding out my hand.

She shook it enthusiastically. She looked around, trying to see if Bosco was within earshot.

"I'm planning a surprise for Boz's Birthday next week. It's going to be at the Tea Room on Marks Avenue. I was hoping that you'd maybe give me a list of people he'd like to see."

I laughed out loud at the mention of the Tea Room. That would be the last place he'd ever want to go. She didn't know him at all! It gave me a sense of satisfaction, to know what he liked...and better yet, that she didn't know.

"Why would you want to have it at that dump?" I threw out. Before she could answer, I kept going. After all, she asked for my advice and she was gonna get it.

" Bosco is definitely not that kind of guy. Why don't you have it at Haggerty's? I'll give you a list of people to invite. Try the gang at Camelot. They'll all come and I'll tell the rest of the squad."

At this point, it would have been better for me to pick up on the subtle signals that were now emanating from her size 6 body. She was no longer smiling and had starting tapping her little boots on the floor. Tap. Tap. Tap.

"What"? I asked, holding my palms out toward her. "I'm telling you what he likes, aren't I"?

Her eyes narrowed a bit as she sized me up and I had the distinct feeling that I had made a big faux paux with this woman. What had I said wrong? Could she see through me? Could she tell how her very presence was enough to make me want to scream? Well, at the very least, I had learned something about her: She could change moods at the drop of a hat.

She cleared her throat and sniffled a bit. "I know you're just trying to help, but it's already set up at the Tea Room. The reservations have been made and I don't want to break them."

"That's too bad. I mean, you really should have checked with me first, Sarah. It was a nice gesture on your part, but that place is really swanky, if you get what I mean". I said, rolling my eyes. "I went there one time and the prices were really outrageous..."

She held up her hand and shook her head. "Ya. I get it. Thanks." She turned around and started to walk away, but turned back. "And don't mention it to Bosco that I came here tonight. I'd really like to keep this a surprise."

"Wait! He told me like five minutes ago that he had to pick you up tonight". I said, not understanding.

" It's alright, Faith. I called him and told him that I had some stuff to take care of." She answered as she walked away.

I shrugged my shoulders and continued my walk to the front door. Now, more than ever, I needed a few drinks to calm my nerves and forget about my life. Haggerty's was calling my name as I walked out of the Station and down the street. Who knew that life could be so lame?