Monday morning...
"Elaine?"
"Elaine?"
"Earth to Elaine!"
Startled, Elaine looked up to find Brenda leaning over the partition that divided their cubicles, frantically waving her arms.
"Huh?" Elaine responded blankly.
"Where are you this morning?" Brenda asked. "I've been trying to get your attention for the last fifteen minutes."
Nervously, Elaine shuffled through the papers that were strewn across her desk. "I-I have to get this proposal done by noon. I'm so far behind already."
Suddenly, Brenda rolled her office chair around the corner and sat down next to Elaine.
"Brenda, what are you doing?" Elaine asked, frantically checking to see if the boss was watching.
"Forget the proposal." Brenda said.
"Are you crazy? I've been working on this for months! Don't you realize that this could make or break my career?" Elaine said, feeling her heart beating a mile a minute.
"What is going on with you?" Brenda asked.
"I-I don't know what you mean." Elaine stammered as warmth crept into her cheeks.
Brenda stared at her friend. "You're blushing! Wow, I guess I was wrong about Paul. You must have had some weekend."
"Paul?"
"Yeah... Paul. Your boyfriend."
When Elaine didn't respond, Brenda's expression changed.
"He dumped you, didn't he? Damn him! That little..."
Suddenly Elaine was reminded of the events that took place before she wandered into Laughter. She could think of a few choice words to add to Brenda's description of her former boyfriend. But being accused of being dumped cut her like a knife.
"You think I was dumped? How could you say that?" Elaine couldn't help yelling the words.
There was a long, uncomfortable silence as Elaine resumed sorting her papers. She turned when she felt Brenda's hand on her back.
"Look, I'm sorry. I just assumed..." Brenda said. "God I am such a jerk, sometimes."
Elaine sighed. "It's fine, don't worry about it."
But Brenda continued. "I'm just worried about you. You're not yourself today. You've been in a daze all morning. It's like your body came to work but your brain is somewhere else."
Elaine groaned. Brenda knew her so well, and wouldn't give up until she knew the whole story.
(Several minutes later)
"Whoa, that was some weekend!" Brenda exclaimed when Elaine finished her recounts of the past two days. "So what are you going to do about the guy?"
Elaine was confused. "Who? Paul? I want to tell him to blow it out his-."
Brenda put up a hand to stop her.
"No, this Jerry Seinstein person."
"Sein-feld" Elaine corrected.
"Whatever." Brenda said. "So what's he like?"
Elaine smiled, remembering the handsome comedian who had unknowingly saved her from a weekend of despair.
"Well... he's funny."
Brenda rolled her eyes. "Yeah, no kidding, Benes. I mean, what's he like? Did you guys hit it off?"
"Actually we never spoke. I left right after the show." Elaine said.
"Elaine! You didn't even wait to talk to him?" Brenda yelled incredulously. "Why in the hell not?"
Seeing the irritated glare of her co-worker Dan, Elaine shushed Brenda. "Do you want to get us both fired?"
"So why didn't you talk to him? Brenda asked in a whisper that was still audible throughout the office.
"I-I was embarrassed. Why would a guy like Jerry want to talk to me?" Elaine asked.
Brenda's eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with Elaine Benes?"
Elaine laughed. "What does that mean?"
"You're beautiful, Elaine! I would kill to have hair like yours!" Brenda said, fingering the ends of her own shoulder-length brown hair that was streaked with blonde highlights.
Elaine sighed. "Thanks for the compliment, but it doesn't matter anyway. I'll never see him again."
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, I'm definitely not going to go looking for him." Elaine said, hoping her voice didn't sound as insecure as she felt.
"God knows I'm not that desperate."
"Since when is looking for love considered desperate?" Brenda asked. "Just go into Laughter and say hello after his set."
"What if he doesn't perform there anymore? Brenda, I can't just go in and ask for him. The staff will think I'm some kind of loser."
Brenda smiled. "If this Seinstein person is as funny as you say he is, believe me... he's still there. No way is a small club going to get rid of real talent. They rely on it.
Elaine grinned at Brenda's pronunciation of Jerry's last name. "Sein-FELD" she corrected again.
Brenda didn't speak, but her smile sent Elaine the message loud and clear.
Elaine rolled her eyes. "All right. I'll go back to Laughter on Saturday. What's the worst that can happen? Wait... Don't answer that."
Brenda smiled and hugged Elaine. "You'll be fine. Trust me, Paul is the loser, not you." She said as she scooted her chair back to her cubicle.
Elaine grinned and eyed her calendar thoughtfully. She could hardly wait until Saturday.