Only Fools Rush In (And I Ain't No Fool)

"That bad, huh?" Peter asked over the phone. 

"Worse," I said. "Much...much worse." I fiddled with the cord of my bathrobe and stared at the pile of sopping, damp clothes I threw on the floor after getting home that evening. My Siamese cat tried making a bed out of them but hissed at the touch. After a good shower and a hot meal of leftover pizza I'd be hurling myself into bed, trying to salvage the rest of the day through a good night of sleep. And I'd be back at work again tomorrow hustling and rushing and driving myself insane. 

There had to be more to life than this. 

But before bedding down I wanted to give a call to my friend Peter who right now was in Australia working as a roadie for a famous rock and roll band. 

"Should have come to work with me," Peter said. "You'll never believe how good these guys are live until you hear them."

"I have a couple of their albums," I said, yawning. "Can't be too much different, can they?"

"Much better," Peter said. "I'm telling you, Hannah, this is the best job I've ever had. You need to come down here."

"I told you, I don't have the time," I sighed. "I can't just take a vacation to go see you and your friends. There's too much work to do here and besides. Who would watch my cat?" I wasn't about to abandon my sweet little cat Sapphire. And there was no way I'd bring her on a plane from America to Australia. It just wasn't happening. 

"Can't you find a sitter?" he asked. 

"That would be a long time to leave her with a stranger and you know that," I said. Peter sighed.

"You're running yourself ragged over there!" he said. "You need a break and you need sunshine! The weather is great over here, it'd do you a lot of good to take a holiday."

Australia did sound like a lot of fun. And I would love the time off work. But my boss would never allow it. I was too valuable to him to lose for any extended length of time. You'd think I'd feel pretty special being so in-expendable like that. But it only made me feel worse. Trapped. I couldn't leave. Peter would just have to enjoy Australia without me. "You know I'd love nothing more," I said.

"Then do it," Peter said. I looked down at Sapphire who was rubbing her head all over my bathrobe, getting fur on it. I pet her and she started purring. I could always leave her with my parents. They loved cats, especially my mother. I knew she'd be safe with them. That being said, a flight to Australia was going to be long, not to mention expensive. Surely I had the money somewhere. Did I have the patience? "Tell you what," Peter said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "I dare you to take a break from work and fly to Australia. Live a little!" 

The temptation was almost too much to bear...

"Just how long do you think you'll be gone, Miss Hannah?" Mr. Anderson asked suspiciously. I shifted my weight and shrugged.

"Australia is a long way away," I said. "I wouldn't want to spend more time traveling than being on vacation." Mr. Anderson rubbed his temples, his black hair turning grey right in front of my eyes. I stood there waiting patiently for him to refuse to let me have a life. 

"It won't be the same without you," he said. "Who's going to get me lunch every afternoon?" 

"Well, sir, I heard Jones has a knack for bringing you food," I replied. "Maybe he has leftover pie lying around." Mr. Anderson thought I was joking and laughed. 

"Very funny, Miss Hannah," he said. "We'll all miss that sense of humor I'm sure." He rifled through some paperwork on his desk and opened a drawer for a pen. "So what, you have family there? Friends?"