Caffeine Withdrawal

"Of course, all us women are alike," I replied, flashing him an innocent smile.

"That's what I was afraid of," he noted, the ends of his mouth twisting up in, a smile. Not sure how to reply, I thought for a minute. Then he winked at me, and I smiled back in return and walked away, drink in hand. My boss is great, I think to myself, warm and fuzzy feelings filling my mind.

Feeding my caffeine addiction once again, I filled up, and had enough, energy for the rest of the One day my boss decided I should study to become an insurance agent. "Really?" I replied, more than a little surprised at his remark.

"Of course. You're good with people, and very smart. I think you'd do a good job."

"So, you're going to adopt me?" I said, jokingly.

He then confessed that his own daughter didn't seem interested. Visions of becoming a partner, and possibly making it out of my economic hole, filled my head. I am going to be a success, I decided. Better yet, I am going to become my Aunt Edna-rich. But please, not the single part, I wished to myself-and not all those cats!

The stack of books he gave me to take home made me feel sort of like a high school student again. But these books looked a lot harder to understand.

Often, without meaning to, I set myself on this awful, awkward path of self-destruction. Without knowing it, I was again stepping right into this path.

When I got home, I opened the passenger side door to take the books out, and not one, but five, pop containers rolled out onto the pavement. Right away, I began hunting them down. They had escaped under the car, across the parking lot, and one was under someone else's car. I felt awful. What have I become?