Tricia II

Remember Tricia? The woman with the backpack on wheels filled with Coke? She and I shared the elevator this morning. There was another woman in there, who had the good fortune of getting off at a lower floor.

TRICIA: Hey, man!

ME: Oh, hi...

TRICIA: It sure is cold, man!

ME: It sure is.

TRICIA: It's supposed to snow all morning, man.

ME: (thinking that her constant use of "man" must be due to the musical theatre people she's been hanging out with) I heard.

TRICIA: Only two weeks for me, though.

ME: Oh? You're... leaving?

TRICIA: Mexico vacation, man!

ME: Oh. Wow!

TRICIA: See, I leave on the 16th. Just before my birthday. Well, okay, just after my birthday. A couple of days after my birthday. Like three days.

(The elevator doors open, and the other woman runs, actually runs, from the elevator.)

TRICIA (cont.): And, well, I had the option of taking the 23rd off or not - bye! - which really wasn't an easy decision, man. But then I decided, I thought, how many times am I going to be able to do this?

ME: Totally.

TRICIA: So, the 23rd is a good day to fly back. I think I have like a 5PM flight or something. Which is later than I'd like, but my roommate can pick me up, whcih he doesn't want to do anyway. I'll have to check my electronic ticket.

ME: Totally.

TRICIA: My roommate.

ME: (thinking the roommate might not be real) Right.

TRICIA: He's something else.

ME: (sure of it now) ...

TRICIA: What a guy. You know he's taking a whole month off! A month!

ME: Wow.

TRICIA: Well, he's not working right now.

ME: Oh. So, I guess it's more than a month, really!

TRICIA: It totally is, man. Totally. It's like he's taking the next forever off! The next forever!

ME: (hating everything about this) That's a good, long while.

(The doors finally open at my floor and I make my escape.)

TRICIA: OH! Well, okay! I'll have fun!!

ME: Yep!