Writing and Photography by Jeff E. Brown

INT-APARTMENT-DAY
Two women sit facing each other at the dining table.

Melanie: “Don’t mention my name when you contact them. We didn’t part on friendly terms.”

Nadia: “That’s rather vague. Anything else you’d like to tell me?”

Melanie: “Like to tell you? No, not especially.”

Nadia: “I thought after everything I’ve shared with you that we were on pretty equal footing. It wasn’t easy to open up about Roger and the abuse. That shit was traumatic. It still is.”

Melanie: “Of course it is. You’re incredibly brave and resilient. It would have crushed me into a deep hole. I don’t think I ever would have come out. I’m not strong, just good at compartmentalizing.”

Nadia: “I just want to move on, you know? Keep swimming. That’s why I asked about the position. I know I’m not qualified, but I need a new start. Do you think I can even get in the door there?”

Melanie: “Maybe. They appreciate persistence. It’s a virtue there. Just like in life, right?”

Nadia: “Persistence is a relative matter. Like I persisted in my love for Roger even as he was beating the hell out of me. I thought it would make a difference somehow. It never stopped the blows. But maybe I can take a lesson from it and transfer it over to the life I have left.”

Melanie: “You can. You have everything ahead of you. So much potential that I don’t think you ever could’ve realized tethered to that dead weight.”

Nadia: “I’m exhausted, though. It’s taken all I have to get away and I hate to keep asking you for help.”

Melanie: “Don’t worry about that. I am your friend and I will do all I can to help.”

Nadia: “Let’s start with how to ace an interview because I am getting that job.”

© 2021 Jeff E. Brown. All rights reserved.