Throw Your Heart Over

Chapter One Part 2

Chapter One

"Do you want me to come with you?"

Christine looked up at her friend, Victoria. Chris was still in a housecoat, while Vic was dressed for work in a trim fitting suit that flattered her curvy figure. Her hair and makeup was perfect. She was carrying her purse and briefcase, and looked like an advertisement for a successful business woman while Chris looked the like the before shots in a flu medicine add. Vic was supposed to be leaving, but had paused at the door, and was looking back at Chris with concern.

"I'll be fine." Chris responded. "And you have work."

"I could call in sick." Her friend responded.

Chris rolled her eyes at her. "It's tax season, and you're swamped. Go on, I'll be fine. Honestly. I'm leaving in lots of time, and if I get tired, I can pull over for a bit."

Vic frowned. "You know you don't have to do this." she answered. "I can renew my lease – I don't have to move in with Max."

"I want to do this." Christine insisted. "It sounds like an interesting job. And it's in the country, not Antarctica. It's not forever, even if I get the job."

Victoria hesitated. "Are you sure?"

Chris smiled reassuringly at her. "Yes, I'm sure. Now go before you're late. I'll be fine." She repeated. Chris made a shooing guesture with her hands.

Vic smiled. "Okay, I'm going. But text me when you get there."

Chris smiled as she watched her friend finally make it out the door. Then she went to the bathroom to get ready.

"I'll be fine." She told her reflection in the mirror. She took a breath.

Half an hour later, she looked at her reflection again. Her hair was slipping out of the ponytail she'd scraped it into. She frowned, but it was still a better look than if she left it down. It was overdue for a cut, but she couldn't afford a good one, and hadn't cared for a while. She touched up her lipstick, hoping the colour looked better than she thought it did. The suit was old, and hung loosely on her. She'd lost weight, which wasn't so good when she'd already been thin. She tried pinching her cheeks to look a little less pale. She'd washed off the blush when she'd decided it made her look more like a clown than anything else. Well, she was applying to be an accountant, not a fashion model. Accountants could be pale.

She smiled into the mirror, imagining that she was greeting Mr. Farbes, the man who'd done the preliminary interviews in Toronto. She tried to project confidence, competence. She could do this - and she had to.

She'd been sleeping on Victoria's couch for two weeks now. Vic insisted she was glad of the company, but it was a one bedroom apartment, and it was small. Chris had tried to be a good guest, and did her best to help keep the place clean, but she was still frustratingly weak. She was having a hard time regaining her strength when she had no appetite. But Victoria's lease was up soon, and her boyfriend wanted Vic to move in with him. Chris had spent the last several years taking care of her mother - she wasn't comfortable when the positions were reversed. She just couldn't be a drag on her friend any longer.

She needed a job. She knew she couldn't handle full time work yet, and it was pretty well impossible to find a part time job that paid enough to cover rent here in Toronto - at least, at any place that Victoria would allow her to move to. When she had spotted the ad online for part time work involving relocating to a small town it had seemed like a good possibility. If she got the job, surely she could find a cheap place to stay. Then, when she was healthy again, she could look for a job back in Toronto. Mr. Farbes had indicated that a long term committment wasn't necessary - both sides could reassess after a few months.