Career/Coffee Advice

"Beautiful renovated bright one bedroom downtown basement apartment. Must share only washroom with two others. Available now."

Babs clicked on the next listing. Looking for an apartment in Toronto was an attempt to achieve an impossible balance. Price could be right, location wrong. Location great, number of bedrooms off. Location, price right - sharing of washroom with "others" issue - wrong.

The more she looked for a new place, the more she realized that she wasn't going to be moving anytime soon, at least not until her student loans were paid off. A waitress set a steaming coffee cup down on her table. Babs clipped her laptop shut. She was meeting Lucy at Mosaic, a coffee shop down the street from her apartment that she'd recently discovered. The deal went that you placed your order at the front and then had a seat. The service was slow but Babs liked the idea of actual service, even when all you ordered was a coffee - it made her less resentful of the tip jar at the front.

As Babs was slipping her laptop into her shoulder bag, she heard the door at the front jingle. Looking up she could see Lucy now inside and making her way towards Babs' little table. With her hair in braided pigtails and her bright green ski jacket swishing as she walked, no one would have guessed that Lucy taught feminist porn and gender violence in cinema at Ryerson University.

"You have to order your coffee at the counter and then they'll bring it to you" Babs called to Lucy when she approached. Lucy nodded and pivoted towards the front counter. Babs took a sip of her latte. With her dilapidated bachelor apartment and second hand furniture, she bet that no one would have guessed she was a lawyer either.