The trade show was in the Bay area, a long way and a few time zones away from my home base in Florida. It was the kind of dog and pony show where you hear some talks and browse a floor full of product booths all staffed with eager company reps trying to drum up as many contacts as possible. My employers thought it was a good idea to send me, since I’m in my early 50’s and I’ve seen it all and I’m good at weeding out the bullshit in a sales pitch.
The bright spot in all this was that I was getting time to hang out at the show with my good friend Sara. She lived an hour or so away, and I’d convinced her to play hooky for a few days. We’ve known each other from work since our kids were little, but somehow had never met in person. That didn’t stop us from keeping in touch constantly and we have one of those friendships where we can (and do) tell each other anything and everything. Sometimes after a few glasses of wine on a lonely evening our chats would get flirty, but it was all in good fun and we’d be back in the Friend Zone the next day. Sara had even seen me naked, heck, after a few drinks the nudist in me comes out so it was bound to happen. I’m older and I don’t go to the gym every day so I need to lose some pounds, but I’m comfortable with myself. Sara is about my age and a shorter blonde with an infectious smile.