For some time, Victoria had told herself that turning 40 was nothing.
She wasnt going to let it get her down, as it did with some of her friends. Its just a number, after all, just another birthday, she told herself. People who put too much emphasis on a simple number deserved to be depressed when that number entered their life.
So she was now 40, so what? She didnt feel older now than she did when she was in her 20s. Being 40 is all in your mind, she told herself.
Still, now that the day was here, she had to admit that maybe, just maybe, 40 did mean something. Maybe 40 was the top of a downhill slope. Maybe, as some of her friends believed, 40 was practically the end.
The fact that she was stuck in her office, working late on the day of her 40th birthday, wasnt helping matters. She was new and hadnt made any office friends yet. So, as the office had emptied out, and Victoria continued crunching numbers in preparation for month-end, the place was deserted, really deserted.
To combat the hum of the fluorescent lights and her computer, she turned up the volume on her microstereo. It didnt help much, she thought, as she continued scanning the spreadsheets before her.
"Damn," she cursed aloud. "I dont need this. I dont need to be sitting here, alone, looking at these bloody numbers." Looking at her watch, she noticed it would be another 15 minutes before Michael arrived to pick her up. She was sure Michael had something in mind for her birthday, he always did, but somehow she wasnt in the mood for another birthday dinner, or movie, or whatever else he might have in mind.
As she ran through her feelings of the moment, she realized she didnt need a birthday party; but she needed something. I guess, she thought, what I really need is... what I really need is... She smiled as she realized what she really needed. "What I really need is," she said to her computer, "a really good fuck."
Looking out the window, Victoria saw Michael pull into the parkin... Læs hele novellen
