My friends, Clara and Suzy, were in my living room talking. I was sitting between them on the couch, but not listening to a word they were saying. They’d appeared at my door that evening, knocking wildly until I finally opened. They’d brought chocolates and big bags of chips with them, hoping to ease some of my pain.

I’d gone one whole week without talking to them or answering their texts, which was a pretty long time for me. Clara, Suzy and I had been joined at the hip since middle school. We knew everything about each other. They were the first ones to find out about my parents’ divorce two weeks ago. I remembered the date because it was the Monday before my boyfriend – my ex-boyfriend – Evan, dumped me.

Evan and I hadn’t exactly been dating long. Three months wasn’t long, according to him . . . For me, though, it felt like a lifetime. I’d even baked him his favorite cake and bought him the watch he’d had his eye on for our three-month anniversary. Evan didn’t seem as thrilled as I was about a celebration. He thought it was silly. He didn’t even read the card I’d made him by hand. He told me the cake and the gift were too much and that he didn’t celebrate anniversaries.

I should have known something was wrong right then. How could someone not be excited about love? How could they not be thrilled about finding that special someone they were going to spend the rest of their life with? I ignored that nagging feeling in my soul, convincing myself that Evan was just the kind of person who didn’t like to make a big deal out of milestones.

But then, just a few days later, after I’d just found out that my parents’ divorce was finalized, he sent me a text to say that he’d met someone else. I was still reeling from the shock of finding out that my parents weren’t together anymore. I’d thought they would be together forever, that my parents would never fall out of love. But they had, and so had Evan — with me.

I cried and begged him to reconsider. I cried to Clara and Suzy over the phone. Nothing worked. Evan was gone and my parents were selling the family home. There was nothing right in the world.

I would have carried on. I had a job to go to. I would have had a reason to wake up every morning, but not even a week had gone by since Evan sent me that text when I went into my office and was told that the company was dissolving. We were all losing our jobs. I’d spent a year as the secretary for a man who was fighting against bankruptcy and had now lost that fight.

I was suddenly the daughter of parents who didn’t live together anymore. I’d been dumped by a guy who I had faithfully believed would be the man I was going to marry. And now, to add salt to the wound, I was also unemployed.

I couldn’t even face Clara or Suzy. I couldn’t answer their calls. I didn’t know what I could say to them or what they could say to me that would make it all go away. I knew I was spiraling into a deep dark tunnel of depression, but I couldn’t help myself. I was giving up hope.

I’d spent a week like that. Cooped up in my apartment, surviving off delivered pizzas and watching soap operas all day and night. I had no self-esteem left. I had no strength to carry on. I didn’t even know how I was going to make the next month’s rent.

It was understandable that Clara and Suzy were worried. They barged into my apartment and forced me to sit down and talk to them. Suzy even made me a big mug of steaming hot cocoa.

“Aria, you have to tell us what’s going on!” Clara scolded me when she realized I wasn’t paying attention to them. The cocoa had gone cold in the mug. I hadn’t taken a sip of it.

“Honey, you’ve grieved enough. You need to go out there and look for another job,” Suzy crouched down in front of me, smiling weakly.

“And what about my parents? What about Evan? Am I supposed to go out there and look for new replacements for them too?” I snapped. I caught the two of them exchanging looks.

“That’s not what I’m saying. But the job situation is something you can fix. You have a good CV. It won’t be that hard for you to find work,” Suzy continued.

I rolled my eyes and sank back on the couch.

“We’ve made a list for you already. There are many new job openings for secretaries in the city. Go interview for a few of them. We promise you, Aria, you will feel a lot better!” Clara claimed.

I knew they were being sensible, but I didn’t want to take their advice. I didn’t want to have to dress up and step out and act professionally. All I really wanted to do was sit on the couch and watch soap operas and not worry about what the real world had in store for me.

“Promise us, Aria. You’ll go to at least one of them. We’ve made an appointment for you already. All you have to do is turn up and put your best foot forward,” Suzy said, stroking my knee affectionately.

“Just leave me alone, please!” I squealed, picking a cushion up off the couch and covering my face with it.

Then I felt Clara and Suzy’s arms around me, hugging me tightly. They weren’t going to give up so easily. They knew that I was going through the worst phase of my life and they wanted me to know that I wasn’t alone.

Despite everything that was going on, I was glad that at least I still had my friends.

***

I was nervous at the job interview. The first company on my friends’ list was perhaps the biggest firm in the city. Sole Communications was a billion-dollar marketing enterprise and I had never worked at a place like it before.

The office building itself was an imposing structure, with squeaky marble floors and people dressed in smart corporate outfits. I felt out of place from the moment I stepped in and was pretty certain that I wouldn’t get the job. I wasn’t even dressed for it.

This was a bad idea. I should have stayed home in my pajamas and ordered some Chinese take-out.

I was shown to the HR floor, where I waited for my name to be called. The wait seemed endless, and I kept dabbing at my damp forehead with a handkerchief. Clara and Suzy should have chosen a more relaxed company for my first interview after stepping out of the apartment for the first time in more than a week. One where I didn’t feel thoroughly scrutinized for every move I made.

When my name was finally called, I felt a desperate urge to just whip around and make a run for it. Instead, I nervously entered the HR executive’s office, forcing a smile on my face.

I sat through the barrage of questions patiently. The interview was hard, and the lady conducting it seemed like she was going to kick me out of the office at any moment. I gave simple answers, trying to hold my head up and not break down in tears. It felt like I was interviewing for a position for national security. It was just a secretarial role, but it felt like the most important job in the building.

When the interview came to an end, the lady looked down at her notes and sighed. “Aria, I must say that I’m thoroughly impressed with you,” she said, shocking me enough to cry out. I stopped myself in time.

“I’m . . . I’m glad to hear that,” I mumbled. She didn’t look impressed, and I had been under the impression that it was going badly. The lady wove her fingers together on the desk and fixed a firm stare at me.

“The reason why I launched a drilling attack on you, Aria, was because I wanted to test you on your resilience. I’m sure you’re aware that you’ll be working as Mr. Sole’s secretary,” she continued and I gulped. I didn’t know much about the role. I’d just followed Clara and Suzy’s orders. I didn’t know anything about this Mr. Sole, but I guessed that he was the CEO of the company. I nodded my head meekly in response.

“The thing is, Aria, that Mr. Sole is a difficult boss. Don’t get me wrong: he’s a brilliant man and he started this company from scratch, but he likes to surround himself with competent employees. He will be expecting a lot from his secretary, and I wanted to find him the right fit,” she explained.

I shifted in my seat, my heart was racing in my chest. What had I signed up for? “Of course,” was all I could respond with.

“I think you would be perfect for the role. Your CV is excellent, you have great references, and from this interview, I can see that you’d be the kind of secretary who’ll get the job done. Mr. Sole can be very demanding, but you seem like you won’t crack under the pressure.” The lady was smiling as she spoke and I tried to make sense of her words.

I’d never looked at myself that way – as someone who could endure pressure. Now that I thought about it, the interviewer was right. I was under a lot of pressure indeed. I was going through the most dramatic phase of my life, and yet I’d found the strength to make it to the interview and look presentable. I should have been proud of myself!

“If you’re interested, Aria, I would like to offer you the position right now,” the lady said.

I jumped up from my chair with a renewed sense of enthusiasm. I extended my hand to her, which she shook and I smiled widely. “It would be my pleasure to accept your offer, Mrs. Rafferty,” I replied.

I got the job! I was employed again! At Sole Communications, no less.

I ran out of the office building with my file tightly tucked under my arm and dialing Clara’s speed-dial number.

“How did it go?” she asked the moment she answered the call.

“Clara!” I exclaimed, stopping in my tracks. “I got the job!” I squealed.

Clara was squealing too. “Hold on, let me get Suzy in on this!” she said, and I waited as she patched Suzy through. None of the three of us could control our excitement.

“I knew it! I knew you’d do it! Sole Communications, Aria! That is so fancy!” Suzy was shrieking at the other end.

I was in the middle of a busy Chicago street with no regard to how many people’s ways I was in. I still couldn’t believe I had the job. Could it be possible that things were finally turning around for me? That I’d gotten over my bump? I tried to search for that feeling of being broken hearted and found that I couldn’t even recall the color of Evan’s eyes!

“I’m starting on Monday,” I told them as the excitement finally started to simmer down.

“We don’t have much time then. We have to celebrate!” Suzy said.

“What should we do?” I asked.

“Go out and get batshit drunk, of course!” Clara laughed.

It didn’t seem like a bad idea. I deserved it. I needed one night of complete abandon before my new life began.

“See you girls at MacCauley’s at eight?” I suggested and the others agreed.

I was happy again. I felt light and airy as I rushed back to my apartment. I was glad that Clara and Suzy had pushed me into everything. Now, finally, I could start moving on.