| The illusions peel away. Off the pedestal I came. According to Tracey, she had me on a pedestal. According to Tracey,she would be asecond class citizen with fewer rights because she paid less than half the rent (in some hypothetical universe where she paid any rent at all). | The reality sets in. Out of the causal universe and into the fantasy life. I saw tracey as someone who was incharge of her own destiny. I offered to subsidize the rent, to make the apartment and the lifestyle buffered for awhile, awhile during which the change of environment would help her get the other things she wanted in life: losing 100 lbs; getting a job in an industry of her choice; becomng self-sufficient; having a full say in her own future and environment rather than having to talk her parents into every little thing she wanted to do. According to me, and to her just a short while ago. |
| According to Tracey, she has a better chance now of getting a good job in what she wants. She has a better chance at paying her student loans if she doesn't have to pay rent. Her parents have shown their love for her finally insupporting her move back home. Carolyn will probably write Tracey off, but this is an acceptable price to pay. | This week it is a $7/hr part time job in the publishing industry - she thinks of herself as a writer; last week it was a restaurant up north; and before that an AD; before that a scriptwriter; a doctor; a librarian; I didn't know her any earlier. Without the need to pay rent, she won't feel much need to show up at work at all. Her student loan will go as unsaved for and as unpaid as the rent. Their need for a free housekeeper hit home at the last minute. Tracey wrote Carolyn off, giving Carolyn a demotion from "best friend" to "movie buddy". |