Serendipity by the Sea

Chapter One

Setting:  Santa Monica, California

Time:  Early Fall – September 

“I can’t believe there are this many people in the supermarket on a Tuesday night, and why are their eight brands of cumin?”

Sarah ran her fingers through her hair, as she looked up and down the shelves for the seasoning she needed for dinner.  She is a twenty-eight year old girl, living in Los Angeles, California.  She moved to L.A. about three years ago, from the East Coast, when she accepted a job at the prestigious Museum of Art.  It was her dream to work in a Museum and didn’t care if she was cleaning toilets or mopping the floors. All she knew was that she needed to get her foot inside the door of a Museum.

Well, she a bit more lucky than that and applied for an entry-level P.R. position on a whim.  She was laid off from her previous employment and saw the opportunity to be courageous in her job applications.  “Why not? What’s the worst that could happen?  They say no,” she thought, as she clicked on the “apply now” link through the job posting.

Three years later, Sarah is well known at the Museum, has worked her way up the chain of command and is the go-to person for events and press.  She works hard and really only has time for her career.

She stands in line at the checkout counter, as she flips through her cell phone.  As she approaches and loads her groceries onto the conveyor belt, she glances at the magazine racks with tabloids of rumored stories of whose dating whom.  Sarah quickly rolls her eyes.

Her drive home is short from the store. When visiting L.A. during one of her many interviews at the Museum, she found a beautiful apartment, which is close to every thing she would ever need.  On the weekends, she walks around her neighborhood, exploring the local shops, reads on a bench near the beach and likes to find unique things for her apartment and office at work.  Her life is comfortable; she’s independent; she loves what she does; and doesn’t find she’s missing any thing.