Prince on the Web

Extract

It was over - that’s why Hannah was deleting every single one of his emails. She didn’t receive many private. Occasionally she received one from her best friend Michael, who liked to forward round-robin emails to her. He said it sweetened his working day. Very rarely did she receive a private email from her colleague, Emma, as they sat right opposite each other. They could gossip, exchange news and say whatever needed to be said spontaneously, whenever they wanted to. There was no need for email correspondence.
Hannah and Emma both worked for a tiny travel agency in Los Angeles. Their office was just big enough for a large, white shelf full of vacation catalogs, a corner for the photocopier, the coffee machine, a large pot plant and both their desks, which were always buried under piles of work.
Hannah resisted the temptation to read his emails again to remind herself of the chronology of their short relationship which she had just terminated. A lot had gone badly wrong between herself and her ex and Hannah knew that she had made the right decision to call it quits.
She marked all six of his emails in her inbox and deleted them with a couple of determined clicks with her mouse. “Oh, Emma”, she sighed, turning to her colleague and friend who knew all about Hannah’s love life. “I’m fed up. Another relationship down the drain. This can’t go on forever!”
“You’ll be all right”, Emma was looking for the right words to cheer Hannah up. She racked her brain, but couldn’t think of anything suitable. So she said pragmatically: “You just didn’t fit together. The world won’t come to an end because of that.”
“No, of course not...”, Hannah didn’t sound convinced.
“You’ll find someone else before you can blink. You’re so pretty.”
Hannah smiled weakly, but this simple compliment did make her feel a little better straight away. Yes, she was undeniably pretty with her long, brown hair which shone seductively in the sunlight, her green eyes which sparkled when she laughed or when she described beautiful things or experiences. Hannah had a weakness for beauty which is why she enjoyed her job in the travel agency so much. She was convinced that she wasn’t just selling vacation packages, flights and stays in hotels. For a moment her thoughts drifted off to a package that she had sold to a young couple that morning.
Two weeks in a five star hotel on a virtually pristine island of the Seychelles. Miles and miles of dazzling white beaches, nothing to spoil the view of the sparkling, turquoise Indian Ocean – right to the horizon. Nice, lazy days, snoozing in a hammock tied between two palm trees, a light, cool breeze gently blowing over the freshly tanned body clad in a lovely bikini. A friendly, smiling waiter – good-looking of course – serving refreshing cocktails. Maybe a little sail or a bit of water-skiing in the late afternoon. Maybe not...
Hannah was just topping off her daydream with the perfect end of an evening in a bungalow built on stilts in a lagoon. A glass window set in its floor gave way to a view of the coral reef below. And of course her attractive travel companion had already created a romantic atmosphere in the bedroom, countless tealights were flickering...
That’s when Emma brought her back to reality with a new piece of advice for her currently rather unromantic situation.
“Just stay single for a while”, she suggested. “Let men be men and centre yourself, pamper your soul.” Emma thought that she had spoken a wise word. Plus she seemed to remember having read an article with a similar message in the latest issue of a woman’s magazine. Where had she put it? She groped around in the tray beneath her desk where she kept glossy magazines. She felt a strange object which turned out to be a small, crackling plastic bag full of delicious chocolates. She pulled it out from the under her desk, opened it and shoved this silent soul comforter over to Hannah. Hannah rolled over on her chair and fished out two of these goodies.
“Mmmh, thanks”, she said, chewing away. “But regarding your idea, well, I’m not sure... Life as a single? I’m afraid I’m not cut out for that”, she said more to herself than to anyone else, popping the second chocolate into her mouth.