From Sandra Antonelli

Tall, dark, handsome and hung over said, “G’day.” The puffy, beige coat he wore made him bigger, taller, darker. His eyes were brown buttons of melted chocolate that made him seem like a giant Australian cookie, albeit one that had had a bite taken out of it. There were dark circles under his eyes.

The guy beside him looked like a hippy, the kind that landed on campus in the late sixties and stayed into middle age. “Hey,” he nodded, all laid back, crunchy granola, and mid-western American.

“Happy New Year,” she said.

The Australian smiled. “Happy New Year.”

“Yeah, hey, Happy New Year,” Hippy Dude nodded.

“What floor?” she asked, amused.

“Three, ta.”

“Me too,” she said and poked the button, oddly thrilled to be in the same elevator with a hung over Aussie and his mate.

She’d lived in so many places, in different countries…