She stood in line, shivering a little when the door opened behind her with a jangle of bells and a gust of frigid air. The café was loud, canned holiday music mixing with the hum of conversation and the clatter of dishes, so when she stepped up to the counter, she had to raise her voice to give her order. She stepped aside to make room for the person behind her, and let her mind wander while she waited.

She needed a new job, and fast. After years of saving up for a down payment, she’d bought a house last summer, and what had seemed like a perfectly reasonable monthly mortgage in July suddenly felt much less comfortable. Even Greta moving out at Thanksgiving hadn’t worried her—though she was definitely keeping the thermostat set lower now that her lover’s perpetually cold feet were no longer a factor. She’d known that Greta might not always be there to split the costs, and had been careful to only take on as much mortgage as she could afford on her own. But she’d also counted on having a job, and finding out her boss was committing securities fraud only weeks after she’d moved in was a curve ball she hadn’t anticipated.

She’d gone over and over her bank accounts this week, and no matter how she crunched the numbers, she only had enough money in her savings to cover a few months of mortgage payments. Thankfully her car was paid off, but she still needed to pay for insurance, and when she added in utilities and the pesky need to eat every day, she calculated her savings would last her less than two months. She could dip into her retirement account, but by the time taxes were taken out and fees were assessed, that would really only buy her another month or two.

She raised her head as her name was called, and took the mug the barista handed her with a smile, well aware that unless her luck changed, this was the last mocha latte she’d be having for a while. She called out a “thank you”, tucked a couple of bucks into the tip jar, and turned carefully away from the counter. The foam was right up to the top, and she was concentrating so hard on not spilling any of it on the way back to her booth that she didn’t see the man standing in her way until it was too late.