“You can’t do this forever, you know. You might want to start thinking about what’s next.”

“I thought you wanted someone who could work here for a long time.” Sherri felt her face and chest flush red. She wanted to explode. “Gloria,” she said, “are you firing me?”

Gloria paused. “No.” She held her clipboard close to her chest. “Although I’m not doing you any favors by keeping you on. There’s more to life than this place. Most of the girls already know this. You, I’m afraid, do not.”

Sherri stepped off the scale and gave Gloria a fake smile. Gloria knew it was fake—Gloria knew everything! “Thanks for the pep talk.”

Gloria began to inspect Sherri’s nails. “I’ve got all these new girls here,” she said, “so I’m sure you’ll be pleased to learn that I’ve moved you to the Cabaret.”

The Cabaret? In what other job could she be forced to take a week off and return to news of a fabulous promotion? The Cabaret was where famous comedians and musicians performed. She was leapfrogging some of the other girls, who’d worked the Sidewalk Café longer than she had, and this would ruffle some feathers. But who cared? She let out a squeal and smiled for Gloria, knowing better than to try for a hug again. “Oh, thank you! That’s, I mean, that’s just terrific!”

Gloria didn’t smile back. “You’ll shadow Bunny Tina. Listen to every word that comes out of her mouth.”

Three hours into her first shift, Sherri felt like she could serve every single guest that ever walked through the front door of the resort, run to Chicago in her heels, climb a mountain, fly an airplane, jump out of it, and make a perfect landing on earth. She felt great, and clear! She dutifully weaved behind Tina as she explained how they set up the tables in the club. She couldn’t wait for her second shift, when the place would fill up with guests, the lights would go down, and the performers would take the stage. Unlike the Sidewalk Café, the tables here were huge, seating ten people, and were covered in beautiful white linen cloths. The porcelain plates with the bunny logos gleamed as white as Tina’s teeth, and the napkins weren’t rolled but folded into the shape of swans. There were two forks instead of one, a spoon above the plate, and beautiful goblets for water. The menu featured French dishes Sherri had never heard of. “I love it here,” Sherri said. “It’s so classy.”