Playing with Unicorns

It’s been one week since he lost his corner office, his catered lunch and his quarterly bonus. And now, to top it off, he’d collect his first unemployment check. The pretending, he thinks, did it start last Friday, or had it started long ago?

On the train, he ponders this thought. Then, he ponders hot dogs. He sits motionless, as the R races toward Wall Street and then slivers back again. After three rides, Tom braves the outside. He eats two dogs, swallows his pride, and heads toward the unemployment office.

- An excerpt from a longer story