Not one to roll over and die, she started looking for writing work in the technical field – brochures, product manuals, websites – but the market had lots of job hunters with tons of experience in that area. Why would anyone hire her over them? Still, she kept on trying. Tomorrow was another day. She’d get up early and start the search all over again.

As they pulled into the underground parking garage, Meg pasted a practised smile on her lips and turned to her daughter who sat humming in the back seat. She was sure Jessie would be a singer one day. Whenever she sang her sea-blue eyes sparkled and she’d shake her head till her sunshine curls bounced around her cheeks. She adored music.

“Ready to go, sweetie?”

“Can we have spaghetti for dinner?” Jessie gave her a cherubic smile as she began to unbuckle her seatbelt.

“Honey, we had spaghetti yesterday. And the day before. No more spaghetti.” Meg wiggled her finger at the little girl but she just laughed. Jessie knew she had her mother wrapped around her little finger and she used that knowledge to full advantage.

“Spaghetti, spaghetti, spaghetti,” Jessie chanted then laughed out loud as Meg reached over to tickle her.

That evening they came to a compromise. They didn’t have spaghetti for dinner but they did have Jessie’s next favorite dish – macaroni and cheese. Meg made sure she ate some baked chicken with it. The little girl would live on pasta alone if she could. Then that night as the bedside clock struck eight they climbed into Jessie’s twin bed where she leaned against her mother and they read fairy tales until the eyelids drooped and the little head sagged. Then Meg slid slowly out of the bed, laid her daughter’s head on the pillow, and pulled the blanket up under her chin. She leaned over and kissed the curly little head then reached over and switched off the bedside lamp. “G’night, Jessie,” she whispered to her sleeping child then slipped out the door.

Now that Jessie was down for the night it was time for Meg to get down to her usual order of business – job hunting. She’d been at it into the wee hours of the morning and tonight she was dead tired but she did not have the luxury of taking even one night off. Her savings were dwindling. She had to find work, and fast.

Meg sat at the dining table and munched on an apple as she booted up her computer. She hadn’t done her exercises today, hadn’t gone on the stationary bike for the last four days, actually. She’d been so preoccupied that she’d slipped up on the one thing she’d always told herself she’d never compromise on. As far as she was concerned exercise was the number one factor for good health and, with a daughter to take care of, she needed to stay healthy. Oh, well, at least she was getting in a serving of fruit before the day expired. An apple a day was better than nothing.

She’d been lost in thought for several seconds before she realized that the computer screen was displaying the opening page of her e-mail account. She’d entered the password without even realizing it. She often did things on auto-pilot. Now as she stared at the screen she frowned. Was she seeing right? After weeks and weeks of advertising and posting, there in her mailbox was a reply entitled ‘Ghostwriter for Hire’. Someone had responded to her ad.

Heart skipping in anticipation, she raised a hand that trembled slightly. She clicked on the mouse. The screen popped open and she read the message. “We would like to meet with you regarding engaging your services as a ghostwriter. If we can agree on mutually acceptable terms…” She read on and the more she read the more excited she got. Whoever it was, they wanted to hire her immediately. The words were like music to her heart.