Josie was a proper townie; she’d always lived in a town.  Living close to the shops, and the town centre had been integral to her lifestyle.  She had easy access to the local nightlife, trendy pubs, upmarket restaurants and public transport.  The newest shopping mall was only a moment’s walk away.  Everything she could possibly need was practically on her doorstep.  Living in a town was always interesting.  There were always new shops and wine bars opening, the cinema always had a good selection of films and there was always something happening somewhere. 

Josie was a single, career-orientated woman.  She had plenty of friends and a busy social life.  She was quite happy and felt rather proud of her achievements.  She spent hours at the gym, honing her figure into what the glossy magazines told her she should look like.  She regularly shopped for the latest trends and bought the latest products.  She believed the dream.  Everybody could and should be beautiful.  Her friends were like-minded, and vied amongst each other to be the most up to date and informed on the latest cosmetics and fashions, and she regularly talked to her office girls advising them how to improve their appearance and look as great as she did.

Josie looked up from her computer.  It was nearly lunchtime.  She was trying to decide where she would go for lunch.  ‘Lunch,’ these days consisted of a small amount of protein and an energy drink. Once you hit 40 things tend to go southward, and staying trim becomes increasingly harder.  She adjusted the waistband on her skirt. Even her ‘hold you in pants’ were starting to groan under the pressure.  The inches were creeping back on. An extra couple of hours at the gym should fix that she thought.  Her mind went back to lunch.  She’d arranged to meet her friend and had planned to do a spot of micro shopping.  Ten minutes in three of her favourite shops, and a half hour sit down lunch at one of the trendy mall restaurants.  It was always a bit of a rush, but she always felt good after spending some of her hard earned cash on the latest, must have trends, especially when she could go back and show off to the frumpy girls back in the office.