I used to be a baker.

setup: I used to be a baker.

[Career Counselor] qua cardigan, mug that says BIG QUESTIONS, soft eyes So, Bill. You wanted to talk about transitions.

[BILL] qua collared shirt with flour ghosted into the placket, eyes a little hollow Yeah. I — yeah.

[Career Counselor] Take your time.

[BILL] I used to be a baker.

[Career Counselor] A baker. Beautiful work.

[BILL] I made bread. Croissants. Pain au levain. Three years of seventy-two-hour fermentations. I had a starter named Margaret.

[Career Counselor] What happened to Margaret?

[BILL] ((QUIET)) Margaret is fine. Margaret is with my mother.

[Shakes] qua intake-form receptionist, beaming This is the best of all possible career inflection points.

[Career Counselor] And the bakery itself?

[BILL] The bakery is closed.

[Career Counselor] Why is the bakery closed, Bill?

[BILL] ((LONG BEAT)) I — I couldn’t make enough money.

[Career Counselor] You couldn’t make enough money.

[BILL] No. No. I couldn’t make enough —

[Career Counselor] Dough.

[BILL] ((NODS))

[Career Counselor] Dough, Bill.

[BILL] Yes.

[Career Counselor] That is the same word. In bakery. And in finance. The word is the same.

[BILL] I know.

[Career Counselor] You lived the metaphor, Bill.

[BILL] I lived inside it.

[Manyfeek] qua expired sourdough starter on the windowsill behind them ((FROM THE GLASS)) Margaret is not fine.

[BILL] ((QUIETLY)) She’s fine.

[Career Counselor] Let’s talk about what comes next.

punchline: But I couldn’t make enough dough.