When the last interviews of the day were finished, Katherine was gathering up her materials in the studio as Lawrence came in from the booth.  “Do you really buy that doctor with his lucid dreams?” he asked.  “You said you already had one.  Is that true or were you just saying that?”
     “No, it’s true.  It was the most amazing thing.  And it’s even weirder than I said.  You want to hear the whole dream?”  Lawrence nodded.  “Well, I was outside the mall.  And this must have made me realize that I was dreaming, because I hardly ever go there.  I can’t stand it.”
     “Me neither,” said Lawrence rolling out one of the blue ergonomic armchairs and sitting down.
     “So as soon as I realize I’m dreaming, I tested it, like they say you should do.  You know, by trying to fly or something.  So I decided I’d try to jump onto the roof of the mall.  And at once I was sort of floating onto the roof of Zellers.  So now I know I’m dreaming, right?  So I jump back down, and here’s where it gets weird.”  Katherine leaned forward.  “I decided to try and have a sexy dream.  So I notice this hot dog vendor in front of Zellers, and I ask him if there are any interesting men around.  And he understands exactly what I mean, because it’s a dream, right?”
     Lawrence put his hands behind his head and nodded.
     “So the hot dog vendor says there’s a policeman around, and right away, in front of my eyes there appears this motorcycle cop.   He kind of appears there like on Star Trek, when they beam down somewhere, you know what I mean?  He sort of molecularizes in front of me in full uniform, you know, a helmet and mirrored sunglasses, and jodhpurs and knee-high leather boots.”
     “Oh, yes,” breathed Lawrence.
     “Now I didn’t even know that I was attracted to someone like that, but because it was a dream I decided to go with it.  I started to get interested.  I think it was the hot dog vendor who said that the cop had his motorcycle around the back, behind Zellers, because I don’t think the cop ever said one word to me.  Anyway, I thought motorcycle, how interesting, and I was picturing all sorts of tricks on it, and then suddenly the cop and I were out back with his motorcycle.  Then we were alone, and I knew things were supposed to start happening, and I felt a bit awkward, and the cop didn’t do anything, and then suddenly he just disintegrated in front of my eyes, you know, like bad reception on TV?”  Lawrence nodded at Katherine, his mouth slightly open, and she took a breath and said “And I realized that I can’t have sex with strangers, even in my dreams.”
     Lawrence stared at Katherine a moment and then gave one sharp hoot.  “You’re kidding, right?  You didn’t dream that.”
     “Swear to God,” Katherine said solemnly, raising her right hand.
     “No way.  I don’t believe it.”  Lawrence was chuckling, but then stopped to ask “What about the hot dog vendor?”
     “What about him?”
     “Didn’t you dream any more about him?”
     “No.  That was my whole dream.”
     “Are you for real?  You try to have a sexy dream, and you dream about a hot dog vendor, but nothing happens with him?  Don’t you get it?  Hot dog?”
     “Gross!  You mean it’s a phallic symbol.  I never thought about it that way.  I dream and decide to look for sex, and a hot dog vendor appears — ”
     “Where no hot dog vendor has ever been,” added Lawrence, “because there never are hot dog vendors outside of Zellers –”
     “I did notice that.  That it was sort of odd to have a hot dog vendor there, but I just went with it.  He seemed to know exactly what I was thinking.”
     “Of course!  He sold hot dogs, and he put you onto the cop.”
     “So you’re suggesting that he sold me a hot dog after all, to put it crudely.  I never thought about it like that.  Isn’t it weird?  I was having a lucid dream, where I was trying to control the action, and still my subconscious was playing tricks with me.”
     “You better write that down for Dr. Allen,” said Lawrence getting up and scooting his chair back under the round padded table.  “He’s going to want to study that for sure.”
     “No way!  I can’t put my name to that dream.  It’s unprofessional.  Can you imagine the board hearing of that?”
     They left the studio and argued over lucid dreams all the way down the hall until they entered the Health and Healing office. Janine looked up and said “Clara Lodge can see you today around 5:30, if that’s okay with you.”
     “That’s fine,” Katherine said.
     “And Blaine wants to see you in his office as soon as possible.”
     “Right, he mentioned that to me. Is there anything I should do first here?”
     “No, everything’s under control.”
     “Good. I’ll be in Blaine’s office then.” Katherine walked down the narrow carpeted hall to the big corner office. Blaine sat behind his desk, frowing and flipping through papers. Tapping on the open door, Katherine asked “You wanted to see me? Is now a good time?”
     Blaine shot up a worried glance and ran his fingers over the greasy grey strands of hair that emphasized his baldness. “Katherine. Yes, come in, come in. Shut the door. Sit down.” He indicated a chair in front of his desk.
     “What’s up?” Katherine asked in a deliberately light tone. Meetings with Blaine were never easy.
     Blaine licked his fleshy lips, leaving them wetter than usual. “Katherine, you know that I hold you in great respect. Even some affection.”
     Katherine felt a dagger of fear stab her stomach. “Are you firing me?”
     “No! The opposite! Quite the opposite.” Blaine nervously patted his strands again, and then smoothed his bright yellow tie.
     “Then you must be giving me a promotion!” Katherine’s laugh sounded forced and she felt ridiculous.
     “No. There is a little problem.” Blaine ruffled the papers on his desk and Katherine saw a blur of charts and graphs. “We’ve had some demographic surveys done, and the board is worried about Health and Healing.” He paused.
     There was a stain at the edge of his tie. Katherine wondered what it was from. Food? A drink? Oil? She raised her eyes to his face. “I thought our numbers were pretty good last quarter.”
     “They were. The number of listeners is respectable. But the demographics are a concern. Health and Healing has what they call a dying audience. The vast majority are over 40. The board wants us to be reaching a younger audience.”
     “How much younger?”
     “18 to 34. That’s the target market.” Blaine tapped his papers with a pudgy finger.
     “I see. People over 40 are dying, but people under 34 are not, is that it?” Katherine crossed her legs and leaned back in the chair.
     Blaine smoothed his hair again. “Now, Katherine. You seem to be taking this personally.” Some dandruff drifted onto his shoulder.
     “No, I think I’m defending my listeners. We have good numbers over 40 who’re interested in health issues. And some consultant says they’re dying? Maybe they’ll live longer because they’re health conscious!” Katherine leaned forward, putting her hands on the desk. “Blaine, let’s face it. Most young people aren’t interested in their health. They think they’re invincible. Didn’t you at that age? We have an older audience because you have to be older to start caring about health issues. There’s no way we’re going to get young people listening to our show.”
     “I sympathize with you, Katherine. I really do. But the board’s directive is very clear. They want to see an upward trend in your younger listeners by the end of next quarter. I need you to start thinking about that. I’ll support you any way I can. We can consider doing some targeted advertising. Come up with some creative ideas.” A strand of hair shifted on Blaine’s head and he nervously patted it.
     How is it possible for someone with so little hair to have dandruff, Katherine found herself wondering. She stood up.
     “We’ll talk about this some more,” promised Blaine. “I’m not leaving you alone with this.”

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