On their last evening in London Laura and Paul went to an excellent restaurant for a good meal. Laura ordered fish as a main course because she was not so keen on meat. Paul had a steak with new potatoes and peas, his favourite vegetables. Laura didn’t drink any wine; she prefers beer. Paul had a glass of red wine with his steak. Laura asked for the bill and paid by credit card, because she only had ten English pounds in her bag. The waiter brought her the receipt. Then they walked back to their hotel.

Laura has just changed her job. Until last month she worked for a large American company in the centre of Frankfurt. The work was interesting, but she worked long hours. She often used to be at the office from eight in the morning to six in the evening or even later. Another problem was that she had to travel for more than an hour to work every day when the trains and buses were full and it was the same when she left the office. A third problem was that she didn’t earn enough.

A short while ago she found an ad in the newspaper. A computer company near where she lives wanted an office assistant. They offered a high salary. Laura went to an interview and they offered her a job. First she will have to take a computer course, but when she finishes the course next month, she can start work for the new company.

Paul works in Frankfurt for an international business magazine. He writes reports on the situation of the money markets in Europe. He has to travel a lot for his job in order to get the necessary information, but he certainly doesn’t mind travelling. Actually, he met his future wife, Laura, during a flight from London to Rome.
She was sitting in the seat next to his when an accident happened. Paul was drinking a glass of red wine with his meal when the glass fell out of his hand on to the new dress Laura had just bought in London. Of course, she felt terribly upset. But Paul said “sorry” at least ten times and she began to feel a little happier. When they landed in Rome, they were talking like old friends. A few months later they got married and moved into a new three-room flat in Frankfurt.

A few evenings ago Paul got a late telephone call from his magazine. They wanted to send him to Tokyo for three months to write regular reports about the banks there. He really didn’t know how to tell his wife about the offer.