by Philippa Miller
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Where do you see yourself in five years?
At some point we have all asked or been asked this proverbial question. But, what would you do if you were given the opportunity to live NOW what is really one hour in your future? And what would you do if that one hour was very different than your present life? Different apartment, different engagement ring, and different man. Would you think it is just a dream? Or a glimpse at your future?
Dannie Kohan is your regular nice Jewish girl from the Main Line in Philadelphia. At 28, she is living in Murray Hill—where almost every Jewish fraternity and sorority kid in the tri-state area moves after graduation—with her investment banker boyfriend, soon to be fiancé, David. When we first meet her, Dannie is preparing for an interview for which she has been waiting since she was ten: a corporate attorney position at Wachtell—the pinnacle. Following her interview, she is set to meet David for dinner, where she knows he is about to propose. Falling asleep that night, after nailing her interview and saying yes to David, she doesn’t want anything to change. Then, she wakes up in the middle of the night, and everything has changed. This isn’t her apartment, this isn’t her ring, the man in her bed is not David. Not to mention that the TV is saying it is 2025—five years in the future! An hour later, she wakes up again and everything is back to normal.
Dream or not, she doesn’t share this glimpse of the future with David and doesn’t think too much of it. That is, until she meets the man from her dream in real life. He isn’t just any man either; he is her best friend’s boyfriend. Over the next five years, as other signs from this premonition of sorts seem to appear, Dannie keeps the dream to herself, and keeps her distance.
Dannie is not a litigator. She loves the order of deal making, the clarity of the language and how there is little room for interpretation and none for error. People think that her form of corporate law is less ambitious than being a corporate litigator. It may not hold the grandeur of media interviews or arguments but, at the end of the day, the law comes down to what is written, and she is the writer. Her writing and meticulous work are what got her hired. Sometimes, though, that isn’t enough. All the preparedness in the world cannot stop the unexpected from happening.
So, what is Dannie to do? She has her future set for her—
the apartment, the job, the man. But now, with elements of her dream appearing in her life, she isn’t prepared for what is to come. Do you embrace what the future may hold or hold on to what you planned for the future?
We do not yet know what is coming. So be it. Let it be. Friendship and love. Bring tissues.
Photo Credit: SimonAndSchuster.com
About the Author:
Now that all four of her children can read independently, PHILIPPA “PHILI” MILLER has more time to read books of her own choosing. She is excited to share some of those books with this new column highlighting books with Jewish themes. As a former PJ Coordinator, she wants to make sure that your kids from 0–12 are signed up for PJ Library or PJ Our Way so they, too, can read great Jewish-themed books.
