she dreams
she dreams she has tattoos on her throat. they are still new and she is proud of them, while at the same time slightly worried because she can't remember deciding to get them, or when she had them done. a friend of hers also has a new tattoo. she is proud of him for getting his first tattoo. it has cute animals with big eyes. she is surprised by the choice.
she dreams she's joined the army. they are showing her around. there's a washing machine which is somehow part of her training. she finds herself explaining that a hot wash can be followed by a cold rinse. they don't seem to know this.
she meets up with a former penfriend who is apparently also in the army. she tells her friend about a book she found long ago that she thought her friend would like. her friend remarks that with her new pay grade, she can now afford to mail it.
she dreams she is pushing an upright pram along the main road, near where she grew up. there is no baby, just a bag of toys and a leather jacket, a bag of laundry and some groceries. she has to put the laundry in the washing machine. she stops to adjust her clothes and finds that if she ties her cardigan tight around her waist, she miraculously loses fifty pounds. she sets off to buy a paper, but halfway down the street realises she's left the groceries behind. she hurries back. people are already picking through the contents. she calls out: "hey!" and grabs the bag from the woman holding it. there's hardly anything left.
back in the army, she's trying to find somewhere private to get changed, but a man with a gun follows her everywhere. she arranges her handbags on a shelf, but they won't stay put. she meets up with another friend and they watch her clothes going round in the washing machine. it's a very strange army.