NY Woman dream

NY Woman and I are playing badminton. She is considerably better than I; I manage to return the shuttlecock most points, but when I do she is usually well-positioned to stick it away in a far corner of the court. Eventually I get a little tired of this slightly bullying treatment, and I say to her: 'Do you even like me?' NY Woman takes a deep breath, pauses for long enough for me to already know the answer, and says, 'Well, you are a bit loud.'

Later on I dream of her again. We are both living (or staying) in a small town in a place I take to be Devon, but separately. I hear from somewhere that she is intending to stand for election as a local councillor; so my brother (Tom) and I decide to attend the public hustings with an eye to wrecking her chances. We arrive, and watch a few hopefuls make brief speeches; none of them are very impressive. There is a small group of judges at the back of the small hall scoring each contestant after the manner of a reality TV show. To my great disappointment, I notice that Simone's name has already been written up, along with her (very high) score.

I approach one of the judges. 'Did you know this contestant has a full-time job with the Governor of New York?' I ask him, expecting that this fact should immediately disqualify her from standing in a local British election; but he doesn't seem interested. In fact, judging from his cagey answers, he rates Simone as an excellent prospect. After a brief exchange with one of his colleagues- a woman, considerably more responsive- I return to my brother, heartbroken that I have missed my opportunity to see her again. 'She'll turn up in the future, mate,' he says, reassuringly. 'But I need her now,' I say, sadly.