With a pounding head, I stumbled around my apartment. Whoever invented hangovers was not my friend.

I pulled on my running tights, sports bra and T-shirt, gathered my hair into a ponytail, brushed my teeth, and drank a gallon of water. I was running a marathon in just a few weeks; I had no choice but to power through and stick to our training schedule.

I remembered the night before, though my memories were all slightly hazy, as though I was looking at them through a filmy window. Charlie and I had been really close to kissing, but I wasn’t quite sure if I had been the one to initiate it. I could still feel his hand gripping my hair, but had I been the one to lean in? Had he been the one to pull away?

God, I hoped our run wasn’t awkward. I couldn’t stand it if things changed between us.

When I stepped outside, I almost missed the piece of paper halfway under my welcome mat. My stomach churned when I bent down to pick it up.

I crumpled up the paper and threw it on the ground. What could have come up at six-thirty in the morning?

I ran down my steps, across the street, and stopped in front of Charlie’s building. The lights were off, and I couldn’t see any movement inside.

Before I could think better of it, I raised my arms in the air and flipped him off. He’d never see it, but that little act of defiance made me feel better.

I didn’t know what was keeping him away, but I was inexplicably pissed about it and his note. Why did he have to be so annoying and completely endearing at the same time?

I took off running, and with each step, I pounded bits of my frustration into the ground. I had always been a solo runner, but having Charlie as a running partner had made me start to enjoy it. I actually looked forward to running now, rather than just going through the motions the way I had been a few weeks ago.

Instead of chatting with my friend—because Charlie talked almost the entirety of every run, no matter how out of breath he was—I put in my earbuds and listened to a podcast as I ran and ran. Today was ten miles, so not a huge challenge for me, but tomorrow we were supposed to run seventeen. I didn’t want to do it without him. We only had four more weeks until the marathon, so each of our runs were important.

My pace was faster than it had been lately, and I completed my ten miles in an hour and a half, so I still had plenty of time to practice my songs for the wedding before I went to work. Once I was cleaned up and dressed in my all black uniform, I went to the music shop, surprised to find it was open.

When I went inside, it was quiet, but all the lights were on.

“Hello,” I called out.

“Is that my Eliza?” a deep, booming voice yelled from the storage area.

“Abe?”

He came out into the shop with a big grin and his arms open in front of him. He gathered me into a big hug and spun me around a few times.

“It’s been too long!” he said.

“I know! I don’t see you for a few months and you up and sell the place.”

“You met Charlie, I hear?”

I nodded. “A few times,” I said.

“Well, the kid made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I don’t think he was even that interested in the shop. He wanted the apartment upstairs. But he’s really spruced up the place, don’tcha think?”

I shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess. If you like modern and bright and clean.”

Abe threw his head back and laughed. “Not a fan of the new owner?”

“No, I do like him. Change is what I’m not a fan of.”

“Me either. But I met a lady…”

I gasped. “What?”

Abe’s wife had died two years ago, and he’d been devastated. They’d been married forever and were best friends. Even though Abe was handsome and a smidge dreamy in a Robert Redford or Paul Newman sort of way, I never thought I’d see the day when he’d say, “I met a lady.”

“Her name’s Alice and we’re moving down south. I’m blowin’ this pop stand.”

“You’re leaving me? And moving to Florida?”

He shook his head. “Florida is out. The new place to retire is South Carolina. So that’s where we’re going.”

“Wow. I’m going to miss you. I can’t believe you’re leaving me here with Charlie.”

Abe laughed. “Somehow, I think you and Charlie will be okay.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Maybe. Now, you know how I feel about love stories, so tell me about Alice and falling in love.”

“You know I wasn’t looking for another lady after my Maria died. No one could replace her. But I met Alice at the library one day. She noticed we were reading the same book and we got to talking. That first day we talked for an hour. Then we both started showing up at the library at the same time, same day. She made me laugh, Eliza. Before we knew it, we were an integral part of each other’s lives. Neither of us were looking for love, and I didn’t think either of us noticed we were falling until we were already there.”

I reached out and squeezed his hand. “That’s going into my top ten favorite love stories. I’ll call it ‘The Accidental Fall.’ Are you going to get married?”

“Hell no!” he said gruffly.

A surprised laugh slipped out of me. “Well, okay then!”

“We’ve both been there, done that. We just want to live the rest of our years together. No need for a piece of paper.”

I smiled softly. “I’m really happy for you and Alice. I’d rather you weren’t moving away, but I wish you many, many years of love and laughter.”

Abe swiped my chin with his knuckle. “You always were a good egg, kiddo. I wish you the same for whatever fella sweeps you off your feet.”

“I do have a date tonight. Maybe he’ll be the fella.”

Abe raised his eyebrows. “With Charlie?”

I scoffed. “No, why would you think that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. We talk.”

“And?”

Abe waved me off. “And nothin’! Good luck with your fella tonight.”

He wandered into the back room again, leaving me alone to pick apart what he’d just said about Charlie. Of course, now I was dying to know what was said during their “talks.”

I sat at the piano and played “You’re My Best Friend” first. It was the simplest of the three songs, and I had almost perfected it.

As I skated my fingers over the keys, I smiled to myself, thinking of Abe and Alice. Two years ago, he’d been a broken man when his wife died, and now he had a second chance. It always amazed me when I was reminded how resilient and capable of healing the heart was.

I lingered in the shop to see if Charlie would appear, but he never did.

I still had to go to work, and Saturdays were the busiest day at the salon. Rachel and I alternated weekend days off, so she wasn’t working today, but I didn’t have to work Sunday.

Feeling slightly off-kilter when I arrived at the salon, I did the one thing that always righted me: I went into the color room to organize the product into neat rows. Then I straightened each chair and refolded a pile of towels. I made my way around the salon, making sure products were aligned and in the proper place, stacking magazines and wiping off any fingerprints I could find.

I stood by the front door and surveyed the expansive room. It was almost gleaming, but it wouldn’t stay that way for long. As tidy as the stylists who worked for me were, there was always going to be hair on the ground and drops of color on surfaces while they were busy with their clients. And I kept myself busy so the small messes didn’t drive me mad and I didn’t drive my employees mad with my impossibly high standards.

Once stylists and clients started coming in, my hands and mind were fully focused on my job. I did haircuts and blow-dries and highlights and color. I wasn’t as passionate about being a hair stylist as Rachel was, but I loved most sides of the business. I wasn’t an outlandishly creative stylist like Frannie, but my clients came to me for classic cuts and color. I’d found my niche in the business years ago and rarely ventured out.

Frannie walked by while I was applying color to my last client.

“Ready for tonight?” she whispered cheekily, shimmying her shoulders.

I gave her a small smile and nodded. I was getting excited, not that I wanted to talk about it in front of my client. Frannie brushed her fingers along my arm and continued by me.

This might be the start of moving on. I didn’t really expect this one date with Alex would lead to a lifelong love affair, but I was open to seeing where it went. I was open to anything at this point. And that was the most exciting part of it all.