“I don’t know why you’re doing this!” Harper said with a laugh. “It’s just one month.”

“One month of continuous rehabilitation is a big deal, it’s worth celebrating,” Sean said. “And it would have been longer if it wasn’t for—well, you know.”

“Yeah, I know,” Harper said. “But everything worked out as it should.”

“Is it going to feel strange? Not going there almost every day?” he asked.

Harper toyed with the diploma her doctor had presented to her. One month of more than full-time outpatient rehabilitation meant she’d continue with weekly or biweekly check-ins for several months. However, for the most part she was on her own, equipped with the tools and skills she’d need to guide her own lifetime of management. “Kind of,” she admitted. “It’ll be hard to lose that kind of nonstop support. But good that I’m getting weaned before I become dependent on it.”

Sean finished taping the last streamer to the exposed pipe of the ceiling. As he climbed down the small ladder, she watched his muscles work below his thin t-shirt. Harper clutched the diploma tighter. That little piece of paper and what it represented had saved so much. She’d never have this, never have him, if it weren’t for it. “Well, that’s it,” he said. “Last chance. Are you sure you don’t want to have the entire party here?”

Harper bit her lip and shook her head. “I’ve been craving sushi for two months,” she said. “I mean, basically since I couldn’t have it.”

“I can’t believe we managed a table at Sushi of Gari,” Sean said. “It was meant to be. Someone out there really thinks you deserve it.” He leaned over and kissed her head as he passed the couch. “And I agree. Ready in fifteen?”

Harper touched up the loose waves that hung down to her stomach in the hall mirror. She heard Sean rustle in the bathroom. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the California sun set into a soft pink.

“Zip me up?” she asked when he appeared behind her. She felt Sean’s hand on her hip as he gripped the zipper and pulled. She thought briefly that she should suck in her stomach and wondered if he gauged the bulk of her flesh with his hand, but brushed those thoughts away. Instead, she kept her head lowered and her hair pulled over her shoulder.

“There,” he said. He gave the collar a gentle tug. “You look amazing.”

“Thanks,” she said. It was hard to accept a compliment, to fight the urge to protest, but it was something she’d worked on for the past four weeks.

“Shall we?” he asked. She took his arm as he led her to the elevator.

When they arrived, ushered through the sleek minimalistic restaurant by a woman in a tight black outfit, everyone was already gathered at the table. “Harper,” Helena said, and rose with the elegance only a lifetime in the industry could ingrain into a person. “You look absolutely ravishing.” She kissed her on either cheek, and Harper nearly teared up at the miasma of familiar European perfume that clung close to Helena. It brought back good memories of time in the house, of racing to go-sees with Molly in her early days, and of strong black coffee before dawn at the little chipped table while Helena poured advice on her.

As Helena released her, Joon-ki slapped Sean on the back and approached her. “I’ve heard a lot about you,” he said. Harper raised her brows. “All good, of course,” he said.

“And I’ve heard so much about you,” Harper said. Joon-ki reached out a hand, but Harper pulled him close. He resisted for a moment, but quickly melted into her embrace. “Thank you,” she whispered into his ear. “For taking care of him, for everything.”

“It’s my pleasure,” he said.

“And who is this?” P asked as he snaked an arm around Harper’s waist and drank in Joon-ki’s slender figure. “I’m Philip, one ‘p,’” he told Joon-ki. “Although, I personally think two p’s are a lot more fun.”

“P,” Harper hissed at him. “Tone it down a little.”

Joon-ki gave him a polite smile and went back to Sean.

“Not gay?” P mouthed at her. She shook her head and he sighed. “Damn. Well, I took a shot.”

“Is that my dress?” Molly’s husky voice asked from behind her.

“Molly!” she said. “Actually, believe it or not, it’s mine. One of my few couture items that I didn’t accidentally on purpose forget to give back.”

“I’m not sure I believe you,” Molly said with a playful lilt. “But either way, it looks better on you than it ever would on me. As per usual.”

For the first time, Harper was aware of the cloying self-deprecation Molly gave off. And it’s not just her, Harper thought. It’s all of us, every model that’s been told we’re too fat, too thick, too ethnic, or too anything else. How had she not seen it for all these years? Sophia was right, the industry was in desperate need of a buoy, or preferably a life raft, for all these girls. Undoing the damage that they took daily required a first step. Maybe I really can be that step after all, she thought.

Molly was skirted on either side by more of Harper’s old roommates. One had the telltale busted blood vessels in her eyes of a recent purging session. The other had curated a maxi dress with careful cutouts to highlight what Harper was sure she considered hard work. Her ribs were highlighted in the accent lighting and although she was twenty-two at the oldest, her knees already crinkled at the crest from a complete lack of fat and muscle in the legs.

“Hey,” a low voice said from behind her. Harper felt a hand on her shoulder. “Good to know someone in the family loves sushi as much as I do.”

Harper spun around. “Connor! What are you doing here?” she asked. “Where’s Sam?” She craned her neck around the restaurant but didn’t see her.

“Just flew in for the party!” he said. “And I’m solo for now. Thus the same-day flight back. Sam’s going to have the baby any minute, but I didn’t want to miss out on the festivities. It’ll probably be the last adults-only soiree I can make in quite awhile. Sam sends her wishes. She’d loved to have come. I think not being able to indulge in sashimi would have done her in, though,” he said with a wink.

“Well, I’m glad you made it,” she said. “Are you going to get a chance to check out the property Sean found? It’s incredible, really.”

“I’m heading over after this,” he said. “Although I saw the virtual tour and the photos, so I already know it’s a fantastic find. Perfect for the company. And I’m excited you’ll be working from there, too. It’s good to have everyone in the same place. Sam’s following in your footsteps after her maternity leave.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, she wants to open her own events management company on the West Coast. With supplies in a storage facility, she doesn’t need that much overhead. At least not yet. But if she expands and brings on a lot of employees, who knows?”

“That’s great!” she said. Having Sam at the same building helped ease Harper’s nerves about her new position. Although she hadn’t asked, Sam had the look of someone who’d at least dabbled with modeling in the past. She might be a good sounding board as Harper got started. More importantly, she knew she’d be a good friend.

“I’d like to thank everyone for coming,” Sean said. The little group hushed as everyone found their seats. The waitstaff had snuck in between them to fill up small pots of warm sake. Seaweed salad rested on the small plates.

Harper smiled at Sean and he pulled her to his side. “Some of you know why I chose today for this little get-together.” She stiffened. Was he about to tell everybody that she was one month out of rehab? Harper knew she’d eventually tell everyone. It would be pivotal in her own narrative of how she came to be an eating disorder community educator, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready for that yet.

“Actually, a lot of events pointed to this date,” Sean said. “And I won’t bore you with all the details. I would like to say that on this date last year, I … well, I wasn’t anywhere close to being the person I am now. I was a mess. A lot of you know that, and if you didn’t, well, now you do.”

Harper squeezed his hand, grateful she wouldn’t have to field awkward questions right away.

“I was having a particularly rough day. Or night, I should say. And—not even Harper knows this story—but I was walking home. It was almost sunrise, and I’d been out all night. I couldn’t find my car and I was stubborn as hell—”

“Was?” Connor asked, but gave Sean a smile.

“Okay, still am,” Sean conceded. “But I was hellbent on walking home, all twelve miles of it, from some bar or club on the other side of town. And I passed some little shrine set up near a Catholic church. It was temporary, I don’t know if it was for a special event or what. But it was a Celtic display, and it just looked so out of place. So beautiful. I stopped, which was rare back then. I pretty much had tunnel vision for anything that was pure self-destruction. And there she was. Two of them, actually. Figures of these two girls with fire-red hair. In the most beautiful handwriting, there was the description of red-haired women considered sacred to the goddesses of war. That image, it always stayed with me. I believe it was the first time I even thought about fighting back against all the demons inside me. I just … I didn’t know she was real. Not until I met Harper.”

“Aw!” Molly said, her puppy eyes huge with love.

“And today?” Sean said. “In front of all of you, the people we care about the most, I’d like to propose a toast.” Sean lifted up his water glass that clinked with ice and handed Harper the small tumbler of sake. “Together, we’ve overcome a lot,” he said, and he turned to her. “More than I imagine other couples manage in their first few months together. But it’s been through the strength of our mutual love, support and sometimes flat out dogged determination that we made it through.”

“Cheers,” Harper said. The sounds of glasses kissing filled the air.

As Harper let the sweet, thick liquid make its way down her throat, Sean took her glass and set it on the table. “Harper, I couldn’t have made it here without you,” he said. “That’s why …”

Sean pulled a black box out of his jacket pocket as he dropped to one knee. Harper was briefly aware of the excited murmurs at the table, but soon everything except Sean faded away as her heart began to soar.

“Will you marry me?”

“Yes!” she said. Warm tears of joy pricked at her eyes. “Oh my god,” she said. “I didn’t know—”

Sean opened the box to reveal a large princess-cut diamond nestled in a halo band. He slid the ring onto her finger, a rose gold that complemented the dainty collar that hugged her neck. As he rose to his feet and pulled her to his chest, she felt a wholeness she didn’t even know she’d missed. She was full, complete. And with him she knew, beyond any doubts, that she would always be happy.