The new opportunity really is a dream come true, and I look forward to it with great excitement, but I worry too. I’ve always been a writer, never an editor. Can I handle the responsibility? I can understand Italian and speak a passable amount, but is it enough to carry me in a competitive and professional environment where everyone will be speaking it?

Do I have any real idea what I am getting myself into?

Nevertheless, pure excitement and adrenaline keep me going as I clear out my desk and take care of any last-minute problems with the upcoming issue of Mirabel. After this it will be someone else’s concern. I wonder who will replace me. Maybe Emily, or Willa could hire someone new.

Taking care of the practicalities of moving to a new country in one week turns out to not be as bad as I thought it would be. Especially as I decide to take Star’s advice and keep the apartment for a few months more. Also, Star, being an author, simply made herself free for the whole week to help me out. To a lesser degree, Cindy and Raven pitched in too.

Between us and Star’s shit-hot personal assistant we accomplish everything we need to. Notify the post office, pause all my different magazines, cancel the milk, and so on. I pack only what I think I’ll need—laptop, clothing, some personal items. The magazine agrees to pay to ship anything I need. They have already rented a place not far from where I will be working. Someone from the publication will meet me at the airport to take me there.

I’ve traveled throughout Europe for weekend trips and vacations, but I’ve never lived anywhere but London. It’s going to be hard to leave my familiar surroundings, my friends, and my family. When I tell my mother the good news, she puts the kettle on, and brings out the good brandy. We toast to my success and talk in her little yellow kitchen until my mother becomes very merry. As I am climbing the stairs up to my old bedroom, my mother touches my arm and tells me how proud she is of me. There are tears in her eyes. She says she will come over for the birth of the baby and stay as long as I need her.

On the last day Star and I are at my apartment while I try to decide what to take with me, what to leave behind, and what to ship. I don’t know why I’ve left all this till practically the last moment. I usually make decisions easily. But not now, it seems. I dither over every item. “What about a bikini?” Star suggests, “it’ll be really hot there now.”

“I’m pregnant. Shouldn’t I get a full suit?”

“Don’t be silly. You’ll look great in a bikini. I love to see the stomachs of pregnant women. I saved the pictures of Beyoncé with her big stomach.”

I stare at her astonished. I know she loves babies, but saving an image of a pregnant woman. “Why on earth would you do that?”

She shrugs. “I just liked the whole thing. I just love a belly swollen with life. It’s so beautiful.”

I shake my head. “You can’t tell me you actually think a big belly looks good.”

She grins. “I think it’s the most beautiful thing in the world. You wait until you see your belly growing. You’ll change your mind then.”

I cover the sides of my head with my hands. “I can’t believe I’m talking about this when I’m such a mess. What if I’ve forgotten something really important?”

“Stop worrying, for heaven’s sake,” Star says. “It doesn’t matter if you forget anything. I can have whatever you want shipped to you, and you know I’ll be glad to take care of any little, last-minute details. Just bask in it!”

“Bask!”

“Yes. Enjoy the moment. Enjoy the fact that you’re going to be living in one of the most romantic and cultured cities in the world.”

“Bask, huh?”

“Bask, bask, bask.”

“What if I fall flat on my face?”

“You won’t, but if you do, you’ll just get up, dust yourself off, and start again. You’re magic, remember?”

I nod. “I am a bit nervous. It’s such a big change.”

“You’ll be amazing. Just as you always have been.”

“God, I wish I could pop you into my suitcase and take you with me.”

She smiles, then bites her bottom lip. “You won’t let anything change between us, will you, Rosa.”

“Never.”