“What are you doing here?” Simone says as I walk into our apartment.

Gripping the key in my hand I shut the door with finality. “Well, I called you every day for a whole two weeks and you never picked up or called me back. So, here I am.”

“Maybe I don’t want to talk to you!” she snaps with an eye roll from the couch. She’s balled up with her knees close to her chest, HBO’s Girls playing on the T.V. with the sound cranked up.

I lay my purse down, walk over and watch for a moment. “You’re re-watching season two?”

With her tone dead she mutters, “Yes.”

Plopping onto our couch beside her, I let time pass without either of us talking. We’ve seen all these episodes together. This is a sign that she misses me. Also, she’s not told me to get the fuck out yet.

When the end credits play, I whisper, “I’m sorry.”

She sucks on her lips and mutters, “Me too.”

We reach for each other’s hands at the same time and clasp them, holding for a moment before letting go. “How’re things with Justin?”

“I finally had to tell him I’m not interested last night. He called me every day. It was really annoying. Between the two of you my phone wouldn’t stop ringing.”

On a smile, I knock her shoulder with mine. “Must be tough being loved.”

All the air leaves her lungs and she squeezes her knees in closer, laying the side of her cheek on them to look at me. “I’ve been lost, Sarah. I didn’t realize how much you did everything for me until you were gone.”

Pain twists my heart up. “Yeah.”

“You’ve done a lot!”

“Yep. But in all fairness, you paid me.”

“Not as much as I should have.”

Smiling ruefully, I remind her, “I do your books — you paid what you could. We just always knew I’d make an actual living when you hit it big.”

“I know,” she murmurs, holding my eyes. “And that’s going to happen now. How’re things with you and Jason?”

“Good. It feels weird you asking me that question.”

She shrugs. “Yeah, but oh well. How’s it going?”

“Good. He told me he sent you the finished album.”

“He did. Did you hear it?”

Shaking my head I confess, quietly, “I thought you should hear it first. Didn’t feel right. I’m normally with you, and it’s your music, so…no.”

“Want to hear it now?”

Smiling with relief and love in my heart, I nod as tears threaten. “Yeah. I’d like that.”

She leans in with a funny look like she can’t believe her eyes. “Are you going to cry? You never cry!”

“I cried when I heard the choir. Kind of.”

And with Jason, several times. And several others on my own when I was overwhelmed with how lucky I feel now that he’s with me. But I’m keeping that to myself.

She smiles, not willing to drop it. “Ahhh! You got all gooshy since you left. Look at Sarah the badass, all soft and smooshy!”

“Shut up!” I laugh.

She reaches over and tickles me. “Sarah’s in loooooove!”

“I am not,” I cry out, jumping off the couch. “And I hate being tickled.”

“I know,” she grins. Then her smile fades and her eyes become serious. “I’m happy for you.”

With parted lips I try to say something, but I can only give this awkward little nod.

She gets off the couch and strolls in her pajama shorts and t-shirt to her laptop, powering it on and leaning an elbow on the counter, her long blonde hair draped over the keys. “I haven’t listened to it yet, either.” Glancing to me, she shrugs one shoulder. “I’ve been kind of depressed since our fight.”

“Why didn’t you call me back so we could make up?”

“I needed some time. You said some things about me —”

“—I know. I was mean.”

“You were right.” She holds my look. “I’ve been doing some soul-searching. I don’t want to be selfish like that anymore.” The screen lights up her face and she straightens up to hit play. Hovering an index finger over the Return key, she shows me all her teeth in a nervous grimace. “Eek. Oh God. Ready?”

“Ready!” I run over.

We listen to the whole album, all ten songs, and by song number two we’re dancing around our living room singing along with it, sometimes really loudly, sometimes whispers with our hands up like we’re squirrels.

When Just For Me begins we both scream and run to the computer, even though there’s nothing on the screen but the title and album cover.

We go silent as her voice comes out of the speakers.

And when the boys join her, I grab her arm and she grabs mine.

Tears are in our eyes. We know we’re witnessing something people are going to love so much!

Jason did an amazing job layering the harmonies. A portion of the tracks she completed before the choir recording drift over the middle of the boy’s chorus and neither she nor I knew he was going to do that.

“Oh my God,” she breathes, meeting my eyes.

I nod that I love it, too, and we stay like this until the song ends.

“You’re going to be a superstar,” I whisper.

Her blue eyes are liquid, too. Her face squishes with emotion and she croaks, “If I don’t have you in my life I don’t care about any of it. You’re my family, Sarah.”

That’s it. Complete waterworks. The floodgates break and I can’t even see her anymore. “You’re mine, too!”

We hug and I pull away, wiping my tears with my hand as she sniffles.

“Simone, I…”

“You’re moving to Atlanta, aren’t you?”

Nodding through tears, I gasp for air and squeak, “Yes.”

“But you can come to my shows. And we have Facetime. And I can visit you guys.”

“Would you? I’d love to come to your shows!”

She hugs me again, this time harder, whispering in my ear. “Oh thank God. Because you’ve been at every one I’ve ever had! If you weren’t there…I don’t know how I’d go on without you gripping some stupid curtain in suspense!”

I start laughing and pull away from the hug. “Okay, no more hugs. I can’t take all this girliness.”

Simone laughs, her cheeks all wet. “Good to see he hasn’t completely changed you.”

Snorting I wave her off. “Pffth. He hasn’t changed me at all.”

Wiping both sides of her face with flattened fingers she cocks her head and says, “Really? Because you’re about five pounds skinnier than when I saw you last.”

Blushing I glance down to my body. It’s true that my jeans are bordering on baggy. I had to wear a belt for the first time with these. Might be the ‘exercise’ that made me lose the weight but I think it’s the happiness.

“Are you okay, Simone?”

“I’m so okay with you guys being together. I just didn’t want to lose you. I thought he was going to take you away from me for good.” She pauses and nibbles on her lips. “It was you I didn’t want to lose, Sarah.”

I hug her and whisper, “You never will.”