Good luck. I know you have some escape techniques too if it gets too hot.
HELENA WARRICK
We’ll see. I’ve got a lot of tricks up my sleeve.
What part of the city are you in?
God, I could only imagine the looks she’d give me if she saw the shithole I lived in. I laughed awkwardly as I texted back, leaning on a cold bare wall.
JULIE
Queens. It’s not a big place, but it’s simple, and I think that suits me.
HELENA WARRICK
Oh, that’s not too far then. I had to head back into Manhattan.
JULIE
Your father’s fancy brownstone in the Upper East Side?
HELENA WARRICK
I’m twenty-five years old, Houdini. I don’t live with my parents. I’ve got a nice apartment in Tribeca all to myself. A bit cozy, but I like it that way too.
Ha. Yeah, what self-respecting twenty-five-year-old would live with her parents? Not like I was going to be doing that at the end of June. Butself-respectinghad never been in the cards for me.
Although. I took a second longer looking at my picture in the camera. Maybe I was due just alittlebit of respect. Even if it was mostly Daniel’s work.
I really needed to stop talking to Helena. Just say something polite and make it clear we weren’t having any further conversations. But…
JULIE
It was great to meet you tonight.
Thanks for being patient while I had a little bit of a nervous breakdown for part of it…
But I had a really good time.
HELENA WARRICK
I did too!
And please, ignore anything Estelle said.
JULIE
She’s a chatty one, huh?
HELENA WARRICK
That’s the polite word for it…
We’ll do something again! I still didn’t get to ask you anything about old magazine articles.
Yeah, I wonder why. Despite it, I found myself smiling like an idiot as I texted back.
JULIE
