Page 54 of From the Edge

They went to the recording studio, and Aspen gasped. “This is incredible.”

“Thanks. Every time I missed hearing you sing with your own voice, I made this a little better. Learning about the mixing board was weird, but it helped me focus on when you would come back. I knew you would come back.”

Aspen reached for her. Rowan said, “Bathroom is back the way we came. I don’t like being sticky.”

Aspen laughed and walked outside, washing her hands and her coffee cup. She came in for a hug. “You missed me.”

“I did.”

“Where did Laurel go?”

“She’s somewhere across the world with a houseful of kids.”

“What?”

“She became a foster parent and opened a group home in the islands. Mom and Dad are frequent visitors. She has six kids, and they are all doing extremely well.”

“Have you been to visit?”

“Um, no. I haven’t left you or Mell alone.”

“I see. Can you?”

“I don’t know. This building has become everything. My stabilization. My life. Travel there and back takes three days, and I don’t know what that will mean to me or do to me.”

Aspen nodded. “Do I have travel documents?”

“Yes. Your license is good, and your passport looks a bit like me, but they are both legit.”

“Would it upset you if I went to visit them?”

“No. I want you to touch as many parts of your life as possible. I want you to return to the world roaring. Oh, Mira will be here this afternoon, and she would love to know you are good.”

Aspen smiled. “She has a lovely voice.”

“She was—”

“My occupational therapy. She told me. Don’t worry. We just worked together. She’s a friend, not a crush.”

Rowan exhaled. “Good.”

Aspen laughed. “Now, I am going to try that climbing wall. It looks fun.”

“It’s rated for five hundred pounds, and you are currently two seventy-five. I don’t know if you can gain or lose, but that is where you are now.”

“Huh. And yet, I have less muscle mass.”

“The last time you posed for a photo, you were seventeen.”

“Oh, shit.” She looked at her hands.

“Good thing I could give him composites from other images, silhouettes, parties with friends where I cleaned up your image and he used that.”

Aspen laughed. “And you got the height right.”

“That was easy. Me plus a foot.”

Aspen looked at the climbing wall. “How does it work?”