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“Any idea when you’ll be done?”
“No. I’ll call.”
He sighed and burrowed deeper into the pillow and then went back to sleep. I texted Jazz that I was on my way.
When I drove up to her apartment complex, she was already standing outside, sunglasses on her nose and a travel mug in her hands.
“You look nice,” I said.
“Nice enough to meet a socialite?” she asked as she slid into the passenger side.
“Definitely.” I pulled out of the lot. “So, what went down after I left?”
“Nothing,” she said. “We stayed for another round, and then Willa had Duke come get her and Homer got Brielle and me.”
“And Brielle crashed with you?”
She nodded. “Yeah. She’s watching my mom right now.”
“How’s your mom doing?” I asked gently.
Jazz shrugged and then looked out the window.
I didn’t push her into talking about it. I understood. There were certain things that were hard to discuss, even with people you considered your close friends.
“How was your night?” she asked finally. She attempted to take a sip from her travel mug, but a stretch of highway was particularly bumpy, and she almost spilled the drink. “Shit.”
“At least you didn’t wear white,” I pointed out.
“I never wear white,” she explained. “Not after getting my period unexpectedly at fourteen when I was wearing white jeans. My wedding dress will be a color. Probably blue.”
“What a traumatizing experience,” I said.
“Yeah, it wasn’t the best. I had to walk around with a sweatshirt tied around my waist. God, I’m glad high school is long past over.”
“I have this theory,” I began. “Where if you had a good high school experience, you peaked. You know, captain of the football team who doesn’t get to go pro. Peaked. Class president on her way to Harvard and then you find out she slept with the recruiter. That kind of thing.”
“Wow, you sound so bitter and jaded. I like it.”
“I was invisible in high school,” I said.
“Opposite for me. I stood out, but sometimes you just want to blend in.”
“Sometimes you just want to stand out,” I argued.
“Man, if you could go back in time, what would you tell your younger self?”
“Go for your dreams and don’t let anything get in the way. Not naysayers, not parents, not even life. Because you never know when it’s all going to change. Decide what you want and go after it with zealous, blind determination.”
She paused. “That’s quite a speech.”
“Oh, and eat more bacon,” I added.
“That’s just a good idea in general.”
* * *
We drove to the address we were given and then stopped at the white security cottage at the edge of the property and checked in. A massive wrought iron gate on electric motors opened and we drove up the newly paved driveway to a palatial and pristine estate.
