And now, we were just four people who had tested the edge—and stepped back before we fell.
15
Epilogue: Jackie
The screen lit up with Hana’s name, and I answered before the second ring.
Her face appeared, a smile curling on her lips. She was nestled on her couch, wrapped in a fleece blanket with a cup of tea in her hand. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders, and I could see the view of the East River and Manhattan behind her.
It had been two weeks since we saw each other in person, but it had only been eighteen hours since we last spoke on the phone. Twelve since we texted. Things felt back to normal. As normal as theycouldbe.
I smiled, sitting up in bed. “Hey, stranger.”
Elliott had left a steaming cup of coffee on my bedside table, kissed me quickly, and hurried back to the kitchen to finish making breakfast.
“Hey yourself,” she said with a soft smile. “How are you feeling?”
I shrugged. “I’ll feel better once this coffee hits my brain,” I said, taking the hot mug in my hand. “Assuming it finds one in there.”
She laughed, and the sound of it made my whole body feel warm and calm.
We talked about the day ahead—work, book deadlines, how they were decorating the Christmas tree with Jenny later, Jack being too intense at the gym, Elliott intent on his idea to adopt a cat.
But beneath it all, there was something unspoken. Something we hadn’t talked about.
“I miss you,” she said suddenly, quietly. “Is that weird to say now?”
“No,” I whispered. “I miss you too.”
Her eyes dropped for a second, then came back to mine through the screen. “Sometimes I think about that weekend and wonder if it would’ve gone differently if things had slowed down. If we hadn’t gotten so caught up.”
I nodded. “Me too.”
Neither of us said what we really meant. That maybe some part of us still ached for something more. That maybe our friendship carried something sacred, something more than what we had now.
But we didn’t push it. We just stayed there, holding space through a screen. Letting our hearts speak in glances and silences.
“I’m glad we’re still…us,” she said finally.
“Me too,” I whispered with a smile.
The screen dimmed a little as she shifted, laying her head down on a throw pillow.
We were silent, but we stayed connected, quiet and warm, the way we always could be.
Even if everything else had changed.
* * *
Five months later.
New York in the spring was my favorite time of the year.
I’d been trying to convince Elliott that we should spend part of each year here. He could easily work remotely, but I didn’t know what I’d do; I couldn’t exactly take that kind of time off from my job at a packed West Hollywood restaurant, but it was a nice dream to have. A little version of our life we could try on from time to time.
Elliott and I had come out for a long weekend, some time to get away from the LA heat and to visit Jack and Hana.
We hadn’t seen them since Tahoe.
