One and Only Ellery: He hasn’t said anything to me
Dante Baker (rock god):Cool
…
One and Only Ellery:So how are you?
Dante Baker (rock god):OK.Seattle’s colder than I remembered.
One and Only Ellery:You playing?
Dante Baker (rock god):sort of.I applied for the cruise line again.They’re gearing up for when they reopen.
…
One and Only Ellery:Oh.Cool.You loved it
…
One and Only Ellery: I’m glad you’re ok.LA isn’t the same without you.
One and Only Ellery:I miss you.
…
Dante Baker (rock god):I’m always a phone call away.
One and Only Ellery:A phone call and an ocean.
Sorry.
Dante Baker (rock god):I’m voting for you.
One and Only Ellery:*thumbs up emoji*
Dante Baker (rock god): How’s the new bassist?
One and Only Ellery:Great.Everything’s fucking great.Ciao
Dante Baker (rock god):right
CHAPTER24
Now—Ellery
Ellery ignoresLogan’s death stares.This is her mic.Her night.
The crowd is hot tonight, rapt.She is a storyteller, a spinner of wishes.
But she knows what it’s time for.
“So, a little about the song ‘Centrifuge,’ the one people say made us who we are.”
She tenses, but the crowd unleashes a wild roar.Normally in this part of her patter, she tells a generic story, one that skirts everything that happened directly after theAmerica Sings!taping.She talks about being caught up in a moment, in a relationship, and finding strength.She never talks about her family.
But not tonight.
“None of that is true.We sang this song on national television, and it did get our names out into the world.People say what they want to say about what artists put out into the world.I know that.But I am not who I am because of a song.Selene and Lorraine and Dante are more than a song.”Grief rises through her stomach, into her throat, and catches at the back of her soft palate.Two years later, and the wounds still cut, like a fresh slap.
