Apparently, I’m not doing a very good impression of a functional human. I try again. “Doing really well, in fact. Almost finished! And actually, there’s another project that’s come up.”
“Really?” She sounds excited.
“Yeah. How about I tell you about that another time?” I don’t have the energy.
“Oh. Sure.” Another very un-Zoe-like silence. She rallies, though, asking in a teasing singsong. “So, whatever happened with that Owen character?”
I cough. “What?”
“In your book. You said you wanted to base a character on Owen?”
Ugh. I forgot about that.
“I decided not to do that character.”
“Oh.”
Now I feel like a jerk. I try to remedy it. “So how about you? Usually, you have at least three hilarious anecdotes saved up when I haven’t talked to you in this long.”
“Pff, yeah, well, usually I haven’t spent the whole time running around doing last-minute wedd—” She cuts herself off with a little yelp.
“Zoe?”
“Mmm?”
“You don’t have to tiptoe around me. It’s okay to mention Luca and his wedding.”
“Well, I don’t know. Sue me! Something’s clearly bothering you.”
Crap.
“It’s not that,” I say quietly.
There’s silence, and for a minute, I’m terrified she’s going to ask me to elaborate on things I don’t want to talk about. Can’t talk about.
But Zoe is a true friend. Because when she finally speaks, she just says, “You know how to reach me if you need me.”
“Thanks, Zo.”
“Now go back to work before that bitch of an editor sends the overdue book police to come arrest you!”
I can’t quite manage a laugh, but I do smile. “One of these days I’m going to sit the two of you in a room and force you to work it out.”
“Ha!”
“Also, wouldn’t the overdue book police work for the library, not a publishing house?”
“Goodbye, George…”
“Also, my manuscript isn’t overdue, it’s just due!”
She blows a kiss into the phone with an exaggeratedmwah,and then she’s gone.
I tap a key on the laptop, which has fallen asleep. Then I stare at the wall of my own words and try not to notice how utterly, totally alone I am.
CHAPTER 47
OWEN
