“And now I’m here. One of my engineering friends from university lives in the city, and we’re going to start up another consulting firm.”
“You mean you’re staying here?” I sputter out. “In New York? For how long?”
“My work visa just went through, so I can stay for as long as it makes sense.” I feel like I’ve entered another dimension. I’m still wondering how and when we got here when Liam goes on, “Mum had a bit of a fit when I told her, but she’s coming around to the idea. She’s set up a marathon of apartment tours for me this week with an associate of hers.”
“And how is your mom?” I ask, still wildly confused. “Is she doing well?”
“Very good, actually. She’s happier than she’s ever been.”
“That’s wonderful.”
“It is. It is. Most of it has to do with her and Juliette reconciling. I had no idea how much their falling-out weighed on her, but she’s almost like a different person now. Last month she wore jeans.”
I take a shocked step back. “Did her personal factory of silkworms suddenly shut down?”
“I don’t believe so,” he answers with a grin. “She only said she was trying to relax a bit. I think with Juliette around, she’s starting to branch out more, which is a nice change. As far as I know, they’ve been getting together at least once a week.”
“That’s great,” I find myself saying, trying not to acknowledge the swift jolt of jealousy that may or may not be streaking through me. “And isshedoing well? Juliette? Do you talk much?”
“We talk fairly regularly, and she’s doing great as well. She’s basically creative partners with Eloise now. Did you hear about that?”
“No, I didn’t.”
That’s not entirely true. In addition to stalking her Instagram, which is essentially an Ollie fan page that’s made up of daily photos and videos of their adventures together, every so often I also google Juliette to see what comes up. I recently read an article about a play that she and Ellie have in early previews, and I felt shamefully jealous then, too. Not due to her successes or her continued collaborations with Eloise, but because I wasn’t there with them. As much as I’m still mad at Juliette, as much as I know I should have left her years ago, I have never stopped missing her.
“Yes,” Liam goes on, “everyone’s very excited about it. And Juliette still talks about you, you know. She talks about you all the time.”
I freeze at that, my eyes locking with his—hoping they don’t look recognizably desperate but knowing that they probably do.
“She was so happy when I told her you won the contest that she more or less knocked me down to get to the computer so she could look up the results herself. I hope you don’t mind that I told her. Maybe I overstepped, but she really was thrilled.”
“I don’t mind,” I end up telling him, feeling my palms get sweaty in cautious optimism.
“To be honest, she said that she’s kept tabs on you now and again through some of her theater friends, and she also mentioned that she started her Instagram page with the sole purpose of you being able to see Ollie. She didn’t come right out and say it, but I think she really just wanted some kind of a connection to you.”
My chest constricts. So that explains it. Juliette’s sudden Insta-lifestyle that she was always so against. She did it for me. A speck of hope ignites and expands inside me, but I’m quick to keep it in check.
“If that’s how she feels, why didn’t she reach out to me?”
Liam slides a hand into his pocket. “She said she wanted to make sure that you were ready to talk to her. You know she’s not the best with rejection.”
“Yes, I’m vaguely aware,” I assure him.
“She’s also with Paul now. It seems your little matchmaking scheme was a tremendous success.”
“Are you serious?” I all but yell. Liam nods, and I shake my head with the biggest smile. “That’s incredible.”
“It is, in fact. And as it turns out, I think he was a bit of an inspiration to her. She even copied his trademark move.”
“How do you mean?” I ask.
Liam then pulls his hand out of his pocket, holding out a napkin that’s folded neatly in half. “She wrote this for you,” he says.
I stare at it for a couple of seconds until I carefully take it from his fingers. Scared and dying to read it at the same time, I hold my breath as I unfold the napkin completely to see the message that’s scrawled delicately across the surface.
You found me mine. I found you yours. I’m so proud of you, Winnie. Now and always.
Tears fill my eyes as I reread the words again and again. I wish Juliette was here. I want so badly to see her face, to talk to her—not as a boss and employee but as women and equals. I’m rereading it yet again when Liam speaks.
