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Her calls to the agency did not resuscitate her defunct hope. It took them a while to track down the aid she’d coordinated for the weekend. A family emergency meant she wasn’t coming, and by the time she rolled into her driveway

with less than an hour to work miracles, she got the call that a replacement couldn’t be found.

Sloane sat in her car and took slow, deep breaths. Of all nights. Recognizing that it was no one’s fault, Sloane pushed aside her frustration and disappointment.

When she was down to forty minutes and hope was lost, she called Arwyn.

“Hey, what’s up? Am I late? I’m almost heading out,”

Arwyn said, sounding like she was juggling several things at once.

“I have a change of plans,” Sloane interrupted, her words dripping with regret. “I’m so sorry to cancel like this, but—”

Something crashed to the floor on Arwyn’s end. “Cancel?

What? Why?”

“The aid I had for tonight was a no-show. I guess we can still get dinner,” Sloane hated explaining the full extent of her disappointment. “But there was more.”

“More than dinner? What did you have up your sleeve other than making me try oysters?” Arwyn pressed in the relentless way she always did. “Were we going to spend all weekend driving to Vegas to gamble our paychecks away?”

Sloane rolled her eyes. “No.”

Arwyn laughed. “Instead of canceling, why don’t I come over instead? I can pick something up and bring it.”

Take out at her house wasn’t exactly the sweep-her-o -

her feet night Sloane had planned.

“It’s cool. Be flexible,” Arwyn insisted in the face of Sloane’s silence.

Sloane let out a shriek of unbridled laughter. “Ha! Coming from the girl who had a panic attack when someone sat in

her unassigned seat in property class!”

“That’s di erent,” Arwyn snapped before all the background noise ceased. “There’s an unwritten rule about sitting in a new seat mid-semester. Everyone knows that. He knew damn well I sat there.”

The tension eased from Sloane’s shoulders. She sighed, but she wasn’t sure if it was in defeat or relief. “Are you sure you want to spend your night here? I kind of had something pretty epic planned.”

“If I’m coming over, it’s going to be pretty epic no matter what,” Arwyn responded with what Sloane imagined was supposed to be suave confidence.

Sloane laughed before she relented, giving in to the inevitable tide turning her boat down a di erent path. She was too tired to stop the current. “Okay. If you’re sure, I’ll send you my address.”

“What should I bring? There’s a great Honduran place near my house.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll throw something together,” Sloane said as she shut o the car and started toward the house. “Also don’t worry about meeting my mom. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“After your video date with my parents, I should break into your mother’s room and introduce myself. Fair is fair,”

Arwyn joked before a door slammed and a lock turned.

“I’m sure you’ll meet her eventually,” Sloane assured her. “Maybe after the birth of our third grandchild,” she joked just before realizing it wasn’t the first time she’d made light of a life with her. She clenched her jaw as if that could retroactively keep her from speaking.

“Wow, I have to wait all the way ‘til then, huh? I guess I won’t have any of those mother-in-law stories people love to throw around,” she replied in jest without missing a beat.

Sloane bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling like a deranged hyena. “I don’t need to tell you that the dress code for the evening has changed. Come over in whatever you want.”

“How very open ended. I’ll see you soon.”