Dawn answers the door, no longer dressed, but wearing a robe covered in a pattern of yellow ducks and pajamas like she’s showered and gotten ready for bed since we last talked. Her pajamas are color coordinated, a faded baby yellow color. Her hair is pushed back in a matching headband. She’s not wearing any makeup. She still looks gorgeous.

“Hi!” I squeak. “Thanks for inviting me.”

“Long time no see,” she says quietly as I step into the house and shove off the yellow boots. I didn’t lace them up this time. “What’s all that?” She points to my bags.

“Oh, ingredients for dinner.”

“What are we having?”

“Homemade pizza?” I say hesitantly.

A sad, breathy laugh falls out of her.

“Do you not want … I thought you—”

“No, no, that’s great, okay.” We head through the living room. “Is there really a big SOS, or were you overwhelmed with a desperate need to share the full scoop re: body snatcher–gate?”

We round the corner into a lovely pink and white kitchen. It’s like a clean, pristine lady cave.

“Um, there is an SOS, but I can also tell you about … body snatcher–gate.” I put the groceries on the gray marble island at the center of the area and glance around. “Do you have parents?”

Dawn circles the island so she’s standing across from me. “Yeah, my mom’s at work. It’s just the two of us.” She ducks down, opens a cabinet, and returns holding a bottle of wine and two glasses.

“Oh.” I start unloading ingredients, eyeing the wine. Wine feels romantic. “Should we make her a pizza too?”

Dawn shakes her head. “She was called into the hospital for emergency reconstructive surgery; she won’t be home till late.”

“Oh, whoa. Does she get called in for stuff like that a lot?” I start rummaging through Dawn’s cabinets and grabbing different cooking tools as I come across them. I find some wax paper and spread a large piece over the counter.

Dawn watches me for a second, her mouth flipping up in a small smile. “Um, yeah, every so often. She’s a plastic surgeon so she does the majority of her surgeries during business hours, but she gets called in whenever there’s an emergency that requires her skill set. She’s doing facial reconstructive surgery for someone who was in a car accident.”

My mouth falls open. “Holy excrement. That’s intense.”

Dawn nods. “Yeah, she’s kind of a badass.” She uncorks the wine and starts pouring it out.

“Is holy excrement like holy shit?” Dawn asks as she fills a second glass.

I busy my hands measuring ingredients. “Um yeah, my mom has a thing with bad words, she uses … other words instead and has ever since I can remember. I guess I’m more comfortable saying them than the actual curses.”