She tries FaceTiming Ma’s phone, and someone picks up right away.

“¿Bueno?”

“Ma, it’s me!”

“Sophie, I—where are you calling me from?”

As Sophie explains that she got a phone from Adam, she sounds exactly like she used to—loud, happy. And as she skips around the apartment, holding up the phone in front of her face while Ma and Pa laugh along with her, I feel warmth inside me that I haven’t felt in a while.

For the first time in months, I feel a little closer to my parents. The invisible wall that has come up between us fades a little, and I’m reminded of what things used to feel like before everything changed.

Amy asks Adam if he wants to stay for dinner. After much back and forth of him saying that he has to get back home, and Sophie telling him that he has to stay, he finally agrees, and we sit down at the table.

“My nonna’s gonna kill me,” he whispers to me. “She was making gnocchi tonight.”

I keep sneaking glances at him all through dinner. Sitting so close to him, his dimples look deeper, his smile bigger. When Jorge asks him about the play, his eyes light up brighter than ever. I lean closer to him, not wanting to miss a single word he says, realizing just how much I’ve missed him.

At the end of the night, I walk with him down the stairs. We step out onto the street, and he turns toward me.

“I, uh… I had fun tonight,” he says.

“Me too. Thanks for coming.”

He nods once, putting his hands in his pockets. “So… will I see you on Saturday?”

“Yes.” The answer slips out of my mouth easily. There’s no more doubt left in my mind, no more need for second-guessing. “I’ll be there.”

All of a sudden, it looks almost as though he’s leaning closer toward me. Maybe he’s just getting ready to leave, but for a second, my heart stops as I look down at his lips and ask myself if he’s about to kiss me.

“Good night,” he says, and I let out my breath.

“Get home safe.”

Even as he turns around and starts walking down the street, my heartbeat doesn’t go back to normal. It seems to be going crazy, skipping beats every time I think about Adam’s lips.

On Saturday evening, I meet Kimmie and Darryl in front of the theater. The second I see them, I feel a little underdressed in my button-down shirt and white sneakers. Darryl is wearing a dark blue jacket and a tie, and Kimmie is in a short red dress.

“Heya,” Kimmie says to me, smiling as far as her lips will go.

“Hey,” I say. “How’s it going, Darryl?” I add, throwing a nod in his direction.