Before she gets out of bed again, Celeste scrolls through the notifications on her phone, in case she somehow missed a message or a call from her mother. It’s something she’s been doing every morning since she moved back to LA, since Korea is seventeen hours ahead of California.

But today, there’s only a message from Min-joon. Nothing from her mother. And no news is good news. She lets out a quiet sigh of relief.

Eight years ago, she’d checked her phone and found out she had a missed call from her mom. And when she’d called her mother back, that one single phone conversation had completely upended her life. Her stomach twists into knots just thinking about it.

She sneaks one last whiff of Gemma before throwing her bedding in the washing machine. Then, after starting the cycle and turning on the coffee machine, she opens the windows.

The cool, salty air chills her face, and she takes a deep breath.

Just one more set of interviews. She can do this.

27: Gemma

The first few days of the new year go by without a single word from Celeste. This isn’t that abnormal, coming from her. But this time, things feel different. This time, it really does feel like we should talk about what happened between us, before we do our last set of interviews.

We probably should have talked on New Year’s, but I’ve never been good at processing things as they happen. And neither has Celeste, or at least, not when we were in college. In the few times we fought while we dated, we’d always leave each other alone for a couple of days to mull things over before trying to resolve anything.

Now that I’ve had some time and space, though, I’m ready to talk. But I don’t even know how to begin. After all, I’m entirely to blame this time. I’m the one who invited her to the company holiday party. And I’m the one who quite literally put my fingers inside of her.

Well, she more than returned the favor afterward. But I’m the one that first took us to that level, going way past just kissing or making out.

I do my usual song and dance of writing an email to Celeste and deleting it. In the end, it’s Evelyn who breaks the ice for us, cc’ing both Celeste and me before I leave the office on the first Friday of the year.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

CC: [email protected]

Subject: Last Set of Interviews

Hi, ladies. We’re ready to start on our final interview segment. We’re still searching for the second couple, but for now, I’d like you to interview Rob and Marge Roy. They’re in their 80s so be gentle with them, please. But hopefully things will still be fun.