“Celia,” she said, joining me in my room while I cleaned before leaving, so everything would be just so when I returned. “This is an incredible opportunity for you and your friends. It’s immensely kind of Henry to let you use his house, and I know you’ll leave the cabin better than when you found it. I love you, and I love your friends. But I do have some reservations that I’d like to talk to you about.”

“Uh-huh,” I said. We’d already talked about sex—again, not like I was having any—but she loved bringing it up to prove how open and hip she was.

“I’d like to talk to you about triangles.”

Okay. That was new.

“The triangle is a curious shape,” Mom went on. “In architecture, it’s one of the strongest…”

“Mom, can you just say what you mean and not go all sphinx on me?”

“Celia, it continues to be one of the great ironies of my life that I gave birth to a Capricorn.”

“Well, sorry I came early.”

“Your timeline was your own, and you arrived exactly as you were supposed to. And you know, baby girl, I couldn’t have been happier to see you, tiny as you were, five pounds, three ounces.…”

“Mom, are you crying?”

“You were just so little once,” she said, wiping her eyes.

Oh, brother.

“Let’s go back to triangles,” I said.

“Let’s,” she agreed. “Three people can be tough to navigate in a friendship.”

I almost laughed. That was what she came to tell me? I, too, had gone through middle school, Mom. My favorite show was Power Jam, which relied heavily on the love triangle between Kenna, Blade, and Louisa to motivate its plot. I knew that three people could be tricky. I also knew my friends.

“Ros, Touch, and I have been friends for forever. I think we’ll be okay.”

“New situations can bring out new things in people. Yes, you’ve known Andrew and Ros forever, but you haven’t lived with them. You certainly have never been on your own with them in such a big way before. Not to mention Ros’s life has gone through some fairly radical shifts in the past year. Just—communicate with us, okay? Keep us in the loop. Be patient with everyone. Be patient with yourself.”

“Okay. I promise to be patient.”

“Celia.”

“What? I promise! I’ll be so patient I’ll make molasses jealous. I’ll be so patient I’ll grow moss.”