Jared refilled all their glasses, emptying the bottle. Lou knew that after this glass she would go home. One shared bottle on Thursdays had become a comforting ritual.

“The Pink Bean has a new barista,” Jared said. “I was hoping they would hire a hot guy for once, even though deep down I knew those lesbians would never go for it. But have you seen her, Lou? She’s the kind of hot that makes a dyed-in-the-wool queer guy like me turn my head.”

Lou nearly spurted out her wine. She put down her glass and didn’t say anything.

“Lou?” Phil prodded. “Are you okay?”

Lou took a deep breath. She had believed she would never have to speak of this again. That the box she had put that awful, demeaning chapter of her life in could remain closed forever.

“Yes. I have seen her and have actually met her.” Lou tried to keep her voice steady. “Her name is Mia. Mia Miller.”

She peered at Phil, one of her oldest friends, trying to gauge if he would remember. Lou hadn’t uttered the name Mia Miller in a very long time. She hadn’t needed to anymore. Both she and Phil had lived a lifetime between then and now.

Phil’s eyes went wide. “Not that Mia Miller?” he asked.

“The one and only.” Lou’s voice broke a little, which she hated herself for. Mia shouldn’t still hold this power over her. But it had been the shock of coming face to face with her when she least expected it that had been the worst of it.

“And who is this Mia Miller if I may be so ignorant to ask?” Jared said.

“She used to—” Phil started, undoubtedly trying to spare Lou from having to say the words out loud, but Lou put a hand on his forearm and he stopped talking.

“We both went to Queen Mary. She was a year above me and had quite the reputation for stirring up trouble and bullying. Then she had to redo her last year, putting us in the same class, and she promptly found a new target for her cruel jokes.”

Jared quirked up his eyebrows. “You?”

Lou nodded. “I was never the most popular girl in school. I was never going to be with the color of my skin in a predominantly white school. But I got on. Got good grades. Moved around semi-comfortably in my small circle of friends. Then Mia Miller came along, set her sights on me, ruined my last year of high school and destroyed my spirit along the way.” Lou tried to gain strength from drawing in another deep breath. “It was a long time ago.”

“It doesn’t matter that it was a long time ago.” Jared tried to find her gaze.