“I can understand it might have been a shock to see you, and that you and Lou will never be best friends, but it happened fifteen years ago. How old were you? Seventeen? Chris is approaching that age and although he’s very mature for a sixteen-year-old, a lot of the time, he’s still just a child. And the mind of a child is so influenceable. I don’t mean to absolve you of all the blame. What you did was wrong. I just don’t think you should still be punished for it now. Kids get bullied. Life is hard. So many things that shouldn’t happen, do happen, leave scars, hurt people. That’s the very essence of life, just like making mistakes is, and learning from them.”

“I’m not sure I deserve your kindness.” Micky’s words stunned Mia.

“It’s not kindness, Mia. It’s common sense. A mother’s common sense.” She expelled a sigh. “Do I have your permission to talk to Amber about this? You are helping us. You are helping our business, yet she won’t have a simple conversation with you. That’s not right.” She straightened her back. “If people can’t be forgiven for the mistakes they made in the past, if we keep on treating them like the people who made that mistake years later, and fail to give them a second chance, how can we ever expect them to truly change?” Micky shook her head. “Look at you, Mia. You may not feel like one right now, but you’re a beautiful person. You are kind and helpful and full of good will. I may not have known you for that long, but I know that much.”

“Thank you,” Mia uttered.

“Have you talked about these things with anyone after they happened?” A concerned tone took over Micky’s voice.

Mia shook her head in quick bursts. “I couldn’t talk about it. I was too ashamed.”

“That’s the sort of shame that will eat you alive if you don’t address it.” She tilted her head. “So, what do you say? Can I tell Amber about this conversation?”

This impromptu talk with Micky was making Mia realize she’d been holding on to a lot of tension ever since that evening at Glow. She tensed up every time Lou or Amber turned up at the Pink Bean. She had her guard up when she simply walked from the bus stop to the coffee shop, fearing she might run into them and get an earful. Emotions Lou must have been so familiar with back when they were in school together.