Micky filled her cheeks with air, then let the air seep out of her mouth slowly. “There’s only one thing you can do, Lou.” She tilted her head. “Talk to her about it.”

“If only that wasn’t the very last thing on my agenda.”

“You’ve been getting on better lately, haven’t you?”

“Getting on? I’ve been tolerating her because she’s helping out my mother’s friend.” Lou finally looked Micky in the eye. “And you, us, the studio. But I don’t want to talk to her. Not about any of that. We had our conversation. I confronted her. I can be civilized to her, but that’s it.”

“And that’s the part I don’t believe,” Micky said. “We wouldn’t be sitting here having this conversation if that was all you wanted. You wouldn’t have talked to Amber about her if you didn’t have an urge to truly put this behind you. I think the only way you can even begin to do so, now that you’ve come face-to-face with her again, is by having a conversation. Not a confrontation, but an open talk, where both parties get to say their piece.”

Lou shook her head. “I’m not sure I can do that.”

“But you can at least try.” Micky was not letting Lou off the hook easily.

“It’s good to know she has charmed you.”

“She hasn’t charmed me, Lou. She’s just a genuinely nice person. And I truly believe that, even knowing what I do about her.”

“I have to get ready for my next class,” Lou said and rose. Deep down, she knew there was truth in what Micky had said, and if Mia truly had such good excuses for her past behavior, part of her was curious to learn all about them—if only to refute them. But the whole thing didn’t sit right with her. She wanted to be reminded of that time as little as possible, and she was finally able to be around Mia without only thinking about that. Which was a big step forward already. She wasn’t sure when she’d be ready for the next one, because this was beginning to feel like one step forward and two steps back.

The conversations she’d had with Micky and Amber kept stirring in Lou’s mind. Pieces of them would catch her unawares while she was teaching or even just walking past the Pink Bean. Then there was the image of Mia herself that wouldn’t leave her alone. Of present-day Mia, not the girl she once knew, but the woman who made her coffee and had come to Annie’s rescue.