Avery laughs. “You know, I thought the same. I was so sure I didn’t want any. And now here I am, thirty-eight, thinking about what summer camps I should send my imaginary kids to.”

“If you have them soon,” Minami tells her, “we can take them to the park together, and you can defend me from the moms who make fun of my galaxy leggings.”

“That’s not defensible,” Nyota mutters, but Avery nods eagerly.

“As soon as I find a guy who’s not a serial killer or a Tesla fanboy, I’m coming to kick their butts.”

“You used to date Hark, right?” Tisha asks, lifting her head. After a handful of tries, she manages to lean it against her closed fist. “Which one is he, serial killer or Tesla fanboy?”

“Neither. But he is emotionally unavailable. At least he has been open about the fact that there’s someone else and he can’t reciprocate my feelings. It’s refreshing, after my ex fucked around on me.”

Tisha rolls her eyes. “I hate emotionally unavailable people.”

“You made Diego propose three times before accepting,” Rue points out.

“That’s different. Men need to be kept on their toes—”

“Hang on,” Tamryn interrupts. “Three times?”

The conversation moves to the three different rings poor Diego bought, and no one but me notices it, the slight stiffening in Minami’s spine. Her quiet steps as she leaves down the stone path, just a few minutes later.

I assess the rest of the group. Despite their glazed eyes and uncontrollable fits of giggles, I believe they can be trusted not to walk off the cliff and impale themselves on a prickly pear. “Minami, wait,” I say, running after her.

She replies without turning. “Um, I’m just going up to see if the babysitter Lucrezia recommended is doing okay with Kaede, I’ll be right…” She cuts off. Because I’m standing in front of her, and it’s obvious, even in the shadows, that her cheeks are tearstained.

It’s not the first time I’ve seen Minami cry. She did so at my dad’s funeral, and at least a dozen times more in the following years. This is different, though, and I doubt it has anything to do with the announcement she just made. The pinched tension in her face is closer to anger than sadness.

“I just…” Her fists tighten. She shakes her head, as if talking herself out of something.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. No. I’m…” She screws her eyes shut, then finds the closest bench, elbows on her knees. Takes several long breaths before saying, “I just need a minute.”

I take a seat next to her, patting her shoulder with my hand. I think I know what set her off, but…“Is this…Is it what Avery said?”

A nod. “I—I adore her. I’m so happy she’s at Harkness. Before she came on board it was a fucking sausage-fest in those rooms, and I…” She straightens up. Her throat works. “I’m tired of being dragged into this. It’s been over a decade. Everyone assumes—even Eli is so sure that one day I just fell out of love and irreparably broke Hark’s heart. But that’s not…” She wipes at her cheek. “This is probably Hark’s fault. I wish I knew what the hell he tells people, when they ask why we broke up.”