“That’s my question,” Samiah said. “You’re the one who came up with this idea to dedicate six months to working toward our goals. As I recall, teaching phys ed to a bunch of kids wasn’t on that list.”

Taylor glanced down at the table. When she looked back up, Samiah detected a hint of disappointment in her eyes. She wasn’t sold on this homeschooling thing either.

Samiah reached over and covered her hand. “You know, hon, money isn’t everything.”

Taylor pulled her hand away. “Says the one with the fancy-ass downtown condo and high-paying tech job.”

Point made.

“Okay, yes, money is nice. It’s great. But so is enjoying your work. How long will you continue to push your dreams to the side, Taylor? How happy do you think you’ll be if you put your consulting business on the back burner for months—maybe even years?”

Taylor picked up her glass and drained it before setting it on the table with a thump.

“If it means I can make my rent, then it really doesn’t matter.” She lifted her shoulders in a defeated shrug. “Dreams are good and all, but a sistah got bills to pay.”

“Amen,” London said, holding her hand up for a high five.

Taylor reached over to slap her palm, but then pulled back. “Wait! You’re a rich doctor, what do you know about bills?”

“Want me to show you what I pay in malpractice insurance and student loans?”

“Ah, okay.” They high-fived each other across the table.

Samiah considered pointing out that she hadn’t always lived in her fancy-ass condo. She knew what it was like to dodge phone calls from bill collectors. At one time, her parents had a script next to the telephone with the various excuses they were to give if anyone called asking about a late payment.

But that wasn’t her life anymore, and she would not apologize for no longer having to fret over how she would keep the lights on.

Still, Taylor’s struggle was a stark reminder of just how lucky she was. Now that she’d completed the prototype and moved into the design phase of her app, it was costing more time, money, and brainpower than she’d anticipated, but Samiah couldn’t imagine how much harder it would be to do this work while also worrying about how her mortgage would get paid.

She had zero excuses when it came to realizing her dream. She’d better not squander it.

After getting refills on their margaritas, the conversation turned to the phone call London had been on when Samiah arrived.

“You should have seen the transformation,” Taylor said. “She went from my homegirl London to Dr. Kelley in two seconds flat. And from what I can tell, Dr. Kelley does not play.”