“You were so good!” she says, pulling back and holding me at arm’s length to look at me.

“Curtain call!” the stage manager yells, then gestures like a furious crossing guard for us to go, go, go.

Antony goes out, the audience doing a general, ambient round of applause for him.

I go out for my bow. People start to stand and cheer.

I look back for Aimee, stretching my hand out toward her and stepping out of the center so she can bow as director, writer, and star.

The crowd roars for her.

When we do the final bow together, I look down in front and see Cillian. He’s beaming at me, clapping hard and loud. He stops and puts two fingers between his lips and whistles loudly.

Of course he can do that. Who knew I was so into hot boy whistles?

The curtains close eventually. Antony steps off into the wings, making exhausted sounds, as if tonight was a lot for him, and I’m left alone onstage with Aimee.

“I meant what I said,” she says. “The dream was so vivid.”

“I never told you it was raining.”

“I know. I know. I saw it all. It came out of nowhere but I swear I remembered or knew or … something. Like how you know that none of this is your imagination.” She shrugs, at a loss.

“This is a lot.”

“It’s a lot. And I’m sorry, Meg. I’ve been such a bitch. It’s, you know, we haven’t talked much, and then you suddenly start telling me I’m dead, I mean, this is all such unknown territory. I believe you, but believing you means accepting something really, really hard and scary.”

“I know, I know. There’s no right way to do this. I’m so sorry, so mad at myself that I never let you be with the person you loved without complaining. It’s not my business. It’s not.”

“No, but that’s what friends are for! And it did help. I mean, when you left and I was alone with him in Florida, I knew he wasn’t getting his life together. It was your voice in my head that told me to choose myself. It was sort of an If you love something, let it go situation. I did, and it worked out. I couldn’t have done that if you’d been blindly supportive.”

“But I was jealous, too, in a lot of ways. You were right. I’m sorry.”