“What?” Carly said. Concern flared, as a chill off the pool smacked her flat in the face. She snuggled into her hoodie and waited for Lauren to say something.

“The Hennessy film. They offered it to me.”

“Oh.” She paused, taking that in. “They did? Wow.” The information hovered. She wasn’t quite able to absorb the parameters of what it all meant. “That’s fantastic, Lauren.”

Lauren shook her head. “No. It’s not. I just feel like it has to be some kind of mistake.”

Carly sat up straight, forcing herself to rise to this damn occasion and handle it with as much grace as she possibly could. Sure, it felt like the one thing she’d pinned all her hopes on in desperation had just collapsed all around her in grand fashion like one of those buildings they implode on purpose. Step one, however, was to be happy for Lauren.

“It absolutely was not. You’re good at this whole acting thing, and people are taking notice. Celebrate that.”

Lauren had gone white. “But this was supposed to be yours.” She stood as if needing to take some kind of action, yet not sure what. “I’ll tell them I don’t want it. I think that’s what needs to happen. I don’t need any of this, Carly. In fact, I’m not even sure that it’s me.”

Carly balked and stood with Lauren, taking her hands. “That would be insane. You get that, right? Of course you want it. The film could open doors for you.”

“Do I even want doors open? I’m happy as I am. I like my life.”

“I think you owe it to yourself.”

At the same time, Carly was aware of what this meant for herself. They were outside in the open, yet it still felt like the world was closing in on her. Her sense of self drifted farther away by the minute, and grapple as she might, she couldn’t quite get her stomach under control. It pitched and roiled.

“Carly,” Lauren said, as Carly dropped her hands. “I don’t know what to say here.”

“Don’t say anything,” Carly said and kissed her cheek. She was wildly aware of the ticking clock, and the fact that she didn’t have a lot of time before this holding-it-together thing was going to expire. An uncomfortable lump had already formed in her throat, and she needed to get the hell out of there. She retrieved her coffee and inclined her head toward her home. “I’m gonna go do some reading. I think the new Variety came yesterday. Congratulations, Lauren.” She turned her back and headed toward the back door. She didn’t get more than ten feet before the tears pooled in her eyes.

As long as Carly had known her, Lauren had been sensitive when it came to other people’s emotions, and to her credit, she let Carly go.