work to do or whatever. Go on about your business. I’m gonna jump online for a few, if you don’t mind. I need to touch base with my family.”
While I went to get her a bottle out of the fridge, she made herself at home on Jo’s sofa. I still didn’t know what family she had here. Why wasn’t she staying with them?
I set the water on the coffee table. “Is everything okay?”
She didn’t answer. I glanced over to find she’d shoved in her headphones. Her laptop was opened to the fan site, and she’d gone first to post our picture instead of checking in with her family.
I opened my own laptop and logged in. I had enough work to do that I could forget about Ash for another hour, but then my stomach started to rumble. As if she was reading my mind, Jo texted: Are you hungry? I’m on my way home and can’t stop thinking of tacos. There’s a little place around the corner where we could meet.
Starving. But Ash is here now. Can I invite her along?
I’d love to meet her. Zion just texted too. Andrew’s out of town, still. It will be the four of us.
Perfect. Send me the coordinates. I’ll meet you there.
I waved to get Ash’s attention. “Hey.”
She glanced up and pulled out an earbud. “Yeah?”
“I’m going out to meet Jo for dinner in a bit. You’re welcome to come.”
Her entire face lit up. “Seriously? That would be amazing.”
“You don’t need to meet up with your family?”
She dismissed the question with a dramatic eye roll. “You’d think. I’ve got some time.”
“Is someone sick?”
“No. Nothing like that.” She didn’t elaborate. I narrowed my eyes at her, expecting her to give me something, but she jumped up and rummaged through her bag. “Do you mind if I change?”
Without waiting for an answer, she climbed the stairs, and the next thing I heard was her exclaiming over pictures of the band upstairs. She yelled down, “Is this Micah’s guitar?”
I held my breath and tried to remember that I hadn’t been any less excited a few weeks earlier.
Ash came back down the stairs wearing an actual Theater of the Absurd concert T-shirt, ripped jeans, and she’d put on serious eyeliner and lip gloss. I had to say, “The T-shirt might be a little much.”
She looked down at herself. “It was this or a Walking Disaster T. Considering the circumstances, I figured this was less offensive.”
I wanted to tell her, first of all, Jo wouldn’t be offended by a Walking Disaster T-shirt. Second, I wanted to know what possessed her to fly across the country with nothing but concert T-shirts.
Then I remembered my own suitcase. If I hadn’t brought professional clothes, I’d be wearing pajama pants and concert shirts. “One sec.”
I went upstairs and dug through my own meager wardrobe until I found a plain black knit top that would probably fit her. I took it down and tossed it over. “Try this on.”
Like a pouty teen, she exhaled. “Fine.”
“You don’t have to wear it. I figured you’d want to meet Jo as a person rather than a fan.”
“But I am a fan. What’s the difference?”
“Do whatever you want, but we need to get going.”
On our way down the outside steps, she asked, “Who else will be there?” She was practically bearing down on me.
“Just Jo and one of her friends.”
“Eden?”
“Not Eden.” Before she could ask, I added, “Or Adam.” At least I doubted it. With the baby to watch, they seemed to spend most of their time socializing at home or where they could bring the kid, but what did I know? I’d only observed them for a little while.
“How did you get to meet them?”
I’d already explained it, but as soon as I said, “Jo introduced us,” I could already follow the leaps of logic that Ash might make. If she met Jo, she might also meet Adam.
I still found it incredibly annoying that she’d somehow managed to glom this experience off me. For the first time, I considered the suspicions that had been growing. I let myself imagine that maybe she’d made up the family emergency.
We didn’t speak again until we’d walked a few blocks. Then she started asking questions. “What part of Brooklyn are we in? Where does Adam live? Are we close to where Shane lives? Do you know where they rehearse?”
“Who?”
“The band.”
“Which band?”
This went on the entire way over. Finally, we arrived. The restaurant wasn’t much to look at, but Jo had