Chapter 0216
“Did you mean it?” Chloe asks, her voice quieter than before. “What you said on TV today? About
everyone here?”
I reach out and take both of their hands in mine, aware of how mmy my palms are but not caring in
the slightest.
“Every single word,” I assure her, my eyes flicking between Chloe and Leah. “You both have been with
me through thick and thin. I couldn’t have asked for better friends.”
Leah’s eyes glisten, a testament to the emotional weight of our journey together. “And we couldn’t have
asked for a better friend than you, Abby. You make this ce feel like home.”
“I second that,” Chloe says, squeezing my hand.
“No matter where life takes us,” I continue, “know that nothing—no cook-off, no restaurant reviews, and
definitely no drama—will evere between us again.”
‘We’ll hold you to that,” Leah says with a yful wink.
“We don’t have to,” Chloe counters. “Because I know she means it.”
There’s a pause as the three of us blink our tears away and take another sip. Then, with a grin, Leah
leans on my shoulder.
“Man,” she says, letting out a sigh. “Maybe I should work here. I feel left out.”
Chloe chuckles. “Yeah, like you wouldn’t cry if a customer is mean to you.”
Leah giggles. “You’re right. I think I’m better suited in an office, tucked away from the general public.”
I’m just about to open my mouth to say something else when the music suddenly bes almost
deafeningly loud. The three of us turn to see Anton standing by the stereo, swaying back and forth to
the music.
“Abby! Come show us how you move!” Anton shouts over the music, beckoning me toward the
makeshift dance floor between tables.
Iugh, setting down my ss. “All right, you asked for it!”
Anton grins, his eyes twinkling in the dim light. “In France, we have a saying: ‘Life is a grand dance,
and we’re all just trying to keep up.’ So let’s dance!”
“I’ll do my best!” I promise, stepping into the open space.
We both get into it, the spirit of the night giving permission for unfiltered joy. Anton kicks up a leg and
then twirls dramatically, his chef’s apron swinging around him like a matador’s cape. I mimic him,
throwing in a few silly moves of my own—a mix of the robot and some awkward moonwalking.
“Oh my god, what is that?” Leah asks, doubled over withughter as she captures the whole thing on
her phone.
“It’s the ‘Abby Shuffle,’ patent pending!” I shout over the music. Chloe isughing so hard she nearly
spills her drink.
Anton and I finish off with a mock bow and curtsy, soaking in the apuse andughter from our
friends. It’s silly, it’s fun, and it’s the kind of thing that makes life worth savoring.
But as the night wears on, my eyes keep drifting to Karl. He’s across the room, talking with John, his
expressions animated and passionate. There’s something about the way he carries himself, the
seriousness that bnces my spontaneity, which has always drawn me to him.
And then, as if on cue, I see him slip away, heading towards the back alley. He doesn’t look back, but
something in the way he exits the room gives me pause. It’s a kind of quiet retreat, a brief withdrawal
from the whirlwind of socializing.
The urge to follow him is too strong to resist.
I grab a bottle of wine from the bar, ncing briefly at my friends, who are too absorbed in their game
of charades to notice me slip away behind Karl. I find him a momentter outside, surrounding by the
streetlights and the sounds of the city.
He’s leaning against the brick wall, his head tilted back. His eyes are wandering the night sky, although
the city lights block out the stars.
He looks over as I approach. There’s a flicker of something in his eyes that I can’t quite read, followed
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by a softening of his gaze.
“Hey,” he says.
“Hey,” I return. I hold up the bottle and shake it slightly. “Need somepany?”