Arla looked into her mother’s face. “I can talk to you.”
Barbara gave the hand another squeeze.
Arla said, “I should get back to my place.”
“You sure? You can stay here as long as you like.”
“No. I should get back.” She smiled sadly. “Need to update my résumé.”
“Sure.” Barbara paused. “I’ll see you home.”
“Can you stay awake that long?”
Barbara knew, eventually, she would crash, and crash hard. But not just yet. While Arla showered, Barbara got into something slightly more presentable than her sweats — jeans and a pullover sweater. When Arla was done in the bathroom, Barbara handed her some of her own clothes she believed would fit her.
They took a cab to Arla’s. On the way, Arla leaned over and rested her head on her mother’s shoulder. They didn’t speak.
Barbara paid the driver and the two of them went into Arla’s building.
When they got to the elevator, another woman was standing there. Nicely dressed, silvery hair, pearl earrings. She was carrying a Whole Foods bag.
Arla nodded at her. “Hey.”
The woman smiled politely.
Arla turned to her mother. “This is the woman I was telling you about.”
Barbara blinked, not understanding. The woman looked at Arla, who said, “You’re the book editor, right?”
She nodded. “That’s right.”
The elevator doors parted and the three of them stepped on. The woman pressed the button for the tenth floor, while Arla hit twelve.
“My mom’s got an idea for a book,” Arla said, smiling. “Maybe a couple.”
“Oh,” said the woman, doing a very good job of concealing her excitement.
Arla prodded her mother. “Tell her.”
“You’ll have to be quick,” the editor said. “I’m getting off at ten.”
Barbara smiled tiredly. “I don’t think we’ll need that much time.”
Acknowledgments
There are a lot of people, scattered across both sides of the Atlantic, who helped immeasurably with getting this book to you.
At HarperCollins UK, thanks go out to Charlie Redmayne, Lisa Milton, Kate Mills, Alvar Jover, Joe Thomas, Sophie Calder, Anna Derkacz, Georgina Green, Fliss Porter, and Jo Rose.
At William Morrow/HarperCollins US, I am indebted to Liate Stehlik, Jennifer Brehl, Gena Lanzi, Nate Lanman, Ryan Shepherd, Andrea Molitor, Mumtaz Mustafa, Andy LeCount, and Brian Grogan.
And at Doubleday Canada, I am grateful for the support of Kristin Cochrane, Amy Black, Ashley Dunn, and the rest of the team.
As always, I want to thank my agent Helen Heller and everyone at The Helen Heller Agency, as well as Enrique Galo, Phil Gillin, Marcie Sherwood, and Steve Fisher.
And to booksellers everywhere, thank you.