Seeing it always makes me smile. I know she got it while on her semester abroad in Florence. She bought the same one for me. I let myself into her apartment and throw my duffel down. I packed in a hurry—most of the stuff in my dad’s loft belonged to him, anyway—as if I couldn’t wait a minute longer to get out. But when your father is throwing you out of his apartment, it’s best to leave in haste, isn’t it? Chloe’s not around, since she’s on an extended business trip to San Francisco. Her firm’s opening a new office, and she and her boss were sent over to supervise the art department. It’s cool that she’s so respected at work that her boss saw fit to bring her, out of all of the other associates, but I miss her. Life’s been a total whirlwind since the Lonely Hearts Club Web site took off, and I could really use my best friend. But Chloe said that it would work out perfectly—I could crash at her place while she was away and get acclimated to my new adult life. One where I don’t rely on the kindness of Daddy to get me by, and have to make some actual money to survive.
