"Babe, I don't know why you're nervous," Jess said. I was pacing back and forth next to the dining room table while she sat.

"You know why I'm nervous," I said.

"But, sweetie, you have nothing to worry about," she reassured me. "This was a long time coming. I'm surprised she didn't reach out sooner."

"Have you thought about what it means for us?" I asked.

"We've been through this," she said. Her smile was a mixture of calming warmth and annoyance. "Kat is still one of my closest friends. I was sad when everything went down the way it did. If we could go back to the way it...