Page 52 of Second Verse

Poppy frowned. ‘Do you mean a girl group?’

‘It’s a group with girls, yes. I can see you’re thinking that’s not your bag, but this would be different. You’d all play instruments.’

Poppy was spinning out. On the one hand, she was being potentially recruited. On the other, she had never wanted to be a Spice Girl—not even slightly. She wanted to be PJ Harvey in an ideal world.

‘Look, I know what you’re thinking. But you have to remember, this kind of thing can be a stepping stone. If you get the job, it’s just the start. You can move in a lot of different directions with a high profile.’

Poppy had to admit, it was a persuasive argument. Still, she was unsure. She wanted to make music. But like this?

‘So, a demo?’ Jeff asked hopefully.

‘I’ve been working on some stuff,’ she admitted. ‘I’m not sure if I have anything you’d be—’

‘Send me your most polished track,’ he said quickly. ‘The thing you’re most proud of.’

It wasn’t hard to choose. It was “Norah’s Song.” It was easily the one she poured the most hours into. Still, she’d never actually thought anyone else would ever hear it. Showing it to Jeff seemed a bit mad. It would be like flopping her diary and saying, ‘Check it out. I got my heart smashed to bits, and it was all my own fault.’ Poppy didn’t love the idea.

Jeff was watching her carefully. ‘What is it?’

‘What? Nothing.’

‘You have a song in mind, I can tell,’ he said smugly.

‘I mean, yes. Sort of. But I wasn’t thinking it was for... consumption,’ Poppy explained carefully.

‘If it’s your best work, you’d be selling yourself short by not letting me hear it, wouldn’t you? And I’d hate you to miss your shot at a real career because you didn’t put your best foot forward,’ he explained smoothly.

Though Poppy didn’t know if this was a shot she wanted, something was compelling about Jeff’s tone. What if this wasit? What if this was the only real opportunity she’d ever get in her whole life, and she was sitting here, considering letting it pass her by? She was going to feel so fucking stupid in twenty years, knowing she was a miserable failure who could have had it all.

But more than that, Poppy was in so much pain right now. She needed something else to think about other than Norah. She needed to stop missing her with her whole body and soul. She needed to lock onto something,anythingelse.

‘OK, I’ll send you the song,’ Poppy agreed.

Twenty-One

Now

Spring was springing, and winter was finally packing its bags and fucking off. Norah was glad for more than just a weather change. Christmas had not been fun. They’d hosted Max’s parents, who were divorced for good reason. Watching them pretend to be polite to each other (while being passive-aggressive on an unholy level) set Norah’s teeth on edge.

And she was no stranger to a pass-agg parent. Luckily, her own mother was on a winter cruise, so she hadn’t added her dark little soul to the proceedings. The dinner table probably would have collapsed under the weight of bile.

But it wasn’t all bad. Freddie had loved the visit to Santa, getting his new bike, and a trip to the ice-skating rink. Watching him experience joy was like feeling it herself.

As the days grew longer and warmer, Norah felt a sense of relief. She could finally take Freddie out to play in the park without having to bundle him up in multiple layers. She’d taken to meeting Poppy there with Luna on a Sunday afternoon, and it was a regular thing now.

Little did Norah know that the end of winter hadn’t seen off the dark days. There was so much worse to come.

But sitting next to Poppy, watching the kids trying to double mount the rope swing, she thought things were getting better. Good, even. She and Max were rowing much less. If thatwas because he was out all the time, then so be it. Peace was peace. They’d decided to stop the counselling. They agreed that they’d gotten all they could out of it.

And things were growing ever more comfortable with Poppy. She was becoming a good friend. It was very nearly like the old days, before... Well,before. Norah was shocked at how grateful she was for that. She hadn’t noticed it, but a lot of her friendships had fallen off when Freddie came along. She was just so busy and tired that there wasn’t time for things like hanging out with someone who understood her. Having it in her life again was pretty wonderful.

Poppy was now her best friend. The girl who broke Norah’s heart was gone. One night of passion and a few dozen days of tears couldn’t count for much in the thousands of days spent on this silly blue marble. It was a blink. Something to be forgotten.

But Norahhadn’tforgotten, exactly. But she didn’t focus on it. And that meant it was past, didn’t it? Like the time she broke her wrist coming off the swing when she was seven. She hadn’t forgotten how it felt, but it didn’t hurt anymore. It was just a memory of pain, not pain itself. Though, just occasionally, when it was damp, her wrist did ache a touch. But the metaphor tracked, for the most part.

‘Hey, are you going to that PTA thing on Friday?’ Norah asked as they watched the kids flying across the zipline together, screaming with delight.

Poppy looked at her in surprise. ‘No, are you?’

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