A Star Is Born

Stay

"Yes, I'm aware. But helping her is what helps me." I get up off the burnt yellow couch just as the timer goes off. "Well, thank you for listening."

"You are paying me well." She jokes with a warm smile.

"Yes I am, so I expect excellent results." I point my finger at her.

"Those results come from you, Harry. I'm just pointing you in the right direction, no pun intended." She throws her long hair behind her back, showing off-what I'm assuming-is her engagement ring.

"Ah," I gasp. "Why didn't you tell me?!" My voice gets reasonably higher.

"Good, you finally noticed." She rolls her eyes with sarcasm.

"Ashe finally proposed, huh?" I grin widely.

"She did. I was staring to think I was going to have to do it." She huffs her laugh.

"When did she do it?" I push her for all the details.

"Last Thursday, on the beach, at sunset." She brags.

"Really?" My head tilts to the side in doubt.

"Hell no! You think we're that predictable?" Miranda cringes, chuckling at my gullible self. "No, we were on a hike at like five in the morning and she just blurted it out and handed me the ring."

"Well, that sounds more like you two." I chuckle with a nod of my head. "Hey, you and Ashley should come over for dinner to celebrate." I suggest.

"And eat your cooking? I don't know about that." She doubts playfully.

"Ha. Ha. You're hilarious. Mum is an excellent teacher, actually. I can ask for her help with a recipe. You're still vegan, right?"

"Always." She nods with a charming smile.

"Great, then I'll see you later. Will seven work?" I look at my watch to read the time. 4:00.

"Yup, see you then. And I'll schedule you for next Tuesday at 3:00." She types away at her computer.

"Sound good, have a good day." I wave as I walk through the door.

"See ya." She says a bit loudly as I make my way down the small hallway.

Through our dinner, Jordyn was less than present, I guess you would say. She stared at her plate the whole time and ran her fork over her food, but she never took one single bite. When someone made a joke or laughed she would force a smile onto her lips. When Miranda or Ashley tried to make conversation with her she would answer, but made not effort to keep the conversation going. It died just about as quickly as it was born.

I walk Miranda and Ashe out to their car. "Well, that was um..." Ashe tries to think of a nice thing to say about this evening-or Jordyn, more like-but comes up short. Minus her compliment on our meal. "It really was amazing. If you couldn't sing, you would definitely have a backup career."

"I think I'll stick with music, but thank you for your faith in me." I answer with subtle sarcasm.

"Jordyn seems nice." Miranda lies out of decency.

"She is, I promise. It's just-I don't know what's happening to her. She won't talk to me." I came a little closer to mutter my seemingly harsh words so there was no chance Jordyn could hear, even though she's in the house. I guess it was really more out of guilt for saying them to start with.

"Just remember, she just needs time." Miranda assures with a gentle squeeze on my arm.

"She's right, Harry. My brother and his wife went through the same thing and they just needed time to process." Ashe comments, trying to find the silver lining.