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f r i c t i o n

Cody lurches forward with pride. "You sounded magnificent up there. Your solo during the third piece was exquisite. I'm glad the director is finally recognizing your talent with a bow."

"Yeah, well, pretty soon it'll be me telling him how to run the show."

"And the orchestra will be much better for it. You're a genius."

I hope Nova will send us off with a thank you and a goodbye so I can wait for Stryker's bullet at home, alone, soaking my feet in my portable foot jacuzzi, but she has other ideas.

"Listen up, Mel. Big things are happening to me right now and I need your support. It's imperative. I pray I can count on you in this time of great upheaval," she takes my shoulder and smiles like a hungry alligator. "So I gotta spill. Girl-talk. Are you listening?"

"Is it another boy? It's another boy, isn't it?"

"Psh. No." Nova licks her purple lips and Cody's eyes track the subtle movement. "Boys are so last year. Boys wear knitted beanies and write crappy cigarette poetry about women they've wronged. Boys try to suckle at your breast to cope with their devastating mommy issues. When boys say 'I love you' it really means 'I'm going to waste a few months of your life and hang you out to dry.' I'm into Men now. Fully grown Men. With beards and mortgages and retirement plans. Real Men know how to take care of a lady. And my Man is here, in this building, right now!"

"Oh? Is he dreamy? Is he a skydiving astronaut who cooks, cleans, loves dogs and babies?"

"All that and then some, Jill."

"That's not a man, that's a headache waiting to happen." Jillian, the mother of a daughter Nova's age, is unconvinced. "How'd you meet this fella, anyhow?"

Nova bubbles with excitement. "I met him at a publicity event last week. You know, for the tour. It was a fundraising gala or something. And he was just so magnetizing. I was drawn to him like a moth to a flame, and he to I. It was like magic. I told him about my performance tonight not expecting much but he bought a ticket right there in front of me. And he showed up! He wants me. I know it."

"That's not what we're questioning here."

My lips twitch. "Whatever happened to Garrett? Your last fling? A few month ago he was your one and only. I think 'future bae' was the phrase you used. Excessively."

"Ew. Melanie, I love you but sometimes you ask the dumbest questions. Anyways, my Man found me backstage before the show and guess what? He brought me perfume!"

"No!"

"Yes! He clocked Sara Eros on me at the gala and thought this new fragrance would complement my natural scents better."

Nova holds her wrist up to my nose. "Behold! The power of pheromones and black currants."

Her Man was right. Her wrist smells great.

Silent beside us, Cody watches his colony of wilting roses drip on the floor.

"Okay, and what exactly is my role in all of this?" I ask.

"He's a documentarian from PBS. Wait, no, it's actually A&E. Or is it Buzzfeed? Whatever, nevermind, what matters is he's currently working on his latest feature film and he's decided to focus the whole piece on me!"

"Wow. Really?"

"Don't sound so surprised. My presence carries very well on camera. But I need you by my side to hype up my better qualities. Be my wing-woman. Convince him I'm not a hot mess so he'll think I'm not absolutely insane, and then by the time we're married with two kids it'll be too late."