Chapter 21: Mother Time

I was grateful for the band. Heather’s departures were never a good thing for me, inevitably the start of a long slide down into wistful distance, but the fact that I could go from our final embrace to playing my guitar within fifteen minutes was at the very least a welcomed distraction.

“So we need to start thinking about a set for the battle,” I said, once we’d played a few numbers to warm up and clear the farewell feelings as best we could. “We have six originals, so we’ll need another five.”

“We’re allowed eleven?” Lara asked.

“Yep. Ideas?”

“I have another song I’ve been writing,” Tommy said. “It’s called Roadblock.”

“All right, but is it tricky like Absinthe, though?” I asked.

“Naw, it’s not as much. And Lara, maybe you’ll sing on it with me.”

“Sure, I’d love to.”

“Sounds like you’re still working on it, though,” I joked.

He laughed. “True, lad, true! But it’s almost done, don’t worry.”

“Okay. Assuming that works out, we need four more.”

There was some shrugging as we looked at each other.

“What are The Nameless going to play?” Lara asked.

“I’m going to try to find out from Pete. But to be safe we probably should avoid anything we used to do with them.”

“Which leaves us basically nothing else,” Lara muttered. “Can we just play our originals and be done?”

“Jonah said exactly eleven, to make it fair.”

Lara made a face. “Whatever that means.”

“We could try Of Course,” Muireann said, rather shyly.

I nodded appreciatively. “Yeah? You’re wanting to give it a shot?”

“Aye, though I haven’t practiced it during the visit. But I was getting some of it last week.”

“It doesn’t have to be exactly what they do on the record,” Tommy said.

“I know that.”

“All right, we can try it,” I said, excited at her announcement, even if it was tentative.

We tossed out a few more songs, but without knowing the other band’s repertoire it seemed pointless to speculate.

“I think it’s probably best if we wait to see what Pete says, and then we can pick the last two.”

“Well at least let’s get going on the ones we know,” Lara urged.

“Hold up, one more thing,” I said. “I know this isn’t going to be easy, but I think we need a drummer. If we want a shot at winning this thing, anyway. Jonah’s crowd is loud, so we need to have a lot of energy. You heard The Nameless: they’re going to be rocking. It doesn’t have to be a permanent thing, but I think we should get someone to back us up on drums just for this show.”

“You’re probably right,” Lara said slowly. “But who would we get?”

“You?” I suggested.

She guffawed. “Yeah right!”

“You have a drum now, lass,” Tommy said, laughing.

“Guys ... seriously?”

“It’s something,” I said. “Maybe it’s enough?”

“First of all, no, it’s not enough,” Lara dismissed. “Second of all, I can’t sing and play. Well, I can’t really play that thing to start with, but definitely I can’t do both.”

“All right, I thought it was worth a try.”

“Do you know of any drummers?” Muireann asked.

“I was thinking of calling Colin, so he can ask what’s-his-name in Green Space.”

Lara sniffed. “Since you don’t even know his name, sounds like a long shot. And he’s a senior. Is he really going to want to hang out with us little kids?” she joked.

“Well, it’s worth asking, since you won’t do it!” I retorted, receiving a stuck-out tongue. “I think those guys like us, though, so there’s a chance.”

“What about the other band at the auditions?” Tommy said. “That guy was pretty good.”

Carl... ? Really, Tommy?

Lara and I looked at each other in confusion, but Muireann soon realized what he meant.

“You mean she was pretty good,” she corrected.

“Oh, the punk band?” Lara asked, catching on.

“Aye, them. I didn’t realize...”

“They were terrible, though!” Lara blurted out.

“But the drummer was good enough. And they had sound problems, like us, too, so maybe they’re better than they seemed.”

“Well, I don’t know that girl,” I said, glancing at Lara. “Do you?”

“Not at all.”

“Probably not really our style of playing, either,” I added.

“That may be true,” Tommy acknowledged. “But I think she’s better than she showed that day. I liked something about her playing.”

“Well, let’s start with Green Space guy, since that’s easier and probably more likely, to be honest. I’ll ask Colin when I see him in school.”

“Fine. Now can we play?” Lara asked impatiently.

“Yes, sis, now we can play.”

After dinner, I took to the couch to write my essay about not letting girls convince me to do stuff. Unfortunately, I’d just spent a long week letting a certain girl convince me to do a lot of things – including her, more than a few times... How many times was it? God that was fun...

I managed to stay awake for all of twelve minutes, before the train ran me over and I passed out. At some point I was led by my laughing companions to my cot, an act I barely remembered participating in. I didn’t move again until I happened to rouse before dawn, perhaps anticipating another night visit to the cabin. But no, I was alone again. Despite the temptation of rolling over and sleeping another nine hours, I remembered that I’d not gotten very far on the essay.

I think I wrote my name at the top at least... ?

With a quiet groan I got up and headed to the kitchen to get going. It was going to be tedious work, since my mind kept drifting to recent events as well as the upcoming battle. I glanced at the kitchen clock. It would be a little while before anyone stirred.

I have time ... Focus!

I read what I had, which was at least slightly more than I’d remembered. I winced at the pathetic opening. How the fuck do I know what I’m going to be like when I’m old? With a sigh, I took out a new piece of paper, already discouraged that I now had less than my name written.

‘Dear Matt ... If I could go back in time, I’d tell you... ‘

To move to Montauk, play in a band, and become a photographer ... And yeah, let girls convince you to do stuff, because it’s pretty damn fun when they do...

I crumpled the paper up in disgust and then went to the fridge to serve myself a glass of orange juice and some cereal. I tried to be quiet, but apparently I made enough noise to rouse someone. I glanced at the hallway and was surprised to see Lara emerge, a binder in hand. She looked remarkably awake, not the squinty shuffling mess she should’ve been at this hour. After taking a long look at my work area and the balled-up wad that sat there, she came near to me as I took a bite.

“Good morning,” she greeted. “Not going well?”

“It sucks. I have nothing, and I’m too distracted.”

“Just make some shit up. That’s what I did.”

“Ugh. I have more important things to do! I hate this assignment.”

“Do you want to see mine?” she asked.

“Oh, I don’t know.”

Lara set her notebook down and pulled out a sheet.

I waved her off. “I probably shouldn’t, because it’ll make it even harder to come up with my own thing.”

“Suit yourself.”

“Why are you up?” I asked.

“I was dreaming about my new song, and I wanted to write some stuff down before I forgot.”

“All right. Sit somewhere else, though, or I’m just going to want to help you instead of doing my stupid thing.”

She gave me a look. “I thought you weren’t into my song.”

“Hey, don’t say that...” I cried quietly. “Seriously, I didn’t mean I didn’t like it!”

Lara smiled a little and nodded. “All right. I’ll sit on the couch. Or hey, why don’t you just turn my song into your assignment?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Just do it. In a general way. You know, make sure you go for something when you can, so you don’t have regrets later.”

I eyed her, wondering how ‘general’ her lyrics really were.

“All right, maybe I’ll try that.”

Lara eyed my soggy cereal. “Sorry...”

I shrugged. “Oh, and I have a name for your song. If you want.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “What is it?”

“Time Between.”

Lara cocked her head, repeating it softly. Then she took her pencil and wrote the two words across the top of her sheet.

“Thanks,” she chimed, giving me a squeeze with her free arm.

“See? I don’t hate it. And by the way, when you make your first million as a songwriter, I want twenty percent for that name,” I joked.

She immediately started erasing the title, causing me to laugh too loudly. A moment later she put it back, of course.

“Are you doing all right?” she asked me, her voice dipping into seriousness.

I shrugged. “Hanging in. Not sure how I’m going to stay awake in school, but...”

“How many times was it on this trip, then?”

I eyed her, grinning a little. “I have no idea, honestly. These last few nights have been a blur.”

Lara shook her head with a bit of wonder. “It’s like all or nothing for you.”

“Yeah, pretty much ... Don’t laugh, but I’ve decided that in another life I was a barnacle, right at the high tide line.”

She gave me a very dubious look. “A barnacle ... And why in hell would you think that?”

“Because like you said, all or nothing! You know, you could make a song out of that idea.”

Lara grimaced. “I think I’ll let you write that one.”

“Nah, you should. I only want twenty-five percent of the royalties, for the brilliant idea.”

She patted my chest. “You seriously need more sleep, Barnacle Man.”

I sighed. “Yeah, three days’ worth, but sadly I have this essay.”

“Then get to work!” she chided.

On Tuesday, Tommy and I settled into our usual study hall spot. I was feeling a little more alive, having gotten another good night’s sleep. Still, I slumped heavily into my chair because the day had worn on me.

“I just saw Colin,” I groaned at the twin.

Tommy hummed. “Let me guess: we don’t have a drummer.”

“Jeffrey said he’s slammed with the end of basketball season for the next few weeks. He told Colin he’d do it, but he can’t jam with us until maybe the week before Jonah’s, depending how well the team does.”

“Not enough time,” Tommy mused.

“Probably not. I don’t know, maybe we should just stick to the five of us after all.”

“We can. It’s a good sound, even if you think it will be too calm for the show.”

I sighed. “We’ll see. Maybe the team will lose and he can play sooner.”

I felt bad about voicing that thought as soon as I said it, but Tommy laughed it off.

“We’ll see, lad. So when will we see your fantastic doll again?” he asked me.

I sniffed, still finding the word funny. “If you mean Heather, then in April for spring break. Though you never know with her. I’m half expecting her to show up at the band battle.”

“She’s rather unpredictable, is she not?”

“She is. And the funny thing is, the more you know her, the more true that gets, somehow.”

“You’d think it to be the opposite!”

“Yeah ... no.”

“Does that worry you? Her being unpredictable.”

I frowned, considering. “I can’t say it worries me. Why?”

“She’s an interesting lass.”

“I know she’s different, but she’s not the kind of person who does things without reason. It’s just that you usually don’t know the reason, sometimes for a long time!”

Tommy nodded as he kicked his feet onto another chair. “Aye, that could be.”

“Why do you ask?” I said, a slight twinge of worry flashing through me at his unusually thoughtful tone. How much did he talk to her about her experience with the filter building? Some, I knew, but all of it? Then again, maybe he was just noticing the same shifting alliances Muireann was talking about on the chairlift.

“Because I wonder what it’s like,” Tommy mused. “Muireann, as you know ... She’s a rock for me. I need that, and I surely don’t know half the things she does for me each day, but I trust her.”

I nodded at his surprisingly open acknowledgement of her help, a rare thing. “Hmm ... In some ways, I could say the same about Heather.”

Tommy grinned. “Aye lad, perhaps you’re blind to her in your own way!”

“Sure feels like it most of the time,” I agreed.

“But you see, Muireann is predictable. To the point that at times I wish she’d be less so. You must see how it can be a restriction at times, yeah?”

I murmured. “I guess. She does seem a bit protective when things get a little crazy, but...”

Tommy nodded. “And that’s why there’s a bit of me that would like her to back off from me. Especially after meeting Heather and seeing how different she is.”

“I can understand that. But Muireann does what she does because she cares for you.”

“Aye, and I’d be dead without her.”

“To be fair, she did let you go up to the summit. And stay home alone...”

“Did she?” he said, grinning. “Or did your doll make that happen? I wonder how comfortable Muireann was with all of it.”

“Probably more than you think. But of course she’s going to worry about you more than anyone.”

“Surely. But sometimes we need some real danger in life.”

“Danger?”

“Muireann is safety. And Heather ... she’s dangerous.”

“You mean, exciting?” I clarified, figuring that his word had a particular meaning in Ireland.

“Sure, exciting ... But there’s real danger there too,” he pressed, his voice intent and even slightly wild.

For whatever reason I felt a shiver run through me. “I guess.”

“I don’t mean that in a bad way, lad. She’s simply fantastic. I almost snuck myself into the boot of Frej’s car before they left for home! But you must see that she’s a creature of her own making.”

I mulled over this frank assessment of my girlfriend. I knew what he was getting at, from a general perspective; I myself had argued a similar point with Muireann the other day. But Tommy also meant something else, it seemed.

Heather isn’t dangerous. Right?

“I don’t know about dangerous. She’s a good person,” I started.

Tommy held up his hand and ran his finger along a faint scar that cut across his inner forearm. “So is my friend who likes to juggle. He was quite good at it.”

“Huh?”

“He’s good, but he tried knives one day.”

My eyes went wide. “Jeez, are you serious?”

Tommy laughed. “Aye, and one got away from him, one could say. You should have seen Muireann when she found out! She was quite, well, furious.”

“I’ll bet!”

“I was never left alone with Cathal again. A tragedy, as we had great plans, he and I. Great plans!”

I sniggered. “That’s crazy, though.”

“In the end it wasn’t that bad. We remain good friends. But now, what were we saying?”

“Heather, who’s a good person, but dangerous?” I sighed.

Tommy laughed gently. “Cheers, lad. I mean it in the best sense, really! I’m starved for a thrill, so don’t listen to me too seriously!”

“All right. But I mean, yeah, maybe I see your point, at least a little. I guess I’m just going to hope that Heather is a really good juggler!”

Tommy guffawed and slapped his desk. “She may well be the best, lad!”

A voice interrupted us. “What’s so funny?”

I looked up to find Carmen sauntering up to us, depositing her bag onto the desk whose chair Tommy was using as a footrest.

“The thrills of friendship,” Tommy answered with a philosophical wave of his hand. “What’s your thrill, lass?”

She pulled a chair from a different desk than usual and sat between Tommy and me. “What do you mean?”

“What do you do for excitement? Something dangerous, surely. You seem the type for adventure.”

She shrugged. “Gymnastics, I guess?”

“Really?” I said.

She turned to me. “Yeah. I’ve been doing it since I was six.”

“Wow, I never knew!”

“Well, now you do.”

“That’s fantastic, lass. Can you show us a trick?” Tommy asked.

“Uh, sure, afterschool or whenever.”

“Why not now?”

She looked around. “Hardly any room. Plus I’d get in trouble,” she added in a whisper.

“Let’s go outside then,” Tommy suggested, rising at once.

Carmen and I looked at each other as he started for the door, and then we quickly caught up to him.

“Hello?” the monitor called out as we pulled the door open.

“They will help me to the bathroom,” Tommy called out, blindly feeling the air before him with his hands. I couldn’t hold back the snigger, and neither could Carmen. The room monitor gave us a foul look, but in the end we escaped without being stopped.

“I think you’ve overused that one,” Carmen said quietly.

“It still worked,” Tommy retorted. “Lead the way!”

We didn’t go far, just to the field beyond the courtyard. Carmen eyed the options, finding a patch of ground that wasn’t snow-covered, and then took a few minutes to stretch and loosen up.

“I can’t do anything too crazy,” she said, shaking her coat off. “But here goes...”

She set herself, her face drawing into concentration, and then rapidly accelerated down the patch of dirt. In another moment she dove into a cartwheel of sorts, which then led to two consecutive flips. It was quite powerful.

Tommy was grinning ear to ear as he whooped. “Wow, what do you call that?”

“It was cool, that’s what,” I said.

Carmen came back to us, slipping her coat back on. “That was a round-off back handspring whip-back.”

“Yeah, and that,” I joked. “But damn, that was awesome, Carmen!”

“Nah, sloppy as hell, but hey, I’m wearing too much clothing and I don’t have a good floor. And it’s cold!”

“I give it a ten for sure, lass,” Tommy praised.

“And I have an answer to that, but I probably shouldn’t say it,” Carmen said.

“Oh, you can make fun of the blind lad,” Tommy chortled. “I give you permission.”

Carmen shook her head. “I was kidding, Tommy. I’m glad you liked it.”

“Do another one, go on.”

She seemed unwilling but relented when she saw Tommy’s happy grin. With a shrug, she took off her coat, and I offered to hold it this time.

“I’ll just do a few more. It’s really cold!”

Carmen obliged Tommy, eliciting a few whoops from us as we looked on. It was always still slightly odd to look at Tommy and find him staring in some offhand direction. Then again, I figured Carmen’s fast and large movements were easy to pick up in peripheral vision, so I imagined that he truly was enjoying her miniature meet.

Once she had her coat on again, we set off at a slow walk, Tommy peppering her with questions about her sport. I tagged along, unable to break into their conversation. Carmen seemed quite pleased at the attention, I thought.

As we reentered the school building, I happened to glance down the hallway and saw a girl rummaging in her locker. I turned to continue on, and then slowed in recognition.

The girl-band drummer...

Carmen and Tommy had walked on ahead, so I let them know that I’d catch up with them in a few minutes. I hurried down the row of lockers, somewhat apprehensive for some reason.

“Hey, you play drums, right?” I said, coming to a halt near her.

She didn’t bother looking at me. “What’s it to you?”

Okay...

“I was, uh, wondering if you want to maybe play in my band?”

“I’m already in a band.”

“I know. You sounded good at the talent show auditions.”

She gave me a look as if I was deaf. If she recognized me, she didn’t show it.

“Really? The auditions were a shit show. Rigged,” she spat, as she dug through her locker in frustration. “Ugh, Dana, why do you fucking keep taking my shit!” she muttered.

“Well, I was in one of the bands at the audition too. And it was a shit show. The sound was crap, for both of us.”

She finally gave me more than a few percent of her attention.

“Who did you play with?” she asked.

“The last band.”

She laughed wickedly. “Ouch. We left during that. Sorry.”

I felt my face heat up a bit. “That wasn’t our best, I admit it. But they kicked our bass player off right before we played and that fucked everything up.”

“Sucks to be you.”

“It does. But we have another show coming up.”

She clapped sarcastically.

“And we really need a drummer,” I pressed, despite my rising annoyance. “Want to give it a shot?”

“Why would I want to do that?”

“Because with drums and bass, our music could be really kick ass. We practice a ton and have a cool place to hang out and jam. A PA and everything.”

She chewed her gum, eyeing me before returning to her business. “What kind of stuff do you play?”

“We’re trying to do mostly originals, but we do throw in some covers. Hey, did you go to the winter dance last December?”

The girl whipped her head around and practically vomited on me. “Are you fucking mental?”

“Well, I mean the talent show, actually. Did you go?”

“No?”

“Well, I played at it, so I thought maybe you would’ve—”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “What band was that with?”

“At the talent show? The Nameless. But—”

She grimaced. “Get the fuck out of here with that shit! I’m not playing crappy old classic rock for you, sorry.”

She slammed the locker shut and started down the hall. I hesitated and then followed her.

“Hey, I’m not with—!”

“And I don’t know who that prick playing the guitar was, but I’m not playing with him, like, ever.”

I caught up with her and spoke quieter. “I don’t even know that guy either! I’m in a different band now. Those guys auditioned too, but we were the last band to play!”

“You said that already. And I already said that your shit was lame. Seriously, I’d play with pretty boy before playing with you guys.”

“Fine, whatever. I’m sorry I asked.”

“No, you’re not.”

I rolled my eyes and marched back toward study hall.

That was the most pointless thing ever.

“So lad ... Muireann said you found us a drummer?” Tommy asked when we were settling into the cabin for the evening’s work.

Lara was in mid-sip so she coughed up her soda. Muireann giggled as well; I’d given her the lowdown on my pointless encounter earlier in photography class. Obviously, she’d spread it around, and from the looks of it she likely embellished a bit too. I sent a frown Muireann’s way and then sighed onto the couch.

“I’m lucky I’m here, because that girl practically bit my head off. I swear she has a whip in her mouth, not a tongue.”

I recounted the actual incident, leaving out the direct insults against our band, but Tommy picked up on the gist.

“She has a point,” he said. “We did sound terrible.”

“I know. Still ... She didn’t have to be so damn rude. Anyway, I’ll try Jeffrey again. Maybe if we can go to his place to rehearse, he can at least squeeze one or two rehearsals in before the show. Oh, and I talked to Bruno. Bottom line is we can play anything we want, since they aren’t playing any of the old songs we used to do. So that makes it easy.”

“Fantastic. Now we have more than eleven songs,” Tommy quipped.

“Yeah, well...”

“So Matt, in other news,” Lara announced. “we’re moving up here to the cabin.”

Apparently, I was the only one who needed the ‘news’, since the twins looked expectantly at me.

“What’s that about?”

“We’re basically up here all the time,” Lara said. “We might as well settle in.”

“And how’s that going to work? I can take the couch I guess.”

“Nah. Muireann and I will share the darkroom bed. You and Tommy take the other room.”

Interesting... The double bed in the darkroom wasn’t exactly spacious. But Muireann didn’t seem concerned, so I figured I shouldn’t be either.

“So?” she asked expectantly.

I shrugged. “Fine with me.”

“We can stay up as late as we want and not bother the moms.”

“Yeah, it’s cool,” I said. “I’m convinced, Lara.”

“Let’s get our stuff then!”

As we made the multiple trips to the house to collect pillows, clothes, and so forth, I wondered what Lara was aiming at. Maybe it’s just more fun to move up there ... Or wait ... maybe Heather has a hand in this after all!

I was chuckling when Muireann and I met at the back exit of the house, our arms full. I managed to open the door and usher us out.

“Thanks,” she chirped.

“No problem. You’re ... okay with this, right?”

“Aye, it’ll be fun! And Matt, I meant to say earlier, let me talk to her.”

I frowned at her. “Who, Lara?”

“No, the whip-tongued lass. About playing drums.”

I made a face at her. “You want to talk to her? Why? I don’t even want her to play with us now.”

“This thing with Colin’s friend, though. I think it’s not a good idea.”

“He’s pretty good.”

“I’m sure, but ... Even if he plays, then what?”

“You mean after Jonah’s?”

“Aye.”

“I’m just trying to win the band battle!” I scoffed.

“But you imagine we’ll play more, after that?”

“Well, I hope so. After that, we can go back to playing the five of us.”

“We might get used to the drums.”

“Maybe,” I admitted. “Why do you want to talk to this crazy girl though?”

She hesitated. “Tommy insists that she’s very good. He says we should ask her again, but he thinks you are set on Colin’s friend.”

I grunted. There sure seemed to be a lot of information flying around behind the scenes today. Then again, I knew my brain was still dealing with the tail end of muzziness from Heather’s visit, so maybe they were doing me a courtesy. “All right, well ... If you want to give it a shot, go for it. Wear a helmet though. And if she actually does agree to play, I’ll buy us all helmets.”

Muireann laughed. “Maybe she just doesn’t like you.”

“At this point, that much is for sure.”

In study hall a few days later, we didn’t even bother to sit down. Carmen, Tommy, and I headed for the exit before the room monitor even arrived, leaving our bags in their usual places. It was a bit nerve-wracking to cut class so boldly, but Tommy and Carmen seemed unconcerned. I sure wasn’t going to be able to stop him, so the next best thing would be for me to go with him to make sure he didn’t do anything too crazy. Muireann will appreciate that...

Well, not really, she wouldn’t. Then again, she doesn’t have to know that we’re wandering around outside ... right? No harm, no foul! Dr. Kendall was a wise man for sure. It’s not like I’m juggling...

“So I was thinking, lass,” Tommy said as we aimed for the woods. “That you could show me how to do some kind of flip or something.”

Carmen laughed. “You want to learn some tumbling?”

“Aye! Wouldn’t that be fantastic, if I could just walk in to a room and do a backflip!”

“Well, it’s not something you learn overnight. You need to work up to it. Like, can you even do a cartwheel?”

“Of course! Watch!”

Well, I wouldn’t have called it a cartwheel. If his head was even below his knees when he was ‘inverted’, then it was by an inch at most. Carmen couldn’t help but giggle.

“I know it’s terrible,” Tommy acknowledged shamelessly. “But there’s potential there, yeah?”

“Sure,” she replied evenly, smiling at me.

“Olympic level potential, even,” I added.

Tommy clapped me on the back. “There’s the spirit, lad!”

I had a bad feeling the amount of homework that was going to get done in study hall was fast approaching zero. Not that we’d ever gotten much done, but at least there used to be a chance of it.

Some anxiety crept up on me as we wandered out onto the field. Then again, I supposed this could be a form of gym class. Usually Tommy and I worked out in the weight room or spent time on the track, since he wasn’t particularly interested in trying his hand at basketball, as was the current rotation in PE.

Oddly enough, that excuse seemed to settle my mind a bit.

“Matt, are you going to try?” Carmen called out.

I waved her off. “Nah. Tommy’s the one who wants to make the grand entrance. I’ll just hang out.”

It was rather amusing to watch the two of them. Tommy was certainly awkward, even if he wasn’t tentative or shy about trying. Carmen worked with him for a time, lending an arm to help straighten and guide his cartwheel until it started looking more legitimate.

Eventually my mind wandered away, to the tip of Long Island where Heather was likely working hard on her MD filters. She was extremely busy with it; she’d decided to rebuild the earliest filters she’d made, scaling them up so that she could make larger prints. It was a decided disadvantage of her system, in that the size of the contraption dictated the print dimensions.

At least the Trilogy project was saved, though... Those mats would be too small. I laughed quietly. The melamine lives on... Indeed, she’d made sure to announce, with great fanfare, that the set of chair pictures was hanging on her bedroom wall now. I’m going to have to steal those from her in April...