”“What’s that?”“I never really had a chance to tell Jorge how truly sorry I was and how much I appreciated everything he tried to do for me....��I smiled, “He knew. We talked about it. He loved you, but he also knew he wasn’t right for you. He and Trish would have made a perfect couple.”“I still can’t believe he’s gone.”“I miss him, too,” I said.March 16, 1994, Chicago, Illinois“That’s the last of them!” Jessica said when she came into the kitchen on Wednesday morning.“Stephie?”“Yes. She’s. I hadn't figured out what to do about it anyway, and to be honest with myself, I had stalled doing anything. By the sound of it, that time was past."I got the impression John wasn't at the apartment," I said as we hustled to pack and head toward Boston."Mom said he was away on business for a couple of days. She thought he might be back tomorrow. She sounded out of it, Rick. I'm worried. She might be sick." We'll be there quick enough, Sal. There's a flight every hour by several airlines, so we. Someday, I hope, but I wanna earn it!”“Earn?” Couldn’t you just ask your parents to give it to you?“Well, yeah!” Tiff shouldered her bag. “I don’t wanna be one of those people who gets to run a business because their parents gave it to them. When I started working here, I was just mopping floors and cleaning gross stuff off the furniture during the day. Now I’m Assistant Manager Tiffany!” she finished, accenting her title.“But ... Why?” Alaina persisted.Tiff frowned, looking over at the taller. I had no one to talk to, so all there was left to do was do my homework or compose music. At least she kept a roof over my head, I had always thought, but sometimes, you need more than the comfort of lonesome and infinite expression to be able to cope with some things. Anyway, as I walked from the band hall, I swept my long hair out of my face that kept being blown over my eyes, due to the wind. I adjusted my hair to my liking, and then fixed it so that it didn’t fall over my eyes. I liked to.