Celina let out a faint but genuine laugh. For the first time that day, her face softened.

Zoe cleared the table, washed the dishes, and the two of them talked until late. When her friend finally left, blowing a kiss and a whispered “we’re in this together”, Celina brushed her teeth, sat on the bed, and opened her laptop.

She pulled up the manuscript she had started back at the country house and let her fingers glide across the keyboard. The ideas rushed in like a storm, and when she finally loo