She holds her flowered Dixie cup in the air. "Taking it to top!"

She chugs her champagne to my sip and refills her twice before I finish. Taking it to the top makes my insides tickle. This is the push I need to take Beadnicks to a whole new level.

Chapter Forty.

Every night after work, I keep my mind busy by beading from the newest shipment of beads. If I don't keep my fingers busy, I think they might have a mind of their own and dial Bo's number. By the end of the week, I finish two hundred bracelets for the boutiques and fifty to replace the sold bracelets from One Bead at a Time.

When Friday rolls around, Henry is biting at the bit to go bye-bye.

Lucy strolls in the door like she's been here this whole time. She walks over to my luggage next to the door and flicks the handle. "Where are we going?"

"Look what I-75 drug in," I say, referring to the interstate between Cincinnati and Mason Crossing. "Nice of you to stop in your home."

"Nice to see you haven't changed with all your fame." She inspects the bracelets on my arm. Not only does one bracelet look great, three together are unbelievably gorgeous. All the colors sparkle when the bracelets rub together, leaving a fun jingling sound.

"Where's the stash? I'll sort through what I want for myself." She looks up at me, dropping my wrist. "What? You think I'm missing girls' night in?" One thing about Lucy, she may be head over heels in love, but she never lets the girls down.

I smile and welcome her to a seat in the Solara. I'm glad I did, because the five-hour drive back to Chicago feels like a breeze with Lucy yammering on about her problems with Beck.

"I just don't know what to do." Lucy continues to talk out loud. "I can do my job in Kentucky, but do I want to move away from my friends and the life I've made for myself?"

"Tell me about it." I mumble, "Trust me, I know all about up and moving."

"Oh, Hallie, I'm so sorry." Lucy twists sideways in her. "It's strange how are lives are resembling each other."

With my hands on the wheel and eyes straight ahead, I don't comment. I don't see a resemblance in our lives at all. She has two loving parents still walking on the earth. She was popular in high school. Her parents paid for her to go to college. And she has the world by the balls.

Me?

My parents were killed. I was sent to live with Aunt Grace, who made me wear hand-me-downs from someone I don't know. She made me stand in line with her, once a month, at the free clothes store, which never ever had pants long enough to fit me. So not only was I not popular in school, I wore floods! When I did go to college, I had to apply for grants, scholarships and student loans that I'm still paying back.

But it's good to have my best friend beside me. I don't want to think about what my life will be like if she does move. It's taking everything in my power not to tell her to stay with me. We're like Jenny and Forest Gump, peas and carrots.

Still, her pain is real, and I listen-all the way home.

"Chicago hasn't been the same without you girls." Sam hugs us. It's funny how we've become close with the doorman after living here for a couple years. Really, there is no other way, with him having to be the one all visitors have to go through. "When are you two coming home, for good?" He holds the door.

"I have one month. O-n-e."

We both look at Lucy anticipating her answer.

"I don't know. Maybe t-w-o." Lucy spells it out mocking me.

The condo is warm and inviting as it always is. Lucy's featherbed ruffles when she dives into it, with Henry right behind. I search for my light switch because my Clapper is in Cincinnati. The city lights help as they shine through the window.

I stop and take in the view. Chicago is beautiful. I close my eyes and listen to the cars below, honking their horns. Did I really miss the noise? Or it was white noise all these years?

I haven't thought about what I'm going to do. I don't have the energy to waste on Bo. I want to focus all my energy on Beadnicks and making it the most successful thing in my life. Karma owes me and it's my time.

I pull out my killer jeans. I've missed them. I hear the angels sing when I pull them out of the closet.

"Ah." I smell my 7 for all Man Kind jeans.

Of course I had to have them when I saw them on Jennifer Aniston in People magazine. If I only looked as good as her.

"Let me pour myself into you." I pat them like a fine fur.

I pair it with my white sequence tank, strappy silver heels and four original Beadnicks bracelets. I'm ready to get back in the groove of my life.

The line to get in the bar is out the door. Bo has obviously gone all out to showcase The Mean Street Blues Band. The marquee lights flash the drink deals. This is crazy, I suddenly decide. There is no way I'm going to stand in line when I can enjoy myself in Cincinnati relaxing to the same smooth blues band at the Palour. I'll just go back home and make some jewelry.

"Hallie!" Piper scream.

I cringe at the sound of her voice.

"Hallie!" she screams again.

I hear the clump of her heels running up behind me. There she is, peppy Piper all decked out.

"I didn't know you were coming here this weekend. Why didn't you tell me?" She tilts her head to the side like one of those high-spirited cheerleaders. She clasps her hands in delight."Are you going to check up on me tomorrow?"

Technically I can do it since I'm the new regional and the thought of "checking up on her" gives me a little power, but I won't waste my time.

"No. I am here to see the band."

"Oh. Do you know them?" She acts left out of the loop. "Bo has really gone to great lengths for this."

Of course he has. It's torture standing here listening to her talk about him.

"Really?" I back up, trying to keep my distance from her as she creeps closer. I fall back on my heels and into a pair of arms.

"Oh!" Luckily the arms hold me tight.

"Hallie?" The lead singer of The Mean Street Band, is taking a smoking break outside and he remembers my name!. I couldn't have scripted this better if I was Quentin Tarantino. "Why are you in this line?"

Piper *s jaw drops.

"Pick your mouth up, honey. Chicago streets aren't that clean," I say as I wave over my shoulder, walking behind the lead singer into the back entrance.

"Hey, thanks for bringing Bo in the Parlour that night. We're having a blast." He takes me by the arm and off we go. "He gave us a tour of Chicago last night and we've been hanging all day."

I smile and watch him jump back behind the curtain to take his place on stage. I'm having the best luck lately! Maybe not with Bo, but the other parts of my life are pretty good. I look up to heaven and wink. Okay God, I might have some evil thoughts, but really thanks. Gratitude. That's one thing my good Italian family left me.

"There you are." Bo sneaks up behind me while I wait in line to pee. "The lead singer told me you were here and I've been looking all over."

"Here I am." I plaster my best fake grin as the anger swells up inside.

No commitment? Really? I was blowing smoke his way when I agreed to it. What red-blooded woman would agree to that? A desperate one, I tell myself.

"We need to talk." He yells after me when it's my turn for the bathroom.

I go in the bathroom to get away and stay in extra long, hoping he won't be outside the door when I come out.

"Oops. Sorry, Monk." The door almost whacks Monk in the head.

"Hey, how's the bead thing going?" He genuinely looks interested. "Have you thought about anything I said?"

"I..." I mumble what I've done, but the noise level is so loud he can't hear me.

"Come in my office." I follow him back. Beer signs hang on the wall, along with and a framed poster autographed by the entire Van Halen group. "I thought you like blues?"

"Blues bar, Chicago, money." He laughs. "I'm a rock guy. That's why I'm not usually here at night." He sits down on a red leather sofa. "Rock bar wouldn't have made us the same money."

"Wow, Monk. A different impression of you." He's still a little nerdy, but I like it. He offers me a glass of wine and I graciously take it.

Enjoying my drink, I tell Monk about the meeting with Saks, all the boutiques and my new tax ID.

"I'm proud of you." He refills the glasses. "Let me know what I can do for you."

We finish off our drinks with idle chit-chat about Cincinnati and The Mean Street Blues Band. I refrain from asking about Bo. He asks about the marathon. I refrain from asking about Bo. He asks if I'm going to run with the running group tomorrow. I refrain from mentioning Bo.

"It's time for me to Bo ... I mean go." I point to the door. The wine is taking a toll on my speech. I head towards the door so he won't see my red face.

"Hallie?" Piper looks me up and down from the other side of the door. "What are you doing in there?" She points inside and looks in to find Monk lounging on the sofa with his wine glass in hand.

I grin, leaving it all to her imagination.

As far as she and Bo are concerned, they know nothing about the arrangement Monk and I've set up and they don't need to know. When she tells Bo what she thinks is going on, as I know she will, it'll rot in his mind.

Chapter Forty-One.

The sun peeking through my blinds confirms I survived another day.

I'm so confused.

I pull the covers back over my head to drown out the honking horns. I'm use to sleeping without interruption in my Hyde Park home or jogging down for a cup of coffee without getting run over by a taxi or dodging pedestrians on a crowded street.

Now, I'm embracing a life I've been running from. I groan and pull the covers back. I can't just let Henry out and leave him. I actually have to drag myself out of bed and look halfway decent to take him on a walk.

The carpet is warm on my feet when they hit the floor and I search for my sweats and Henry's leash. Walking him is a good way to clear my mind. Henry is definitely one little man I never envisioned in my life, but he is the only man in my life.

"Come on, buddy. Let's go out." Henry jumps up and down, knowing what's in store for him. Having Henry these past few weeks has given me more responsibility. I have to make it home to let him out. I have to feed him and walk him. With everything I do, I have to take him into consideration.

When I get into the elevator, my image catches my eye.

I pause. My chest tightens.

Only eight weeks ago I looked at this same girl. Before my eyes, I can already see a difference the eight weeks has made in my life.

"I told you." I remind the image of how this girl wasn't come back the same. Only this time, my image isn't sad or regretting the challenge.

Henry is a little hesitant from the zooming taxis. I love this city, but a tug for the quiet streets of Hyde Park makes me a little homesick.

How could it be? I shake the notion out of my head. There's no way I'm longing to go back to the place I've spent my entire life trying to get out of.

Or am I?

I walk Henry around the block and decide to run by myself and not with the group.

I start uptown, leaving the group's normal route opposite me. I don't want to risk running into them. There's more on my plate than Bo, and at this point, I need to stay away from him.

Of course there is no way I want to go back to my old life.

Shoo, I laugh out loud. I must've had a momentary lapse in judgment or early onset of Alzheimer's. Really? Have I forgotten Aunt Grace's and Uncle Jimmy's last episode at the race track? The further away I am from them, the better.

This past week made me realize that if beading is going to pay off, I'm going to have to spend more time doing it. Not just nights and weekends. As much as I hate to think about my life without Gucci being in it, it's a real possibility. Something I need to discuss with the girls over a few drinks.

I make a point to run past Addicted to the Bean. I want to grab a cup and head home to bead for the rest of the afternoon, but I take a little detour behind the coffee house to hide from my running group heading right towards me.

I'd know that Saturday shirt from anywhere!

My lungs expand with every shallow breath I take hiding behind the dumpster. I don't make a peep. As they pass, I squint, focusing on the back of Bo's head.

"Yep." I whisper to myself, "he still has a beautiful head."

Don't, Hallie! Stop it right now! I stamp my feet to the ground because my clear head is cloudy. Again.

My mood quickly changes when I get home.

Lucy expresses some interest in learning to bead and today will be as good a time as any, with neither of us having plans. We can sit on the balcony watching old movies just like old times. Today, we choose That Touch of Mink.

Lucy takes to beading like a duck to water, and we spend the day refocusing on our friendship. We are so focused, in fact, that I leave my phone turned off.