Lia wasn't sure why she was so nervous walking up to Ayden's house in Brooklyn.  She'd done it dozens, if not hundreds of times.  As she approached the brownstone, she took a moment to savor that she was back home.  She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds around her - traffic, people talking, horns honking.  It was New York.  She'd loved Wales, but there was nothing like home.

She pushed the door open and walked in like she always did.  "I'm heeeeere!" She announced cheerily.  Moments later, she heard her boyfriend's feet on the steps.  He came down the staircase, grinning like a fool.  Her nervousness slipped away as he took her face in his hands and kissed her slowly and thoroughly.

She giggled a little as he pulled away and smirked at her.  "What?" He grinned.

"Nothing," she said.  "I've just missed that."

"I have too," The last time they had endured a long distance relationship had been the summer Fall of Lia's sophomore year when her dad had filmed 'Mary Poppins Returns' in London. It had felt difficult then, having only been back together for a few weeks after a breakup before she jetted over across the pond. In spite of how intack their relationship had been this go around, something felt different. Lia was over the moon to have Ayden in his full 6'2 glory rather than a pixelated crop version of him on her laptop. "178 days is way too long to go without that,"

"I wish it would have only been 177 like we had planned on," Lia's voice trailed off as she settled back on the floor from her tiptoes. She regretted the word instantly as the sigh left Ayden's mouth.

Ayden leaned against his stairwell, his hands now in his pockets, "I thought you said you forgave me for yesterday,"

"I did; I do," Lia replied, biting her lip, "It just slipped out;"

When Lia had texted Ayden the minute the plane landed in New York, she was plagued with confusion and worry when she didn't hear back from him for two hours. That quickly changed to anger when she gotten a text that Ayden had gotten the days mixed up and after a scrimmage game with his soccer team that morning had rode off to Connecticut with his teammates to spend the day at one of their vacation homes. When he finally texted Lia back, he wrote 'sorry' every other word and had written paragraphs upon paragraphs. It was evident to Lia that he had been drunk, which only infuriated her more.

"I'm over it,"

"Obviously it's still on your mind if you're thinking about it,"

"You're in a psychology class and suddenly you're a mindreader?" Lia quipped, running her fingers through her curls, "How are you coming at me, right now, when yesterday was completely your fault?" So, maybe she wasn't totally over it.

To Lia's surprise, having gone through disagreements with her boyfriend, Ayden's face softened, "You're right. I was an ass and should have been paying better attention."

Lia shook her head and made her way over to her boyfriend, and gave him an earnest look, "It was just an off handed comment, and the most important thing is that we are together now." Lia leaned up and kissed him, always a guaranteed distraction.

As her fingers met his hair and the two moved into a slow make out session, she knew it worked. She didn't want to spend their first day back together hashing things out.

He kissed her again one last time, and they linked hands.  "Roberta's?"

It was their favorite pizza joint in Brooklyn.  The British could certainly nail fish and chips, but they were pretty hopeless when it came to pizza.  She'd been craving some New York thin crust and Roberta's was just what the doctor ordered.

They began walking down the street hand in hand, picking up right where they'd left off.  Ayden told her the latest that was going on at Columbia.  He'd made lots of new friends - both guys and girls - and she made a point not to sound jealous at all when he talked about the girls.  Lia had become a bit self conscious about seeming immature.  He'd hung out with a bunch of girls?  No big deal.  That's how college operated.

"We're trying to get a big enough venue to throw a party for my buddy Jonas," he told her.  "Except we're all poor, you know, and we're all in dorms."

"I can't wait to come by your dorm in person," Lia had been given a FaceTime tour when he had first moved in. Although it looked far from appealing, the shared space with five other guys, it would give them more privacy. She thought for a moment, knowing her own apartment was more spacious than others.  "Well...what about my place?"

She was desperate to be a part of his college life, and maybe this would get her more of an in.  She could get invited to college parties and ensure all of his friends, both guys and girls, knew he was taken.  Ayden looked at her, confused.

"Your place?" He asked.

"Yeah," she said.  "Our living room and kitchen are huge.  My parents are out constantly with work and appearances.  I could see if they'll be out on a Friday or Saturday night soon."

"Or a Thursday?" He asked.  "Thursday's basically Friday at college.  People start partying a day earlier.  No one takes Friday morning classes."

Except...she still had school at 8 a.m., but desperate times called for desperate measures.  "Um, yeah.  Sure.  I'll ask my dad if he has any ucpcoming trips."

"Cool!" Ayden said as they turned a corner.  Lia smiled to herself, picturing how this would all work out.  She'd throw an insane party, all of Ayden's friends would love her, and, more importantly, her boyfriend would too.

___

"The Hollywood Walk of Fame?" Lin clarified, incredulous, as he talked on the phone to his agent.  "THE Hollywood Walk of Fame?"

"Yes," she grinned at her client over the phone.  Lin was one of the most enjoyable clients she'd ever had.  He was always upbeat, appreciative and cool-headed.  "November 29th.  You'd get to have two speakers introduce you, then the unveiling would be right in front of the Pantages Theatre."

Lin had received quite a few accolades the last few years, but this one seemed a bit more exclusive.  Not many Broadway composers got stars on the Walk of Fame, but part of the key to his success and fame was that he was multi-faceted.  He was also an actor, a singer, a performer, a rapper...his work appealed to all types of audiences.

Lin heard some more of the details and felt his excitement building.  He hung up and immediately called Vanessa.  She was always his first call.

She sounded a bit overwhelmed already but he couldn't contain himself.

"Hey, L-"

"The Hollywood Walk of Fame!" He exclaimed to his wife.  Vanessa pulled the phone away from her ear for a moment.  Her husband could certainly be described as animated, but this was over the top even for him.

"What?" She asked, plugging her other ear to drown out the twins.

"Lois just called," he explained.  "November 29th they're putting my star in front of the Pantages Theatre!"

Vanessa was speechless for a moment.  "Are you serious?  Lin, that's amazing!"

She knew how much the Pantages Theatre meant to him as well.  They'd done a run of In the Heights there back in 2009.  A group of fans had even flash-mobbed him outside the Hard Rock Cafe with a rendition of 96,000.

"It's ridiculous!" he clarified, still in disbelief as he paced outside a meeting room.  "I'll tell you all about it later.  I've got a meeting, but I wanted to make sure your work would be okay with you leaving."

She'd already asked for several months away from the office this year.  They'd been very obliging, but disappearing again seemed like a lot to ask.  Especially since she was thinking about trying to go back full time.  Still, she couldn't miss her husband getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

"Uhhh...I'll see what I can do," she told him, then looked over at the twins wrestling over a toy in the living room.  "Do you think we should take the kids?"

"Uh, I dunno, hon," he told her, checking his watch.  "We should talk about it later.  Gotta go.  Love you!"

Before she could say the same, the call disconnected.

"Sorry about that," Vanessa said as she walked back into her living room to find her twins in a much calmer state than she left them as they were mesmerized by the photos of 'Go Dog Go, as her law partner, Carla, mheld the book open. "You're amazing with them,"

Carla laughed, "I have four grandkids, not to mention the three I raised, hard to believe, over twenty years ago! I can't believe you started all over nearly at the finish line,"

Vanessa smiled weakly, "It's a bit chaotic, but we're making it work," Her family was the best part of her life. Although it seemed crazy, some days, she didn't regret any of it for a single second. "Have any advice you can share?"

"Lots of patience and wine,"

They shared a laugh as Vanessa took a few minutes to set the twins up for the afternoon nap in their room before returning back to her place on the couch.

"I really appreciate you coming over on a Sunday afternoon. There are just so many files at the office that I worry the twins could get into them, and I couldn't find a babysitter. I hope I didn't interfere with any of your weekend plans,"

She shook it off after the order woman took a sip of her coffee, "We make the things that matter priority,"

Vanessa couldn't help but feel slightly jaded by the sentiment. Was she referring to her?

They chatted over coffee and pastries about several of Vanessa's cases and what she had missed while she had been gone. Having a conversation with another adult about something that she was interested in was refreshing, to say the least. Vanessa had known Carla since her law school days when they had ended up next to each other in Civil Procedure.

Carla was nearly two decades older than Vanessa, having decided to start a second career as an attorney after years spent as a business executive. When Vanessa had seen an update on LinkedIn that Carla had decided to move out of the city, she quickly jumped at the chance that Carla might consider partnering with her as Vanessa decided to take a step back. It was a match made.

When they were wrapping up the details of an upcoming deposition Vanessa would be taking that next week, she decided to broach a topic that had been at the forefront of her mind.

"So," Vanessa pushed her reading glasses back into her hair, "I wanted to talk about switching my schedule again,"

The expression on Carla's face wasn't exactly what Vanessa had had in mind when she was finished explaining her plan.

"What is it?" Vanessa asked with hesitation.

"Vanessa, please don't take this the wrong way," Carla's expression was sympathetic, "But your amount of billable hours have been fairly low."

"I know, but that is mainly because of the twins and us being away, which was why I asked you to come on. I want my work to be a priority again,"

"And I understand that, but is it realistic? What are you going to do with the kids?"

"Lin and I are discussing our options," Vanessa said a bit more defensively than she had intended. She sat up straighter. "Lia is fine on her own, and we are just looking at what is going to be best for our family. But we're on the same page: I'm coming back to work full-time,"

"Okay," Carla nodded and stood up from the couch. She gave a small smile, "I'm excited for you to return to the kickass lawyer every counsel fears."

Vanessa forced a smile as she stood up and went to show her out. She respected Carla, but felt like she was on the other end of an ultimatum.

She knew the conversation hadn't been resolved with Lin, but what else could she do? If she would have given an answer that wasn't definitive, Carla wouldn't think she was taking this seriously. They'd just have to figure it out.

——-

After nearly a week back in, Lia was more than ready for the weekend ahead. She had forgotten what the adjustment was like from virtual school to being back on campus. Although she had kept up with the coursework fine, there was admittedly a difference between having her webcam off while she attended class in sweats in her bedroom to waking up at 6:30 a.m. and having to actually look presentable. She would never admit it, but she was glad she had taken her parents' advice in terms of classes. Lia was exhausted.

She also enjoyed being back with her classmates. Although she wasn't someone who necessarily had friends, she had become more friendly through joining different groups at school. She also found people were a lot friendlier to her now that she was back in person versus when she had been away. Lia got the impression that they thought she had been off jet setting when in reality most of her days were spent studying.

She did get excited when she was told that morning in her AP Calculus class that her guidance counselor had scheduled a meeting that afternoon during her free period. This was always the time of year where seniors were told the news about their class rankings ahead of college admissions applications, and Lia was stoked. She needed the official news that she was in the top ten of her class to be the cherry on top of her MIT application.

When her guidance counselor, Dr. Baird told her the news though, she was less than pleased.

"What do you mean I'm not eligible?"

"Because you've spent time off campus, the credit hours for that time will not count towards your actual ranking."

"But I did those classes through Hunter!" Lia folded her arms over her chest, "So you're saying I might not graduate?"

"No, no, no!" The thirty something year old man shook his head like Lia had spoken forbidden words, "It has nothing to do with your graduation requirements - you're still on track there. But due to a policy that was put in place, students are only eligible for certain standing if they've completed a certain number of hours on campus."

"This is bull!" Lia's frustration was no longer masked by any pleasantries. "That was the entire reason I didn't opt into homeschooling or getting a private tutor; so I could stay at Hunter."

"And I can understand why this may be upsetting news. The policy came into place when there was concern over asses not being fairly monitored or completed," The flustered man was hoping the explanation may help the visibly pissed off teenager - it did not.  "But there is hope!"

"Hope?" Lia questioned, her face scrunched up in disgust by the cheery tone of the faculty member who was making Lia feel anything but assured.

"You're only six credits short, which can be fixed. There is an opening spot in AP Art History, which you'd have to take during your free period, but it's two credits per semester."

"Alright," Lia said, her tone contrite. She knew it would suck, but she had managed that many APs before. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair, eager to get out of the stuffy office. "And how can I get the other two credits?"

"Because your GPA is so high, you can become a tutor, which would count as one credit per semester. It's after school Tuesdays and Thursdays."

Lia sighed, running her fingers through her hair. She wanted to point out the bullshit policy that allowed for after school activities to count, but not being in class by a webcam. By adding on the extra AP class, she was already going to be strapped for time with the obligations she already had and now she'd have to add in tutoring? She begrudgingly agreed, not seeing any other option. What top school would want her if she  didn't even have a ranking?

There was no way her parents were going to not make a big deal out of it; so she just wouldn't tell them. Lia was going to be an adult in a few months and away at college. She was going to have to get used to making her own decisions - regardless of what anyone else thought.