Page 143 of Everything's Coming Up Rosie

My phone buzzes, and I find a text from Connie.

Connie:Rosie! We are all sold out for the entire run. No tickets left at all! I hope everyone you know already bought their seats!

My eyes go wide just looking at the words. We’re sold out?

Rosie:For real?!

Connie:I guess we’d better do a good job, huh???

We’re sold out.

It’s almost like it’s real now.

A new wave of excited terror washes over me.

Connie:You did good, Rosie. I hope you celebrate!

I shower and get ready, and a little before noon, there’s a knock on my door.

I rush out to it, pull it open, and find my three best friends standing there, all of them looking like they’re holding their breath. We erupt in a wild fit of excitement, screams, hugs, maybe a few tears, all of us talking at the same time.

“I’m so glad my instructions made sense!” I say, hugging each one of them.

“Yeah, no, they didn’t,” Maya says. “We had to stop at the desk in that clubhouse. This place is fancy.”

I go to hug Marnie, but she holds up a hand. “Still not a hugger.”

“I don’t care.” I hug her stiff body anyway. “I’ve missed you. And that favor you called in saved our show. I just heard we’re sold out!”

“Sold out, Rosie, that’s amazing!” Maya says.

“Can I use your bathroom?” Taylor has one hand on her protruding belly, the other on her back.

“You’ve, uh, grown,” I say, moving out of the doorway so she can come in.

“I know. I’m as big as a barn. And I have to pee every forty-five seconds.”

“You can watch the show from the back with me,” I say.

“Bathroom?” She looks like she might actually burst.

“Down the hall.” I point, and she rushes off.

“This place is adorable,” Maya says. “And you get to stay here for free?”

“It’s a perk of the job,” I say. “Crazy, right?”

I show them my room, the patio, the common area, and a photo of Daisy and Louie that’s stuck to the fridge. “She’s my housemate. You guys will love her.”

“As long as you don’t love her as much as you love us,” Maya says.

I grin, and the smile drops off her face.

“I’m serious,” she says.

“Nobody could ever replace you three,” I say. “Let me give you a campus tour.”

We decide to walk over to the dining hall to get some lunch, and I show them all the highlights along the way. I tell them about line dancing and point out the park bench where I found Dylan sitting a couple of days after I arrived. I even take them to the spot where I ran the cart off the road and into the mud, explaining that Booker pulled me out, which Maya finds terribly romantic.

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