Will looked up and the anger on Terry's face surprised him.

"What exactly do you think there is to go back to?" she screamed, mindless of the scene they were making on the sidewalk. "Do you really think you need to travel across the whole goddamn country because the girl you had sex with one time got married? Do you hear yourself? For fuck's sake, Will, do yourself and the rest of the world a favor and forget about her. Get back in the car and go on with your life! She's obviously gone on with hers." She broke off long enough to check her watch, "You have a job interview in twenty minutes."

Will was shocked by her vehemence. It was Robert who spoke first. "Terry, get back in the car," he said, a touch of anger showing in his voice as well.

Terry and Will both gaped at Robert. He was a man so rare to anger they often forgot he was capable of the emotion.

Terry spun on her heel and stalked back to the car. Robert winced as she slammed the door but he smiled at Will. "Don't worry about Terry. She's protective and she doesn't like to see you hurt. She never liked Maggie much, either, come to think of it." A cloud seemed to pass over Robert's expression as if something had just occurred to him. "Here," he said, handing Will some cash, "I know you put every cent you make in the bank, so take this and get a cab back to the apartment. You just pack and get things square with all those jobs of yours. I'll take Terry to work and get a ticket booked for you. I'll be back to drive you to the airport as soon as I can." He put out his hand to help Will up from where he was still half crouched at the curb.

Will stood up shakily and embraced the man who was the closest he'd ever had to a sibling. He tried to speak but all he managed was, "Thanks." Will turned to flag a cab and Robert got back into the car with his wife.

In the cab, Will tried to focus on making a mental list of what he'd need to do once he got back to the apartment. Call Khalil, he'll cover for me at the bar and let the guys in the band know they'll have to find another keyboardist. Let Sam know I can't open for him. Maybe I can get Sam to finish those cabinets, too. When were they supposed to be done? Will glanced at the date on his watch and the nausea returned like a cannonball to his chest. It was the 30th. He'd missed it. He'd missed the most important anniversary of his life.

June 28th, 1999

Will shrugged his duffel bag higher on his shoulder and studied the building in front of him. When his dad had thrown him out he hadn't needed ten seconds to think about where to go. But now that he was here - standing in front of her apartment building at seven in the morning - it seemed crazy. He'd rehearsed what to say the whole time he'd been on the bus. Now, two days and five states later, he still had no idea where to start. Looking up, he counted seven floors up and two back from the right and there it was. Curtains the color of a Caribbean picture-postcard ocean stirred restlessly in the open window. Beyond that was the living room where he'd spent so many days those last two years in college. All his college friends had faded away since then. But never Maggie. Maggie was the friend who always stayed fresh in his mind. He steeled himself to buzz her apartment. When her voice crackled through the speakers time reversed itself and suddenly the months since graduation disappeared. Two years of fighting to help his father stay afloat above bills and alcoholism melted away in an instant. Seven flights of stairs flew beneath him and he was happy for the first time in months.

And happy wasn't even the word for the next twelve or so hours. They drank and laughed and played music and laughed more. He sat her down at the little piano that had come with the apartment and moved her fingers through a few badly out of tune bits of music. He'd been watching her fingers, thinking of nothing but the sheet music in his head, when he realized she was looking at him instead of the keys. He turned his mouth to hers and six years of 'not ruining the friendship' gave way. Fumbling fingers found buttons and zippers and their lips barely lost contact. They whispered promises into each other's breath until their skin felt raw and chapped. Maggie was an undiscovered country he'd finally been granted passage to and he explored her skin with a cartographer's reverence, tracing lips and fingers over curves and edges.

They had only just fallen asleep, tangled together in the blankets and sheets and each other, when the phone rang. Maggie reached for the phone and he tucked the hair back behind her ear as she mumbled, "Hello?"

She spoke for a few moments and then she was handing the phone to him, "It's your dad's neighbor, Will."

And then the perfect day shattered.