The Beautiful Truth

// 145

August 5th. Micki and Alex were coming home, and for whatever reason, yes, they wanted me to drive them back to San Francisco after flying across the Pacific. Seventeen hours on a plane, and then they wanted to sit in a car for five hours up the 5.

Hey, whatever Micki wants, Micki gets, I guess.

Talyn and Hadley, who were now well on their way to being in love, had taken me to dinner. I'd spent the last couple days in the studio with Julian as we made notes about the rough cut. In three weeks I'd be back in class. What a mundane life I had to return to once filming was over.

Having gotten to LAX earlier than expected, I opted to park and go in to greet my friends rather than pick them up curbside. I camped out on a bench near the escalators from the international terminal and checked my phone.

My dad had yet to leave Berkeley. He and Amy had just sent me a picture of them enjoying a glass of wine and a cheese plate in Jaime's shop. I smiled so hard my heart could feel it. Those two were well past the point of being in love. It was as if they'd never been apart. It was really incredible.

'Have fun, and tell Jaime she takes great pictures :)' I wrote back immediately.

"You did good, kid," my dad told me at the wrap party, when Amy had wandered away momentarily. "I mean I kind of figured you'd be plotting something, but it couldn't have been more perfect if—"

"If you'd written it yourself," I beamed.

"Thank you," he told me, serious this time.

I cocked my head to the side. "Thank you."

The rest of the wrap party, under the night sky on top of some swanky Berkeley restaurant, was a blur. Everyone was thrilled to have the original author of The End in our presence. Charlie'd made sure to have his picture taken with his real-life counterpart. I was exhausted. One drink and I had to sit down.

"You're off your game," Jordan teased, strolling over to stand in front of me. "At least that's what I hear from the guys," she winked, nodding backward to where Charlie, Chase and Julian stood together, laughing happily.

"I'm beat," I explained, smiling weakly.

"I can only imagine," she assured me. She hesitated. "Listen, Hadley and I were talking and we have one suggestion for the film."

I raised my eyebrows. That's about all I could handle. Sleep was coming, and it was coming on hard. I'd never been so tired in my life.

"Instead of The End of It All, we think it should be—"

"The Truth of It All," Hadley finished for her, practically glowing as she walked up next to Jordan. "God you're so tall, I hate you."

Jordan looked at me, then back at Hadley. "I'm 5'9 and I'm wearing heels."

"I'm wearing 5-inch heels and I'm still not even 5'9!" Hadley complained.

I ignored their friendly bickering. "I like it. The Truth of It All."

And so we had an official title.

I checked the time again and sighed. Micki and Alex's flight finally showed up on the 'Arrivals' board seconds later, and so I leaned back on my palms, watching and waiting for my friends to come bounding down the stairs—which of course they would, because together they nearly always 'bounded' wherever they went.