Chapter Three

It had been two weeks since the reunion notice had arrived. It had also been exactly that long since Piz and Veronica had spoken about it.

Veronica had made it through the second round of interviews at the high-powered firm she was hoping to be hired at. She was on her way to round three when a headline at a corner newsstand caught her eye.

She and Piz had been walking hand in hand when she stopped mid-stride. She was completely unable to force herself to move forward in spite of the inherent danger of standing still on a busy New York City sidewalk.

"Veronica, come on, we're going to be late," Piz began, turning toward her as he spoke. Dark glasses covered his light eyes. His briefcase was hanging from the hand not occupied by hers and a suit jacket draped over that same arm.

In spite of his words, Veronica still stood gaping. Finally, Piz noticed the headline and picture that had caught her attention. Coming up short himself, he reacted by pulling her to the front of the newsstand to keep them from getting trampled, mugged, or beaten for slowing traffic. Then he reached for the newest issue of Entertainment Weekly and read aloud, "Pop Star Seen With Movie Star's Son: Are The Stars Aligning?"

"So freaking cheesy," he lamented, shaking his head. He was trying to play it cool but the longer Veronica went without speaking, the more uncomfortable he got. Attempting to bring her out of her reverie, he tried again by saying lightly, "Hey! Guess that means there's nothing to worry about with going to the reunion, right?!"

She looked at him sharply in spite of her eyes being hidden behind her own dark sunglasses. Her voice was tight and strained when she answered, "Not. Funny."

He sighed and squeezed her hand, pulling her in for a quick side-hug before saying, "I didn't mean it to be funny, Veronica. I was just trying to make the best of an awkward situation. That's all."

Remaining stiff throughout the exchange, Veronica said in an almost robotic tone that was completely devoid of emotion, "I can't deal with this right now. I have an interview in fifteen minutes. You can get yourself to work from here. I'll see you later."

Before he could even comment on the lack of color in her face, she strode off at the fastest clip her short legs would allow and quickly became lost in the crowd.

"Damn," he sighed. He bought himself a copy of the paper and reached for his phone. Scrolling through his contacts, he found the one he was looking for. Hitting send, he only had to wait through two rings before he heard a familiar voice say "Hello?" on the other end of the line.

"Hey, Wallace," Piz began, "I need to talk to you about Veronica..."

A plan had been formulating in his mind over the last couple weeks. He wasn't sure how it would turn out and he realized it could end up being a complete disaster. Somehow, though, he felt compelled to at least share his vision with his friend and former roommate before dismissing it out of hand. Besides, if it turned out that Wallace agreed with him, then they would have a lot of planning to do before September 10th rolled around.