“I can't believe it,” Emily gasped, her eyes wide with astonishment. “It's a really big change.”

“Does... does it look bad?” Valo asked, peering nervously at her reflection.

“No way!” Emily responded. “You look great!”

“It's like Em said... it's a big change,” Cy added. “I guess because as long as she's known you... actually, for as long as I've known you... you've had the same hair and glasses and all.”

“It was time for a change,” Valo replied. She toyed with her hair briefly before turning to Cy. “Are you sure the color looks okay? Maybe I shouldn't have gone with red. I'm going to look like one of those old ladies who's trying to be all hip and fashionable, but just looks ridiculous.”

“Relax, Valo,” Cy soothed her, patting her shoulder. “You look great.”

“It makes you look younger,” Emily blurted out. Seeing Valo's face, Emily stammered out, “N-not that you looked old before, but... well, you know...”


“You look more your proper age now, is what she means,” Cy spoke up. “You were cute before, no question, but you dressed kind of... you know... old for your age.”

“Yeah, I got that a lot when I was younger. Comes from being one of the youngest people in your academic program and wanting to be taken seriously by clients,” Valo responded. “Anyway, I figured I needed new glasses. A haircut and dye was just lagniappe.”

Cy smiled slightly and asked, “Are you sure the change was just for the fun of it? Or is there another reason you're so anxious to look nice?”

Valo laughed, but it had a nervous quality to it. “What do you mean, Cy?”

Cy grinned and pulled an invitation out of her own pocket. “A little get-together with some of the people we knew back in the day. There must be someone you're eager to impress.”

“No way,” Valo protested. “I just... you know... felt like it was time to update my look. Why would I want to impress anyone there, especially since these people already know me?”

“Then you didn't hear? One of your old friends is back in town,” Cy responded.

“Wait, what? Who?” Valo asked, genuinely surprised.

“You'll see. Come on, Emily. We still need to go get the stuff for dinner,” Cy said. Emily nodded and followed closely.


As soon as they were out of earshot, Emily asked, “What was that about?”

Cy grinned and replied, “What are you doing Friday night?”

“Not much. Louie's out on assignment, so I was going to stay in and maybe catch up on my reading.”

“If you want to see something really surprising or amusing, come to that get-together with me,” Cy told her. “You won't believe what will happen.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“You don't know Valo as well as I do. I knew her back in the day, before she got stuffy and conservative. She used to be a lot of fun, you know.”


“Yeah? How much fun are we talking about?”

“Would you believe she pretty much had her pick of guys at one point? She gave all that up after she got together with Grant.”

“Seriously? Valo?! Looking like she does? Or... you know... did...”

“I guess it's the whole gamer geek meets tomboy-next-door thing she had going on back then. When most of the people you hang around with are geeky guys, they fall hard for that kind of thing. A few, more than others.”

“So, what's that got to do with this?” Emily asked.

“You know the saying, 'Behind every successful man is a brilliant woman'? What if I told you that at one point, Valo played that part to someone who was kind of a big deal on campus, back in the day? We're talking more or less being the university equivalent of... I don't know... the First Lady or something.”

“And?”

“I have it on good authority that a certain guy will be at that get-together. Worst-case scenario, they'll have one of the most epic fights of all time.”

“And best-case scenario?”

Cy smirked. “You'll see. I don't want to spoil the fun for you.”