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I had never thought I was a visual animal, but since S.E.C.R.E.T., I had discovered that I had been wrong about a lot of things.
    Too tired to get off the couch, I waved good-bye to Jesse from my spot. He gave me his trademark two-finger salute and left, quietly shutting the door behind him. Then I glanced down at my arm, down to my glittering bracelet, the one covered with ten charms, each one loved and earned. Suddenly it seemed to weigh heavily on my wrist.

    The next morning, I dressed carefully for my regular breakfast shift at the Café Rose. I wanted to look pulled together, calm, adult, not like I’d been crying all night. Not that Dell would notice. She hadn’t paid much attention to Will and me kissing in the corners of the Café this past month, so I figured she’d barely register that we’d broken up.
    Then I was slammed by another memory from the night before! Yesterday, in the throes of deep affection for me, Will had not only asked me to manage his new, fancier restaurant upstairs, but also had said he was naming it
Cassie’s
, after me, a gesture that had moved me to tears. Now, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to work there anymore.
    Maybe what I needed to do was walk in and quit. This time for good. Maybe a long break from seeing each other, being around each other, hurting each other, was what we both needed. Then cold dread snaked up my legs:
Will could fire me
. I’d have a wrongful dismissal case of some kind, but I wouldn’t spend my savings on lawyers. Knowing me, I’d just leave, tail between my legs, taking Angela Rejean up on that hostess job at Maison.
    When I got to Frenchmen Street, I made a right. The autumn sun felt comforting on my shoulders. I began to walk a little taller. If only I could make Will understand all that S.E.C.R.E.T. had done for me, not just sexually. But I could also stand up for myself. I could go after what I wanted. I was bolder, surer, no longer clingy and afraid. I wasn’t one of those women who would rather be with anyone than alone. Alone was not scary anymore. Alone was challenging, but it was also deeply satisfying. Alone was not lonely.
    By the time I reached the Café Rose, I was certain today was the last day I’d work for Will Foret. And I was also certain I’d be okay. I looked upstairs to the new restaurant, its freshly installed windows still sporting the manufacturer’sstickers. I would be sad, but I would survive. Resilience was one of the many things S.E.C.R.E.T. had given me, and today it was the only thing I needed.

    Breakfast was a blur. Dell and I passed each other going through the swinging doors, her emerging with platters of eggs, me punching in with dirty dishes piled in two arms, both of us at various times tapping our fingers while waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. It wasn’t until the late-morning lull that Will snuck in through the kitchen while my back was to him. I was grating lime rinds while Dell was prepping crust for one of her famous pies. When I turned around, my heart took a second to catch up to what I saw: Will’s handsome face now drawn, his dark eyes bloodshot, his lids heavy with grief.
    “Hey,” he said, eyeing both of us as he deposited a crate of oranges on the metal prep table.
    Dell ignored him, knowing that greeting was for me.
    “Hey,” I said, mimicking his deadpan delivery.
    “You got home okay?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
    “I did,” I replied curtly, not turning fully around to face him, refraining from telling him that Jesse drove me home,
but nothing happened
.
    “Good. Good,” he said. “I’m sorry I stormed out of there. But I figured you were in good hands.”
    There it was, a dig about Jesse
.
    “Will, I—”
    Dell wasn’t interested in overhearing any more of what wasn’t really being said.
    “If you kids need me, I’ll be at my job, working,” she said, heading through the swinging doors back into the Café.
    Will turned to finish unloading the fruit and vegetables. I went