Friendship Makes the Heart Grow Fonder Read Online Free Page B

as geographically undesirable. She also knew that two of the other best film schools in the country were
     in California, a fact she would pointedly not mention. “A month ago you were saying the same thing about New York University.”
    “NYU has one of the top film departments too,” Kiera admitted, “but I’m applying from New Jersey.”
    “Yeah?”
    “It’s a disadvantage. Lots of people from New Jersey will be applying to NYU—I mean, it’s right there. We can commute.” She chewed another bite of chicken. “But there won’t be nearly as many people from New Jersey applying to
     UCLA, so I’ll have the advantage of geographical diversity.”
    “You should be choosing a school because it’s where you want to go, Kiera.”
    “Duh.”
    Monique absorbed the hit. Her ego wasn’t so large it couldn’t survive a few bruises. “You’ve never even visited it.”
    “Audrey’s there. She loves it.”
     “That doesn’t mean you will. And you shouldn’t be choosing a place just because you think you’ll have better odds of getting
     in.”
    Kiera started to roll her eyes and then, abruptly, stopped herself. “I have to work the odds, Mom. It’s hard to get into any film school. ” She stabbed a piece of meat. “And it’s going to help that
     daddy is an alum.”
    “He went to the University of California in San Diego, not UCLA—”
    “—doesn’t matter. I checked.”
    “Did you check the cost? It’s more expensive for out-of-state students. Just as you said, for NYU, you could commute.”
    “Not sure I want to commute.”
    Monique stilled a little, soaking in that revelation, staring at the sliver of onion stuck in the tines of her fork.
    “I mean,” Kiera added quickly, “Daddy left us enough money, right? You always told me that college was one thing I’d never
     have to worry about.”
    “I did say that.” Damn fool.
    “If it hadn’t been that way, I’d just be making you fill out financial aid forms. We’d have found a way to work it out. You always told me that.”
    The girl was warming up to the debate. Monique could tell by the swirls Kiera was drawing in the air with the tip of her knife.
    “And living away from home the first year is sort of part of the whole college experience. You know, dorm life, learning to
     get along with different kinds of people from all over the world and all that.”
    Monique raised a forkful of callaloo. “At UCLA it’s not like you’ll be able to pop home for some curried chicken.”
    “Yeah, but when I do, it’ll be all the more special.”
    Kiera leaned over the plate, her smile slowly stretching wide. Monique gazed at the full round cheeks that her daughter had
     inherited from Lenny, at the steady intelligent eyes pleading for understanding. And it came to her that her daughter was
     behaving more and more like Monique’s own father, who’d worked thirty-two crazy years as a district attorney in Newark. Dad
     had claimed his ability to argue his way around the cleverest of defense lawyers was a product of hard work, plenty of preparation,
     and good old German-American logical thinking.
    Monique suddenly realized she shouldn’t have started this conversation. She was utterly unprepared. And outmatched.
    “Let me think about this for a while,” she said, completely changing tactics. “There was actually something else I wanted
     to discuss with you tonight.”
    “Oh?”
    That was a light-hearted, hopeful, high-pitched kind of “oh?” followed by a little wiggle in the chair and a fresh attack
     on her dinner, and Monique sensed that Kiera believed she’d just won the argument.
    Monique didn’t want to think about that right now. “Remember the other night,” she said, “when I told you about Mrs. Lorenzini’s
     diagnosis?”
    “Yeah. Major bummer. Gina texted me after her dad gave her the news. She was all freaked out about it.”
    Monique checked her surprise. She couldn’t imagine that Becky had asked Marco to give Gina