“How are the sales today?” Hayley asked as she returned to her flat to find Sophie sat on the sofa, checking her laptop.

“Still good,” Sophie replied with a smile. “I mean, yes, they’re tapering off, but that’s to be expected after this length of time, so- yeah. Publishers are still VERY happy though.”

“I still can’t believe I know a famous author!” Hayley teased, giggling as her friend rolled her eyes and blushed.

“I still can’t believe I AM a- well, never mind ‘famous’, just ‘author’ full stop,” Sophie chuckled. Certainly not like this, she thought to herself as she thought back over the previous three years.

At the start of 2017, ‘Sophie’ had been an ordinary 22-year-old man named ‘James’ who’d never before thought of themselves in terms of being transgender. By the end of that year, ‘he’ was living life almost exclusively as a woman. By the end of 2018, ‘he’ had earned the acceptance and love of the greatest set of friends ‘he’ had ever known. By the end of 2019, ‘they’ had been unconditionally accepted by their parents. And as 2020 drew to a close, ‘she’ had established her career, her social group, her family- her entire life, even- as a woman, despite never having taken a single dose of oestrogen. All of her identification still showed her as being male, but she knew that deep down inside, it was a different story- and more importantly, the people who loved her and who she loved in return knew it as well.

“Nah, that was always on the cards,” Hayley said with a giggle. “And before you say it, so was you sitting on that sofa wearing that sweater and that skirt!” Sophie grinned as she gazed down at the tight turtleneck jumper that clung to her torso and the ribbed black mini skirt covering her legs above her knees.

“Funny how things turn out at times, isn’t it?” Sophie mused with a grin that was mirrored by her friend.

“You can say that again,” Hayley chuckled as she sat down next to Sophie and mused on her own life.

Three years earlier, Hayley had been a teenager without a family, without a job and without a future. Three years later, and not only had she found a well-paying job, but she’d gained more friends than she’d ever dreamed of and was able to connect with family too- especially her father, who understood what she was going through better than anyone else. When Hayley’s father had been kicked out of her home for being transgender, it had turned the young trans woman’s life upside down and torn her heart in two. Her mother and her siblings’ reactions were confirmation to Hayley that she’d never be accepted as who she really was- and yet, as hard as she’d tried, she couldn’t deny her true self. Despite the pain, despite the anguish, Hayley was happy with the way her life had turned out- she was unambiguously the woman she’d always dreamed of becoming, and her chosen family had become far, far more important to her than her biological family.

“Anyway, didn’t you say you had an interview today, about your book?” Hayley asked.

“Not until later,” Sophie replied. “And it’s not all about the book, they- they kinda, you know, want to get to know me as a person too…” Sophie grimaced and blushed as her friend’s grin widened.

“And you were saying about NOT being famous?” Hayley teased.

“I’m only doing it to publicise the book,” Sophie insisted. “And maybe dispel a few myths as well, I mean, the amount of people who’ve dismissed the book as ‘socialist nonsense’ without ever having read it is ridiculous. Firstly, it’s not an opinion piece, it’s a collection of testimonials as well as research from doctors and counsellors. Secondly, I’m not even a socialist! I voted Lib Dem in last year’s election. Okay, yes, I DID kinda run a trade union for a bit, but still…”

“Yeah, well, in my experience, ignorant people like that tend to lump everyone they disapprove of into one big group simply called ‘the enemy’,” Hayley snorts. “I think I told you for your book some of the disgusting things my family said about my dad after she started transitioning…”

“Some of the lies, yep,” Sophie sighed. “Journalism 101: repeat a lie often enough and eventually people will start to accept it as the truth.”

“Especially if you’re really old, Australian and look like a shrivelled-up old testicle with glasses,” Hayley snorted. “Not that I want to come across as insulting of journalists, like.”

“I’m more insulted that you consider Murdoch to BE a journalist,” Sophie snorted. “But whatever, I- I know I’m helping people with the work I do. I- I just wish issues like ours weren’t so politicised, you know? There’s nothing political about living your life the way you want to if it doesn’t hurt anyone else, right? And if you simply existing somehow ‘hurts’ someone else, well, they shouldn’t have such a massive stick up their arse.”

“Amen,” Hayley chuckled. “And don’t knock sticks up your arse until you’ve tried-“

“Yes, yes, okay, thank you,” Sophie sighed. “After everything that’s happened since last Christmas, believe me when I say that sex is a REALLY low priority for me right now.”

“I bet,” Hayley whispered as she and Sophie thought about their third flatmate, who at that point in time was high in the skies over Europe.

Amy let out a sigh as she secured her drinks trolley in the plane’s galley, before taking off her hat, slipping off her mid-heeled shoes, straightening her dark tights and blue pencil skirt and stretching her tired feet.

“I’ll overlook the uniform code violation this time, honey,” Amy’s supervisor said with a wink in her gentle Georgian accent.

“Ugh, sorry Annabelle,” Amy moaned as she slipped her shoes back on. “Just- I dunno. Probably still feeling a bit tired after my run-in with you-know-what.”

“I bet, honey,” Annabelle sighed softly. “Has everyone in your flat had it now?”

“Yep,” Amy said with a tired sigh. “First me, then Hayley, then Sophie. Of course, because we all live together, our lockdown started when I tested positive and ended 9 days after Sophie did, meaning lots of time indoors vegging out, heh. Probably got a bit too used to it, it’s kinda nice to now be back in uniform and actually earning some money, you know?”

“I get what you mean, honey,” Annabelle replied. “I missed the work at times during lockdown too, but it’s getting to work with all you guys and gals that I really missed the most.”

“D’aww,” Amy teased her supervisor, who blushed and giggled bashfully. “Do you- umm, but do you- do you think we’ll be, you know, working together for much longer? Like, out of London?” Amy bit her lip and grimaced as the tall American woman paused to consider her response.

“…I hope so,” Annabelle whispered.

“Me too,” Amy mumbled. “But- ugh, never mind. No point in worrying about things you can’t control, right?”

“That’s always been my motto,” Annabelle replied with a warm smile as her colleague found herself fretting about her words and how they equally applied to her personal life- specifically, her immediate family.

Unlike Hayley, when Amy had started work over three years earlier, she had already been on HRT for three months, and had had the support of her parents ever since she came out at the end of 2016. However, while she had no problem with that side of her family, she had another family with whom she’d never had anything but drama.

When she was seventeen- and still identifying as ‘Andy’- Amy had been a stereotypical teenage tearaway. She had acted out, thumbed her nose at authority and engaged in casual sex with multiple partners- which ultimately resulted in her fathering a child with a woman named Kerry. This had been the catalyst for Amy to turn her life around- she got a job, cut back on her partying in favour of being there for her child and never missed a single payment of child support. A short while later, on her 21st birthday, her parents showered her with gifts- however, they were all gifts intended for 'Amy', not 'Andy'. However, while Amy was relieved to no longer have to hide her true self from her parents, Kerry had made it plain that under no circumstances was their daughter ever to learn the truth about her- and Amy spent every day since that fateful birthday wondering whether or not she made the right choice. For years, Amy had been forced to pretend to be her daughter’s aunt, rather than her father, and while she was happy she was able to be in her life at all, she longed for the day when she'd finally be able to come out to the little girl and still be able to have a relationship with her.

However, just as it had for Sophie and Hayley- not to mention everyone else across the world- everything in her life had changed seven months earlier. Covid-19 had swept across the globe like wildfire, irreparably changing the lives of the trio and everyone they knew. Amy’s access to her daughter, which had been tenuous to begin with, vanished to be replaced by video calls only. Hayley had been unable to visit her father in the flesh for months. And Sophie’s plans for the future had had to be accelerated thanks to the one thing that affected all three women equally- the pandemic's devastating effect on the number of people travelling by air.

However, the covid regulations were slowly easing. While passenger numbers were still low, Hayley’s relationship with her biological family had been gradually improving and Amy had arranged a visit with her daughter for the following day- something that she couldn’t help but be distracted by as she flew back from Austria to the UK.

“Hi honeys, I’m home!” Amy said with a smile as she returned to the flat and kicked off her heels.

“Hey, how was Vienna?” Hayley asked with a smile. “And don’t say it means-“

“It means nothing to me,” Amy replied, before sharing a giggle with her flatmate. “Ahh… where’s Soph?”

“Doing another interview,” Hayley replied, biting her lip nervously. “So, umm, when you were at the airport, did you- umm, did you-“

“Did I find out if we’d also need to be doing interviews anytime soon?” Amy asked, sighing sympathetically as Hayley nodded. “I didn’t hear anything, believe me, if I did, you’d be the first person I told, Soph second.”

“…Even though she doesn’t work for the airline anymore?” Hayley asked.

“Hence why I won’t tell you both at the same time,” Amy said, before sharing another giggle with her friend. “Ah, I dunno. I reckon everything’ll work out okay, I mean, the airline IS just a small part of a much larger company, you know? Soixante-Trois as a firm existed for, like, forty years before Masson started flying planes everywhere.”

“Yeah, but there won’t be much use for trained cabin crew in a warehouse full of DVD players,” Hayley retorted, grimacing as her friend frowned.

“Can we- can we talk about something else, please?” Amy asked. “I mean, it IS Friday night, you know?”

“Sure, not a problem,” Hayley conceded with a warm smile. “So… shall we have another ‘all dressed up and nowhere to go’ party? I’ve found another couple of tracks for the ‘classic trance’ playlist.”

“Ugh, normally I’d love to, you know that,” Amy sighed. “But tomorrow I-“

“You- you’ve got your thing with your parents tomorrow,” Hayley interrupted in a soft whisper.

“…Got my ‘thing’ AS a parent tomorrow,” Amy retorted. “Hopefully. Assuming Kerry doesn’t shit me about. Again.”

“I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you,” Hayley said. “I know Soph will as well. Assu- assuming, you know, you don’t- you won’t want us to come along? Like, for moral support?”

“I would love nothing more,” Amy sighed sadly. “But rule of six means- yeah. Between me, Kerry, Jade and my parents that’ll be five already. And it wouldn’t surprise me if Kerry brought her parents along to try to get me to leave, but my parents have already said they’ll leave if that happens, and- yeah. I mean, I could maybe bring one of you along, but-“

“Team ASH is a trio and always will be,” Hayley said.

“Yep,” Amy said as she mused on her and Sophie's one night stand, and how glad she was that they were able to put it behind them and go back to being the good friends that they were. As if on cue, Team ASH’s third member emerged from her bedroom, a smile immediately spreading across her face as she saw that her ginger-haired flatmate had returned.

“Hey Amy!” Sophie said, grinning as she and Amy exchanged a hug. “How was Vienna? And don’t quote that bloody Ultrav-“

“It meant nothing to me,” Amy hastily interrupted, triggering a giggle from the three women. “But seriously though, it was fun. Well, the airport was, anyway. The one thing people always say when you tell them you’re a flight attendant is ‘you must see some incredible places!’. Well, yes, the airports of those incredible places, certainly. I couldn’t name five points of interest I’ve seen in Vienna. Or Berlin, Madrid or even Paris, for that matter.”

“Well, sounds like what we need is an official Team ASH weekend away in one of these cities,” Sophie said with a confident grin. “When we’re allowed to properly travel again, anyway.”

“And if we can spare the cash,” Hayley said with a heavy sigh. “Still not getting the shifts we were getting this time last year.”

“If I have to pay for the trip myself, I will,” Sophie said.

“You absolutely will not!” Amy retorted. “We’re not taking advantage of you, Soph, no matter how much book money you’re raking in at the moment.”

“…Wouldn’t say ‘raking’, exactly,” Sophie mumbled, before sighing and smiling. “Though I- I do appreciate what you’re saying.”

“It’s the classic ‘employee’s dilemma’, though,” Hayley sighed. “You have the free time to go somewhere, but can’t afford it, or you have plenty of money but no free time in which to enjoy it. Wasn’t the union and the strike meant to solve all this?”

“I think that problem might be bigger than just us, you know, ‘fly girls’,” Amy chuckled. “God knows that’s certainly true of covid. But- ehh. We’ll definitely have a weekend away somewhere when we can, just the three of us.”

“When covid isn’t a threat anymore,” Sophie said.

“And we have enough money,” Hayley added.

“And enough free time,” Amy chuckled. “But- you know? August 2022 will be our fifth anniversary, even the most pessimistic covid, like, predictions say it won’t be a problem by then, so how about it? Late summer in Austria?”

“I’m sticking it in my phone right now,” Hayley chuckled. “Team ASH forever!”

“Team ASH forever!” Sophie and Amy cheered simultaneously, even as the three women were forced to acknowledge, if only to themselves, just how uncertain their futures were.

With Amy needing to get up early the following morning, all of the flat’s occupants agreed to get an early night. After her long day, Amy had no difficulty drifting off to sleep, but she found herself waking up the following morning long before her alarm was due to sound, and it didn’t take long for her anxiety about the day ahead to take control.

“Mmph,” Hayley grunted as she heard her roommate shuffle around the darkened room. “Amy? What time is it?”

“…What, really?” Amy teased her friend. “After all these years of getting up early for morning flights?”

“Oh- shut up,” Hayley grumbled, before giggling and sighing. “…How are you feeling today?”

“Honestly?” Amy replied. “More nervous than I was expecting. I mean, this is already the longest amount of time I’ve gone without seeing Jade in the flesh, even when she was a new-born. And I- I doubt I’ll be prepared for how much she’s grown, heh.”

“It’ll be fine, honestly,” Hayley said softly as she propped herself up on her elbows. “You’re her dad. No one can take that away from you, not even Kerry.”

“Yeah, I know that,” Amy sighed. “And Kerry knows that as well, and my parents… everyone apart from the one person who really matters.”

“Jade herself?” Hayley asked, smiling sympathetically as her friend nodded. “I wish I knew what to say. Hell, I wish I could go along with you today, like, for moral support.”

“Yeah, so do I,” Amy said, her shoulders slumping. “I- I should get showered, get ready to head out, sort of thing.”

“Whatever you need, just ask,” Hayley said. “You know that applies for literally everything, right?”

“Team ASH forever,” Amy giggled. “And… maybe rethink your use of the word ‘literally’ next time, heh!”

“Oh- shut up,” Hayley snorted as she threw her pillow at the ginger-haired girl, giggling as it was immediately thrown back at her. “How- umm, if you don’t mind me asking that is, how are, like, ‘things’ with you and Sophie?” Hayley bit her lip as Amy paused to consider her answer, sensing that despite the time that had passed, it was still a sensitive subject for her two best friends.

“We’re… in a good place,” Amy replied. “That’s about all I can really say right now without talking to her, heh. But we- we don’t really need to say anything, you know? I’ve put it in the past. Moved on. Got closure. But most importantly, she’s still my friend.”

“Team ASH forever,” Hayley said, echoing her friend’s earlier giggle. “Ahh… it is weird, you know? How none of us have really had a serious relationship since we started living together?”

“Meh, you and I both know that oestrogen can do a REAL number on your libido,” Amy retorted with a shrug. “And Sophie… heh. I think she still thinks that no woman would ever want to be with- well, with her. She’s wrong, obviously. I mean, I’m not that woman, I’m really, really not, but- she’s still wrong. She deserves love. Hell, we all do. And god knows Sophie’s not alone in having ‘baggage’, but- you know? If I had to choose between having a long-term girlfriend, even, like, a lifetime partner, or seeing my daughter, then Jade wins every time. And it isn’t even close.”

“You really are a great dad,” Hayley said softly, earning a smile from her friend. “Good luck today. Not that you’ll need it.”

“Thanks,” Amy whispered as she headed to the shower.

Half an hour later, Amy left the flat, bound for Victoria station. As she rode the tube, Amy felt her anxiety levels rise almost uncontrollably. Outwardly, she was the picture of confidence- dressed in a smart black skirt, a dark green turtleneck and low-heeled shoes, she looked just like any other young woman going about her day. On the inside, though, though, she was filled with doubt and with nerves. Would Kerry even allow her to see Jade, with covid still being a threat? Would Jade even want to see the woman she considered to be her aunt? And most of all, would Amy be able to see Jade without her heart breaking in half?

Amy’s anxiety was relieved somewhat when she arrived outside Sittingbourne station to be greeted by the smiling (albeit masked) faces of her parents.

“Hello Amy!” the young woman’s father said, giving his daughter a wave despite her desperate and obvious need for a hug. “Good train ride down?”

“Meh, quiet one at least,” Amy replied as she waved at her mother. “It’s been the same way on flights lately too.”

“Well, surely that’s a good thing?” Amy’s mother asked. “It shows that people are still taking the virus seriously, as they should.”

“And makes life quieter for you too, right?” Amy’s father asked.

“Yeah, well, there’s such a thing as TOO quiet,” Amy sighed. “The less hard I work, the less likely the airline is to need my work. A lot of the other girls, mostly the ones who came to work here from abroad, have already gone back to their home countries.”

“I remember you saying that French girl you lived with went home right around the time of the first lockdown,” Amy’s father mused.

“Yep,” Amy sighed. “And as she couldn’t get shifts when her dad owned the place, it doesn’t bode well for the rest of us. But maybe- maybe I’m being paranoid, I dunno. Today- today isn’t about me, heh.”

“Absolutely,” Amy’s mother said with a happy smile. “And if the worst does happen, you know you’ve always got a bed waiting for you at our house.”

“Even if there might be a bit of a queue for the bathroom in the morning!” Amy’s father laughed, making his daughter roll her eyes.

“I’ve lived with two or three women for the last three years, I’ll be fine,” Amy retorted. “Heh, I’ll probably BE the queue for the bathroom, heh!”

“And if you do need to move back home, you’ll at least be closer to Jade,” Amy’s mother said, making the young woman pause for thought.

“True,” Amy said with a smile. Even if I would be further away from Sophie and Hayley, the young woman thought to herself. No having your cake and eating it…

A short while later, the family arrived at the small park where they'd agreed to meet, and it didn’t take long for Amy and her parents to spot the seven-year-old girl and vice versa. Amy braced herself for the usual disappointment of her daughter greeting her parents before her, but she smiled when Jade gave her an unexpected surprise.

“Auntie Amy!” The ginger-haired little girl exclaimed as she saw Amy come into view and sit down on a bench six feet away from her. “Grandma! Grandpa!”

“Hi sweetie!” Amy said, her wide grin obvious even beneath her mask. “Wow, you’ve grown so much since I last saw you!”

“You saw me all the time on the computer!” Jade reminded the woman she believed to be her aunt, who replied with a happy giggle.

“Well- that’s true,” Amy said, before keeping her anger in check as her ex-partner sat down next to their daughter. “H- hi, Kerry.”

“Hello, Amy,” Kerry said coldly, before perking up as she addressed her daughter’s grandparents. “Hi Phil, Kate, I thought I’d better stick around for today’s visit as you can’t come within two metres and somebody really should, like, keep ‘hold’ of Jade.”

“That- that’s okay,” Amy’s father said, even as his daughter started to fidget at her ex-partner trying to side-line her yet again.

“Auntie Amy,” Jade said, making the ginger-haired woman perk up again, “do you like my new dress?”

“You look so pretty!” Amy exclaimed as the little girl unzipped her coat to show off the fancy red garment. “When did you get that?”

“Grandma bought it for me from Amazon during the summer holiday!” Jade replied with a wide grin. Which was two months ago, and this is the first time I've seen you since then, Amy thought to herself as she tried her hardest not to cry- or frown with anger at Kerry’s smug grin.

“Have- have you been enjoying going back into school?” Amy asked, smiling as her daughter nodded.

“It’s nice being able to play with my friends again, even if we can’t get too close to each other,” Jade replied, before fidgeting awkwardly in her seat- something that all of the adults present couldn’t help but notice.

“…Jade, sweetie?” Amy asked. “Are- are you okay?”

“I- I think she’s just a bit cold,” Kerry replied. “We’d better not stay outside too long.”

“No, I’m not cold,” Jade protested, her nerves still obvious to the adults present. “Auntie Amy, at school we’ve been learning about people who are different to other people.”

“…Okay,” Amy replied. “Well, everybody’s different from everyone else, right? Even identical twins are different, as they might like different things. You said there’s a pair of twins in your school, aren’t there?”

“Yes,” Kerry replied with a smile. “My friends Millie and Maisie, who go to gymnastics club with me before the virus meant we couldn’t. But there’s another girl who goes to gymnastics club, an older girl called Faith.”

“Umm, okay,” Amy said as Jade’s mother scowled at the young girl.

“I told you not to talk about her,” Kerry whispered, though her voice was still loud enough for Amy to clearly hear.

“No, it’s okay,” Amy said, her heart beating faster as she dared to hope that Jade was about to give her a reason- any reason- to tell her the truth about herself.

“Faith says that she wasn’t always a girl, but she was born as a boy,” Jade continued. “But she’s not allowed to get changed with us, even though she wears the same leotard that we all do and wears a skirt to school instead of trousers.”

“O- okay,” Amy said nervously. Please, Amy thought to herself. Please, Jade, please ask me what I think you want to ask me…

“Jade? Enough,” Kerry said, grabbing her daughter’s arm.

“No, let the girl speak,” Amy’s mother said as she gave her daughter’s hand a supportive squeeze. “I want to know more about this Faith girl. Do you play with her much at school?”

“No,” Jade replied sadly. “She goes to a different school, and she’s ten, so she’s older than me. And mummy says she wouldn’t like me playing with her anyway.”

“Jade!” Kerry snapped, startling her daughter. “That’s enough now.” Amy felt her heart break as her daughter frowned and her bottom lip began to tremble.

“But I wanted to ask Auntie Amy-“ Jade whined.

“No,” Kerry said firmly as Amy took a deep breath.

For years, Amy had told Kerry that there would come a time when Jade would figure out that the woman that she thought was her aunt was not, in fact, her aunt. Amy had warned Kerry that she wouldn’t be able to ‘shelter’ Jade forever, not even with the 'help' of the global situation. That she would eventually ask why she only ever saw her ‘aunt’ instead of her father, even over video calls. However, Amy hadn’t anticipated the question coming so soon- and had especially not anticipated it coming in the middle of a global pandemic, when Amy hadn’t been able to so much as hug her daughter for months. And while Amy desperately wanted to be asked the question she longed to hear, she was forced to admit to herself that she didn’t know whether or not she’d be brave enough to tell Jade the truth- especially considering Kerry’s threats in the past. It was, after all, better that Jade see her as her aunt as opposed to never seeing her at all…

“G- go on, Jade,” Amy whispered, deflecting Kerry’s angry glare with a determined look of her own.

“My gymnastics teacher says that if they want, boys can become girls and girls can become boys, and it doesn’t matter how old they are,” Jade mumbled, pulling her hand free from her mother’s and walking over to the woman she was told was her aunt. “Auntie Amy, are you- are you really my daddy?” Amy felt her breath catch in her throat as the question was asked. Amy glanced over at the bench where Kerry was sat and flinched when she saw the anger in the young woman’s eyes. Amy knew the risks, but also knew that she might never get another opportunity- and that her daughter deserved the truth.

“…Yes,” Amy whispered emotionally. “Yes, I am your fa-“ Amy paused as Jade suddenly leapt into her lap, wrapping her arms around her neck and squeezing her tight.

“I missed you, daddy,” Jade sobbed into her father’s shoulder.

“I- I missed you too,” Amy whispered as she wrapped her arms around her daughter.

“That’s it, we’re going,” Kerry snarled, marching over to where the family were sat and snatching her daughter’s hand.

“No!” Jade petulantly wailed. “I want to stay with my daddy!” Amy bit her lip to keep herself from speaking out of turn and making the situation worse, but it did nothing to stop the tears that were trickling from her eyes.

“She can’t be your daddy, she’s your Auntie Amy, I’ve told you this before!” Kerry said, her voice quivering with anger.

“But if Faith can become a girl, why can’t daddy?” Jade asked.

“Because-“ Kerry replied, before pausing as she realised she had no answer for her daughter. “Because I said so. Now come on!”

“Well, I say I CAN become a woman, and I AM a woman,” Amy said firmly. “That doesn’t stop me from being Jade’s father, it doesn’t stop me from loving her and it definitely won’t stop me from being in her life.”

“No, but I can!” Kerry snapped.

“No!” Jade said, tears freely flowing from her eyes. “Please don’t take my daddy away again!” Kerry reached for her daughter again, but paused as she saw the pain in her eyes, and the look of pleading in not just Amy’s eyes, but her parents’ as well.

“…What’s most important,” Amy’s father said in a calm, quiet voice, “it’s what’s best for Jade.”

“I’m her mother,” Kerry retorted. “I should decide what that is.”

“Even if Jade herself disagrees with you?” Amy’s mother asked, smiling sympathetically as Kerry lowered her head. “I think- I think we all need to talk this through a bit more carefully. Like adults.”

“A- agreed,” Amy said, before taking a deep breath and looking her daughter in the eye. “Jade, I- I’m sorry I had to lie to you all this time. Your mo- umm, that is, we- we thought it was best that you didn’t know the truth in case it made you confused.”

“But what’s so confusing about a boy who doesn’t like being a boy and wants to be a girl instead?” Jade asked, earning a wide, happy smile from her father.

“Nothing at all,” Amy whispered, staring into her ex-partner’s eyes as she was emboldened by her daughter’s defiance. “Isn’t that right, Kerry?” Amy allowed herself a small, triumphant smile as Kerry silently nodded, before inviting her to take her daughter's hand again.

“We should- we should find somewhere to eat,” Amy’s mother said softly. “Have you had lunch yet, Kerry?”

“N- not yet,” Kerry replied in a voice barely louder than a whisper. “What- what time do you have to go back to London, Amy?”

“I- I can stick around a bit longer,” Amy replied with a smile, which widened as her daughter grinned at her in a way she hadn't done since Amy had started living life as a woman- but which Amy hoped she would see many, many more times in the future.

Amy returned to London later that evening, feeling like she was floating on air throughout the entire train ride home. With the truth becoming known to Jade, the young girl had insisted that she be allowed to see her father more frequently, and realising that she risked alienating her daughter if she refused, Kerry had eventually agreed to weekly visits with Amy at Amy’s parents’ house- though all present acknowledged that the arrangement would have to be agreed by a family worker and subject to any future lockdowns. Nonetheless, as she made the short walk back from the tube station to her flat, Amy felt a renewed sense of optimism about her life. However, as she walked through her front door, she quickly realised that feeling wouldn’t last for much longer.

“Gooooood evening, girls!” Amy said with a giggle as she entered the flat and dropped her coat and bag. “Everyone have a good Saturday?” Amy’s smile faltered as she saw the serious look on her flatmates’ faces. “…What?”

“Didn’t- didn’t you get the call?” Hayley asked.

“What call?” Amy asked as she fished her phone out of her handbag. “I had my phone on silent all day, I didn’t want to be disturbed… A missed call from the airline? At 4pm on a Saturday?”

“I didn’t get one, obviously, but- yeah,” Sophie grimaced. “You’ve been kinda- kinda called in to the airport on Monday.”

“A shift?” Amy asked as she listened to the voicemail, her face quickly falling. “…Not a shift, then.”

“We’ve ALL been called in,” Hayley said solemnly. “Literally, everyone who currently works for the airline in London, and not just cabin crew.”

“Well- okay,” Amy sighed. “That’s not a good sign, then.”

“Nope,” Hayley said, before shaking her head. “Anyway- sorry, Amy, you were in such a good mood when you came home too. Did it go well with Jade and your family?”

“It- it doesn’t really matter much, really,” Amy mumbled, earning frustrated groans from her friends.

“Oh- come on,” Sophie sighed. “Normally, when you come back from Kent, you look like you’re about to kick the sofa out the window, but today you’re happier than I’ve ever seen you.”

“Soph’s right,” Hayley said. “Just ‘cause we’ve had bad news, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t celebrate if you’ve had good news. Sooo… what happened?”

“Well…” Amy said, her smile returning as she teased her friends. “Let’s just say that Jade won’t be calling me ‘auntie’ anymore, not when she prefers the word ‘daddy’, anyway.”

“Oh- oh my god, really?” Hayley squeaked, yelling with excitement as Amy nodded and the three women shared a tight group hug.

“How- how did your ex react?” Sophie asked.

“Pissed off would be an understatement,” Amy replied. “But she realised that she can’t keep Jade away from her daddy, now that she knows the truth, anyway. I mean- there’s a lot, a LOT we still need to work out, but we have at least agreed to work it all out. Heh, and one of those things will be how I’m going to pay Jade’s child support if I suddenly become unemployed…”

“Well, regardless, we should celebrate,” Sophie said. “Something like this DESERVES to be celebrated. And no, I’m not just saying that to get an interview out of you for any book, I know you don’t want me and my recording app anywhere near Jade.”

“Thanks,” Amy said softly. “Though I reckon me sending a copy of your book to Kerry did help out, even if she didn’t explicitly say it out loud. What apparently did it was Jade having a trans friend who goes to the same gymnastics club as her. Who’s only ten, heh.”

“Wow,” Hayley said. “Kinda makes you wonder what your life would’ve been like if you could’ve transitioned when you were ten, doesn’t it?”

“I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it,” Amy sighed as she and the girls sat back down. “I mean, I DEFINITELY knew when I was ten that I was, well, ‘wrongly aligned’.”

“Same here,” Hayley said with a sad smile.

“Yeah, I- I wasn’t QUITE there when I was ten…” Sophie mumbled, earning sad sighs from her friends.

“Oh- god, Soph, I’m so sorry…” Amy sighed. “I mean, how many times have I forgotten over the last three years?”

“Not as many times as I have, I can guarantee you that,” Sophie giggled as she gave her friend’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“It doesn’t matter where or when you started, just the path you’re on,” Hayley chuckled.

“…And I thought I was the writer in this house!” Sophie teased her friend, who rolled her eyes.

“ANYway,” Hayley said with a chuckle, “what I was thinking was that we should have, like, a Zoom party.”

“Oh, you- you don’t have to on my behalf, seriously,” Amy said.

“Well, if not for you, then for all of us,” Hayley said. “If this is going to be our last weekend as Soixante-Trois employees?”

“But we should celebrate your good news somehow,” Sophie insisted.

“It’s getting a bit late now to start organising a party,” Amy said as she glanced at her phone. “Let alone a costume party, heh.”

“Umm, who said anything about it being a costume party?” Hayley asked.

“I did,” Amy replied smugly. “If we’re going to celebrate, we’re going to do it properly.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Sophie said. “So… what theme did you have in mind?”

“If it’s going to be a ‘final hurrah’, then it should really be our work uniforms, shouldn’t it?” Hayley asked.

“Which we’re not allowed to take out of the airport,” Amy reminded her friend. “So how about a different type of uniform? The one that we were just commenting on how we weren’t allowed to wear them as kids?”

“Pretty sure we’ve done a school uniform party before,” Sophie said. “Either that or there’s some other reason there are five pleated skirts in my wardrobe.”

“Umm, because you look cute in them?” Hayley asked, earning a giggle from her friend. “Seriously though, it’s a good call, a costume we’ve worn before, so we can save money and time… yeah, it sounds fun, hehe! I’ll send a message round, let the girls know and, like, get everything sorted for tomorrow night.”

“One ‘final hurrah’,” Amy chuckled.

“Of course,” Sophie mused, “the airline COULD be calling with good news, like, announcing the transatlantic route they’ve been working toward for years?”

“Well,” Amy said smugly, “if that’s the case, then we’ll have even more reason to celebrate, won’t we?” The three girls all cheered, even as they knew that Amy's optimism was almost certainly misplaced.

After a quick dinner, the three women spent the rest of the evening relaxing by watching television and browsing social media before heading to bed. Despite her anxiety about Monday’s meeting, Amy found herself falling asleep almost immediately following the day's excitement. While she woke up the following day still nervous about the upcoming meeting, she was soothed by the knowledge that no matter what happened with her professional life, when the meeting ended, she would still be Jade’s father- and Jade would still call her ‘daddy’.

However, while Amy started the day feeling optimistic and well-rested, Hayley felt more and more anxious about the impending meeting. Unlike Sophie and Amy, she was not on good terms with the rest of her family, with the exception of her father- but even she lived a long train ride away, unlike Sophie and Amy's families. For Hayley, independence wasn’t 'a' choice- it was her only choice. She needed her job in order to continue living, and the prospect of unemployment, of living on the breadline, made her shiver with fear. She knew that if she asked, her friends would help her out financially, but she didn’t want to be seen by them as a burden, even when covid had meant that other jobs were few and far between. What she feared the most, though, was that without a job, she wouldn’t be able to afford to be a woman.

As her flatmates stirred, Sophie found herself lying awake in bed, pondering her friends’ situation- in particular, how she’d be able to help if the worst came to the worst. In the three years since she’d first become ‘Sophie’, the young writer had come to consider her friends to be even closer than some members of her family- and not just Amy and Hayley, but all of the other friends she’d made. Even those who no longer worked for the airline, such as Natalie or Rachel Lyscombe, still held an important place in the young writer’s heart, which helped to comfort Sophie to know that even if the worst did happen, ‘Team ASH’ would live on- but she was forced to acknowledge that in all likelihood, nothing would ever be the same again.

“Morning, you two,” Sophie said as she eventually lumbered out of her bedroom, finding Amy and Hayley both awake and fully dressed. “What’s the plan for today, then?”

“If by ‘today’ you mean ‘daytime’, then same as every other Sunday since March,” Amy replied with a chuckle. “Watching TV, playing videogames, wishing I’d squeezed my body into a leotard to pirouette around a dance studio, heh.”

“Yeah, I miss those lessons too,” Sophie chuckled.

“Reckon they’ll keep going even if we do get the chop?” Hayley asked nervously.

“Well, given that I haven’t worked for the airline for a while, but I still love the lessons, I hope so,” Sophie replied. “But seriously… I dunno. I mean, before, there was no guarantee that we’d be free on any given Sunday, but we would be free on most, if you know what I mean?”

“I think I do,” Amy mused. “Whereas at a different job, we might have to work EVERY Sunday. But- whatever. It won’t stop us from hanging out with everyone, right?”

“And there’s a chance that we might not even be getting laid off tomorrow anyway,” Hayley said, before sighing. “…Yeah, I don’t think so either, heh. But, you know, it’s not true until they say it, right?”

“I guess,” Amy shrugged, before smiling. “Regardless of what happens… right?”

“Team ASH forever?” Sophie asked.

“Team ASH forever!” The three women cheered, lifting the spirits of the flat as Sophie made her breakfast while Amy and Hayley continued to send invitations for that evening’s virtual party.

The three women spent the afternoon relaxing, preparing for the evening ahead and avoiding discussing the following day’s meeting. Eventually though, the clock ticked over to 6pm, and after a quick dinner, Amy, Sophie and Hayley returned to their bedrooms to get ready for the evening’s party- though all of them were keenly aware that their circumstances were almost certainly about to change. Nonetheless, it didn’t stop them from being determined to enjoy the night ahead- nor did it stop them from putting maximum effort into their costumes.

“Miss ‘Arris! Miss ‘Arris!” Hayley yelled in a broad, faux London accent as she emerged from her bedroom, adjusting the tiny, pleated skirt of her costume as she made her ginger-haired roommate giggle and roll her eyes. “Sophie just pulled my hair!”

“The same Sophie who isn’t even in the room?” Amy asked, adjusting the fake glasses and tight pencil skirt of her 'strict teacher' costume. "Miss Fisher, you know better than to tell tales!”

“Yes, Miss Harris,” Hayley said with a mock pout, before sharing a giggle with her friend. “And who made you the teacher, anyway?”

“My party, my rules,” Amy replied smugly.

“Where is Sophie, anyway?” Hayley asked as she began fiddling with her laptop. “Not like her to be the last one to get ready…”

“As if there was any doubt that she’s a real girl?” Amy said, sharing a giggle with her flatmate.

“I never doubted it,” Hayley said, giggling again as she attached a cable from her laptop to the apartment’s television. “Don’t suppose you feel like giving me a hand with this, do you?”

“Maybe if I was able to walk,” Amy replied, giggling as she gestured to her shoes- more specifically, their 2-inch platforms and 7-inch spike heels.

“Why even buy those shoes if you can’t walk in them?” Hayley asked, before blushing and giggling.

“…Exactly,” Amy teased her friend. “We need no excuse to be cute or sexy. Even if I maybe wouldn’t have splashed out on these if I knew my income was going to- well, yeah…”

“Well- what’s the point of even having a job if you’re not able to enjoy the wages?” Hayley asked.

“My thoughts entirely,” Amy said with a grin. “And what is taking Sophie so long?” Amy’s question was answered mere seconds later, when the door to Sophie’s room opened, and the opening bars of ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ filled the flat.

“Oh, baby baby!” Hayley giggled as Sophie strutted out into the living room, dressed in the same tiny skirt, cut-off blouse and pigtails Britney Spears had worn in her famous music video.

“Miss Connelly!” Amy chastised. “Do you really think THAT is an acceptable uniform?”

“Do you really think I DON’T look cute?” Sophie asked, biting her lip as a brief, awkward silence passed between her and Amy. Even though both women had agreed to put their ‘dalliance’ in the past, there remained a spark of attraction between them- though both Amy and Sophie treasured their friendship too much to risk it yet again.

“Britney has NOTHING on you,” Amy replied, sharing a giggle with her friend.

“On any of us,” Hayley giggled as she logged into Zoom and the faces of several of their friends appeared on the flat’s television.

“Hey everyone!” The grinning face of Abbey Watkins cheered as she adjusted the waistband of her tiny tartan skirt. “Thanks for the idea for the party, Team ASH! I think it’s just what we all need today, heh, especially with what we’re probably going to be told tomorrow.”

“Do you really think it’ll be THAT bad?” Danni Deane asked. “I mean, they can’t lay off ALL of us, right?”

“No talk of work tonight!” Amy ordered, making Danni giggle and blush. “Your teacher commands it!”

“Tonight is to be all about fun and friendship,” Hayley said. “Or, I suppose, camaraderie would be a better word.”

“The best part of working for the airline:” Sophie interjected. “The awesome people you get to work with!” Sophie grinned as the women on the screen all cheered. “Even if I haven’t actually worked with any of you for a while, so thanks for letting me intrude, heh.”

“Oh please, as if you’re ‘intruding’,” Abbey snorted.

“You’ll always be one of us, honey,” Annabelle teased.

“One of us! One of us!” The assembled women all chanted as Sophie’s cheeks reddened.

“Aww, guys…” Sophie mumbled.

“Ah-ah-ah!” Abbey chastised. “No GUYS allowed tonight!”

“Does that mean I can only attend from the armpits upward?” Rachel Harrison asked with a smirk as her face appeared on screen, closely followed by her extended mid-section.

“No, you and your son can stay,” Hayley giggled. “Provided he stays where he is for the party!”

“Chance’d be a fine thing,” Rachel chuckled. “This little fella can’t keep still for more than ten seconds, it’s going to be a bit frantic around here when he’s finally born!”

“Reckon you’ve got, like, a footballer in there then?” Abbey asked.

“There is no reason that he could not be a dancer, just because he is a boy,” Zoe said as she and her spouse appeared on screen, both dressed 'appropriately' in short, pleated skirts and with their hair in pigtails. “And if he should wish, there is a space for him at my dance class, even if he wears shorts and a t-shirt and not a leotard.”

“Thank you, Madame Renou-Briggs!” Rachel giggled. “I’ll leave it up to him if he wants to take you up on the offer, though. I’ve learned enough over the last few years to know that I shouldn’t, like, ‘force’ anything on my child, whether that’s hobbies, clothes or whatever.”

“God knows there are a few parents who could stand to learn THAT lesson,” Hayley mused. “But- whatever. We’re not here to sulk, we’re here to party!” Amy, Sophie and Hayley all grinned as the assembled women on screen all cheered and raised their glasses. “Are we waiting on anyone else?”

“I think everyone who lives in the UK is here,” Natalie replied. “I’ve messaged my sister, not heard back yet but I reckon she’ll be up for the party. Same goes for those on the west side of the Atlantic, heh.”

“I hope they’ll be able to make it,” Sophie mused.

“Not that we’re disappointed with anyone here, of course,” Amy cheered. “We’re all Soixante-Trois girls, past and present, and this sisterhood will last forever.” The ginger-haired girl grinned as she earned another cheer from the women on-screen. “Even if SOMEONE decided she also wanted to dress as the teacher…”

“Well, I AM the oldest here,” Rachel retorted as she adjusted her smart suit over her bump. “And that’s HEADteacher, Miss Harris! Besides, it’d be a bit inappropriate to dress as a 6-month pregnant schoolgirl, wouldn’t it?”

“You clearly never went to my school, heh,” Amy snorted, frowning as she unwittingly triggered an awkward silence. “Okay, I know you’re all thinking it, yes, I became a parent when I was seventeen, but that’s part of why we’re here today- I saw my daughter and her mother today, and things- well, let’s just say that things there are looking a LOT brighter there.” Amy blushed as she earned another cheer from the assembled women, though as Sophie looked at the screen, her attention was drawn toward the newcomer in the bottom-left corner.

“Hey Rachel!” Sophie said with an eager smile. “Rachel L, that is.”

“Hi everyone!” The youthful face of Rachel Lyscombe said, reflecting her former roommate’s smile. “Thanks for the invitation, it was a bit short notice, but thankfully I live with a sixteen-year-old sister who just left secondary school, so a costume was easy enough to come by, heh!” The assembled women all giggled as the young blonde woman stood up to show off the navy blazer and pleated skirt that she was wearing. “And lucky that Nicki doesn’t need this anymore, or I’d have had a LOT of awkward questions to answer, heh.”

“We’re just glad you could make it at all,” Amy said.

“Well… it IS my birthday tomorrow,” Rachel L said hesitantly. “And even with lockdown being ‘eased’ it’s not like I was going to get another party, heh.”

“Oh- shit, I can’t believe I forgot about that!” Amy gasped. “Well- we’ll just have to have an even bigger celebration today, heh!”

“Honestly, you don’t have to on my behalf,” Rachel L said softly. “My parents and my sisters have said they’ll be treating me tomorrow, like, not a ‘party’ party but staying at home, getting a fancy takeaway, that sort of thing. I’m 22 tomorrow so the big party was last year anyway, heh.”

“Still though, we’ll do SOMETHING,” Sophie insisted. “Maybe- maybe next weekend?” Sophie bit her lip as she asked her question- despite everything that had happened, and even though she had been rejected by her before, Sophie still felt a strong attraction toward the young blonde woman.

“That- that sounds fun,” Rachel L said hesitantly. “But I- I kinda have plans next weekend. Like, with- with Lucas.”

“Your- your ex-boyfriend?” Sophie asked, trying not to frown as the young blonde woman nodded.

“Well, not ‘ex’ anymore,” Rachel L said with a bashful grin as the assembled women all ‘oohed’. “Me and Lucas got talking after the first lockdown, we’d both been really lonely and- yeah. One thing led to another… Yeah.”

“You go, girl!” Abbey giggled, even as Sophie felt her heart start to sink.

Ever since she became ‘Sophie’, her love life had been effectively non-existent. Her ‘mistake’ with Amy the previous December notwithstanding, Sophie had assumed that her ‘status’ had meant that no woman would even think about dating her, and that she should put her love life on hold until her time as ‘Sophie’ was over. However, as ‘Sophie’ gradually became her 'main' identity, while ‘James’ still remained a significant part of her, Sophie found herself having to accept that if she was to be the person she always wanted to be, she would always be alone. However, while Sophie realised that a relationship with Rachel would never happen, she was filled with confidence by the example of many of her other friends. Natalie and Zoe’s wedding, which Sophie had attended two and a half years earlier, had proved to her that no matter who you are, love was always available for you somewhere- and the example provided by the final couple to join the party was absolute proof of that statement.

“Hey everyone!” The smiling face of Jessica Robertson-Tyler said as she appeared on screen, cuddled up next to her Scottish wife on their sofa.

“Jess!” Abbey squeaked excitedly. “Paige! I thought you guys weren’t going to make it?”

“Aye, well, we had to kinda ‘improvise’ our costumes a bit,” Paige replied as she gestured to the plain white blouses and knee-length grey skirts worn by her and her wife. “But we’re NEVER gonna miss a get together of the tutu project!”

“Even if we are not wearing tutus today for this party,” Zoe said with a derisive snort of laughter.

“…Okay, if I have to take a drink every time I talk about our hopefully soon-to-be ex-president,” Paige said with a smug smirk.

“Oui, oui, fine,” Zoe sighed as she took a swig of her wine. “And you are not sick of election news yet?”

“Sick to DEATH,” Jessica sighed. “I mean, it wouldn’t be so bad if it was, like, a ‘normal’ election, but this one… It genuinely feels in a way like it’s splitting the country apart. Like, if you don’t believe in a certain type of politics, you’re a traitor to America or something. I don’t remember anyone saying that about people who voted for Gore or Kerry, but- yeah. I think that’s FAR too much politics for any party!”

“Agreed!” Amy giggled. “So how about we get down to the IMPORTANT business tonight, of celebrating the survivors of Soixante-Trois Airlines, and- in all likelihood- the soon-to-be survivors?”

“AND your good news about your daughter!” Hayley reminded her roommate, who blushed as the other women all cheered.

“And young Rachel’s birthday tomorrow!” Annabelle cheered.

“And young Zoe’s birthday this Wednesday just gone!” Paige toasted as the Frenchwoman cringed.

“And not-as-young Rachel becoming a mama in a few weeks!” Zoe cheered.

“Thanks for not saying ‘old Rachel’,” Rachel Harrison snorted. “But while we’re making toasts, how about Sophie’s book continuing to sell well and helping- well, maybe not so much ‘our’ community, more ‘your’ community, so- yeah…“

“You’re an ally,” Paige said with a warm grin. “Always have been. That makes you part of this community as much as anyone else here.”

“Absolutely, honey,” Annabelle said, grinning as her ex-supervisor blushed.

“Maybe,” Abbey said, “maybe the toast should be to the Tutu Project- the best group of girls EVER!”

“The Tutu Project!” The assembled women all cheered as Hayley reached for her phone and their flat was filled with music.

The assembled women partied until late evening, gradually dropping out of the call one by one until Amy, Sophie and Hayley were left by themselves in their flat. As she cleared away the wine glasses, Sophie mused on her earlier thoughts regarding her love life, and how despite the fact that Rachel had spurned her, she still felt a touch of optimism about her future.

“Girls,” Sophie asked hesitantly. “Have you- have either of you noticed, like, how the three of us are still single, and have been for most of the time we’ve known each other? And no, before you say anything, this isn’t me asking either of you out, I’m just, like, making conversation, you know?”

“Good, because we don’t need to go THERE again,” Amy teased, smirking as her friend rolled her eyes. “But to answer your question… kinda? I dunno. I mean, it’s not like we can go to a bar and pick up anyone, thanks to- well, the same reason we were partying over Zoom instead of in person. But you’re right, even before covid, it’s not like we were, like, going on dates every night. I guess we were all busy with work, and you with your book and me trying to juggle work and seeing Jade… Dunno what Hayley’s excuse was, though.”

“My excuse was the same as you two, as you damn well know,” Hayley retorted with a snort of laughter. “Finding a guy who’s not hung up on, well, what’s ‘hung up’ underneath my skirt is never going to be easy, covid or no covid.”

“You’re 5’ 9” and easily cuter than either of us two,” Amy said bluntly. “Believe me, there ARE guys out there who’d kill to go out with someone like you.”

“Yeah, but would I want to go out with any of them?” Hayley sighed. “I mean, S-E-X isn’t everything. It’s not even close to the most important thing I look for in a guy.”

“What is, out of interest?” Sophie asked, smiling sympathetically as her friend shrugged.

“Someone who loves me for me, I guess,” Hayley replied. “That’s not too much to ask, surely?”

“I hope not,” Amy sighed. “But you are right, Sophie. Even when you ignore, like, the ‘mistake’ last Christmas, our most meaningful relationships- like, for all three of us- have been with each other. But you know what? I wouldn’t trade either of you girls for anything.”

“Me either,” Sophie whispered.

“Same here,” Hayley said with a happy sigh, before sharing a group hug with her flatmates.

“Whatever happens tomorrow,” Amy whispered emotionally, “we are Team ASH forever. Right?”

“Team ASH forever,” Sophie and Hayley whispered, even as all three women started to fill with anxiety about the following day.

Amy, Sophie and Hayley all headed to bed shortly after clearing up after the party, but all three women found themselves struggling to fall asleep, both from the excitement of the party and the anxiety of the following day. While Amy and Hayley were naturally worried for their job, they were also worried that parties like the one they’d held that evening would become a thing of the past, and that their wider group of friends would naturally drift apart without having the airline to unite them. Sophie found herself lying awake for almost the entire night with worry about this- while her employment with the airline had already ended, as she tossed and turned, it dawned on her that her entire social life as ‘Sophie’ had revolved around the airline. All of her closest friends were either current or former employees of Soixante-Trois, and while she’d made friends while researching her book, and through the wider network of friends she'd made through people like Natalie or Rachel, they weren’t as close to Sophie as her former colleagues were, and likely never would be. While Sophie reasoned that making friends was easier than finding a romantic partner, she was still wary- she didn’t like being alone, and the prospect of everyone going their separate ways made her nervous about her future, and whether any friends she made would accept 'Sophie' as readily as the Tutu Project had.

The three women all woke up early the following morning, wasting no time showering, getting made up and dressed ready for the day ahead- Sophie included.

“Umm, while we appreciate the support, Soph, you really don’t need to come with us today,” Hayley said as she slipped on her smart high-heeled shoes.

“With all the rules changing every other hour, I’m not sure you’d even be allowed in the airport concourse if you’re not flying anywhere,” Amy mused.

“Well, I’ll wait where I can for you,” Sophie insisted. “I’m not letting any of you go through this alone. And- heh. I’m not sure I want to be alone myself right now.”

“Ugh- yeah, I get that,” Hayley sighed as she gave Sophie a gentle hug, which quickly turned into a group hug for all three women.

“Team ASH forever,” The three women emotionally whispered, before leaving the flat and heading west toward the UK’s busiest airport.

As her friends and colleagues met with their management team, Sophie sat nervously in a socially distanced waiting area, fiddling with her phone and futilely checking for any updates. She wasn’t waiting for long, though, before her two flatmates approached her, dressed in their regulation blue uniforms, hats and facemasks.

“S- so?” Sophie asked nervously, before sighing and smiling sympathetically. “Is it- is it the worst-case scenario?”

“…Not quite,” Amy replied, making her friend frown with confusion.

“The- the Heathrow hub IS closing,” Hayley explained. “On December 31st, which I think we all expected. Apparently, Masson was haemorrhaging money keeping it open even before covid.”

“Be- because of the strike?” Sophie asked as she felt her insides start to churn. After everything she’d done to try to help her colleagues, the notion that she may have contributed to their unemployment horrified her.

“They didn’t say,” Amy replied quietly. “Soph… the strike WAS necessary. You know what happened to Rachel. It- it’s nothing you should feel guilty about. We ALL voted to join the union, we all voted on the industrial action. The hub closing is. Not. Your. Fault. Or any one individual’s.”

“Except Masson?” Sophie asked, still filled with guilt despite her friend's reassurances.

“Well- even there it’s a yes and no,” Amy replied. “While the hub’s closing, the airline isn’t, as it’s still doing enough trade out of Charles De Gaulle to be profitable, helped by subsidies from the French government.”

“They did- they did mention that the Berlin hub might also be closing,” Hayley interjected. “And that’s been open a LOT longer than Heathrow.”

“So- but, umm, still mass layoffs, though?” Sophie asked.

“Well- again, yes and no,” Amy said hesitantly. “Every- everyone’s been offered a job at the Paris hub. Though it- it means, obviously, we’d have to actually move to Paris to continue working for the airline.”

“…Oh,” Sophie mumbled. “And- and, you know, are- is, like, is anyone going?” Sophie bit her lip as she avoided asking the question she wanted to ask, fearing what the answer might be.

“Abbey and Annabelle are,” Amy replied. “They’re allowed to keep their promotions, so- yeah. Bit of a no-brainer for those two. I think Carly is as well, for the same reason. Alicia and Danni both plan to, and I think Tanisha will but Rhianna- Rhianna Ferguson- is kinda on the fence about it. I- I’m not. I mean, yes, Paris is hardly a million miles away from Kent- hell, it’s probably easier to get to Kent from Paris than it is from, I dunno, Birmingham or somewhere, but- I want to stay close to Jade. So, it was a no-brainer from me. And the redundancy package is pretty generous too. The one downside is that the girls who ARE going to Paris will get priority over the last Heathrow shifts, so I’m basically unemployed as of today.”

“Oh- okay,” Sophie said, her nerves easing as she turned to her other flatmate. “Hayley?”

“I- I dunno yet,” Hayley mumbled in reply, making Sophie’s heart sink. “I mean, I- I don’t have family who can support me, like you two, my dad lives in Bristol and she, like, rents a one bed flat, and jobs aren’t easy to come by even if you’re not trans…”

“Oh- okay,” Sophie mumbled. “Well, you- you’ve got to do what you need to do.”

“The one thing we know for certain, though,” Amy sighed, “is that the flat’s going.”

“What- what do you mean?” Sophie asked.

“The flat’s partly subsidised by the airline,” Amy replied with a shrug. “No more airline in London, no more subsidy, no more of us living there.”

“Which is part of why I’m- well, yeah…” Hayley mumbled. “I- I’m going to need to, you know, think it through, talk to- talk to my dad, like.”

“Okay,” Sophie whispered.

“Whatever you choose, we WILL support you,” Amy reassured her roommate. “Right, Sophie?”

“Of course,” Sophie replied. “Whether here or in France.”

“Thanks, girls,” Hayley said as she blinked back tears. “No matter what, Team ASH forever.”

“Team ASH forever,” Sophie whispered- though she was more doubtful of that statement than ever.

As Amy changed out of her uniform for the final time, Hayley sat beside her in the locker room pondering her future. Under ordinary circumstances, the thought of living and working in Paris excited her greatly. Hayley already knew how to do the job, had been working long enough to be in line for a promotion and got on well with all of her colleagues who would also be moving to Paris. And unlike Amy and Sophie, Hayley didn’t have any family in London or the surrounding areas… with the exception of Amy and Sophie themselves.

Like Amy and Sophie, Hayley had never had any friendships as close as the one she shared with her flatmates. Whenever she’d said ‘Team ASH forever’, she didn’t see it simply as a slogan, but as a promise to two women who meant more to her than any material possession, any blood relative- or even any career. And while Hayley knew that the time would eventually have to come for the trio to go their separate ways, even if it was just to live elsewhere, she wasn’t prepared to accept it just yet- even if she also knew that without a job, she wouldn’t be anywhere near able to afford to live in London.

Hayley knew she needed advice, but also knew that she couldn’t burden either Amy or Sophie with helping her to make her decision. If she stayed because they wanted her to, she feared that they’d feel guilty for keeping her from pursuing her career, whereas if they wanted her to stay, but she left, she felt like she’d be abandoning them. And she didn’t even want to consider the worst-case scenario of them encouraging her, or even worse yet, wanting her to leave…

“I- I’m just going to make a call,” Hayley said as Amy finished changing into the plain white bodysuit and black pinafore dress she’d worn to the airport. “Might be a few minutes if you want to head home.”

“Okay,” Amy said, concerned by her roommate’s sudden change in demeanour. “Hayley, are- is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I- I just have a bit of thinking to do, that’s all,” Hayley replied. “Big decision, like.”

“Well, whatever you decide, you know me and Soph will support you,” Amy said softly, giving her friend’s hand a supportive squeeze. “But- like, you- you’ve got to do what you need to, like.”

“Sure,” Hayley whispered, before gesturing to her phone. “I- I should make this call, like.”

“Sure,” Amy whispered, smiling as Hayley stepped out into the corridor and found a quiet corner, out of the way of anyone who might overhear.

“…Okay,” Hayley whispered, taking a deep breath as she dialled the top name on her contacts list. Hayley’s mood immediately improved and a smile spread across her face as the call was quickly answered.

“Hello Hayley!” The gentle midlands accent of Denise, Hayley’s father, said as she answered the phone. “I didn’t expect you to call today, is everything okay? Are you at work today?”

“Yeah, well, those two questions are kinda connected right now,” Hayley replied with a sigh. “And kinda why I’m calling. Dad, you- you know about passenger numbers being down, right? From the articles I’ve sent you over the last few weeks?”

“Yes,” Denise replied, before letting out a soft sigh. “Hayley are- are you still, as in, is everything okay with your job?”

“…Yes and no,” Hayley replied, biting her lip to keep her emotions in check. “Dad, I- I could really use some advice right now.”

“Well- of course, anything you need, just ask,” Denise said.

“I- I’m not unemployed,” Hayley said. “Well… not yet, anyway. I- the, umm, the London hub is closing. The airline say I can keep my job, but I’d have to move to Paris in order to do so.”

“And- and what do you want to do?” Denise asked.

“I- I dunno,” Hayley sighed. “I mean, it’s not like I LOVE the job, but I’m good at it and it pays well, and it’s not like there are loads of alternatives right now. But then again, it’s moving to a new city- new country, even. I’ll know some of the people there, but I’ll mostly be on flights with girls I don’t know, and I’ll be moving away from friends-and, like, family…”

“Well- well you can’t let ME hold you back,” Denise said. “You have to live your own life, Hayley, and whatever you choose to do, I’ll support you.”

“Yeah, well, I DO appreciate the support,” Hayley sighed, “but what I really need right now is advice.”

“And I’d like to give you some,” Denise said. “But you’ve got to do what’s right for you, and- well, yes, I am your dad, but you know yourself much better than I ever will. You’re a grown woman, Hayley. You’ve got to make your own decisions.”

“Well- I suppose,” Hayley sighed. “I guess sometimes I just need to be reminded of that, heh. Though god knows there are a few people out there who’d disagree with ‘woman’.”

“Your mother would probably also disagree with ‘grown’,” Denise snorted, making Hayley fidget- while she resented her mother for rejecting her after she came out, it still made her feel awkward to hear her father talk about her in those terms.

“Probably,” Hayley mumbled. “I- umm, I- I dunno. Naturally, the airline wants an answer as soon as possible, so- yeah.”

“I wish I could help you more,” Denise sighed. “But the decision has to be yours alone. Whatever you choose, though, I-“

“I know, you’ll be proud of me,” Hayley interrupted.

“Actually,” Denise said, “I was going to say ‘I hope you’ll still be able to visit from time to time’. Covid permitting, of course.”

“Of course,” Hayley chuckled. “And I will, I promise. If I ever figure out what I’m going to be doing, heh. Th- thanks for the chat, dad.”

“Anytime,” Denise replied warmly. “That’s what parents are for. I- I love you, Hayley.”

“Love you too,” Hayley whispered, sighing as her father ended the call. As she was preparing to put her phone back in her bag, though, her father’s words resonated in her head- ‘that’s what parents are for’.

Hayley had had virtually no contact with her mother in over three years. Her coming out had alienated her entire family, turning her mother from a doting parent to an anger-filled person Hayley barely even recognised in the blink of an eye. Hayley had put her mother’s anger down to how she felt when Denise had come out three years earlier, but in the years since, there had still been no contact between Hayley and her mother. Hayley had been reluctant to reach out to her mother, for fear of angering her further- or worse yet, being rejected further. However, Hayley was forced to admit to herself that a large part of her was more nervous that rather than reject her outright again, her family might accept her. Her relationship with her sister had continued to improve since their first meeting as sisters, and while there was still progress to be made- Hayley was frustrated by Lucy’s consistent use of her deadname- even the pandemic hadn’t been able to drive a wedge between them. However, Hayley’s mother still didn’t know about her daughters’ reconciliation, and Hayley had still not spoken to her brother at all since her coming out.

Hayley mulled over her options as she fiddled with her phone- she still had her family home's landline number memorised from when she was a child, and it would take mere seconds to type it onto her screen. Hayley knew that whether she made the call or not, her friends and family- her REAL family- would support her no matter what she chose, as proven by her talks with Amy and Denise. From her mother, though, she would receive nothing but brutal honesty, and while that sounded appealing to Hayley, she hesitated as honest or not, she had no way of knowing whether or not her mother would even care about her dilemma. When Hayley was still ‘Harry’, her mother had cared to the point of smothering her, and when she came out, her mother’s instant rejection of her had almost sent her into a state of shock. While Hayley had initially put it down to reopening old wounds concerning her father's coming out, she had, thanks to help from her counsellors, come to realise that her mother, to put it bluntly, was a narcissist. Hayley’s mother’s love had been conditional on her being male, which to Hayley, made it worthless. Nonetheless, she was still Hayley’s mother, and deep down, she still craved her acceptance- and her help.

With a deep breath, Hayley dialled the number for her mother’s home phone, hoping that it hadn’t changed in the three years since she left the house- though a part of her secretly hoped that it had changed, and gave her an excuse to avoid the inevitable confrontation. However, the call was answered after three rings, and Hayley steeled herself for the inevitable confrontation that was to come.

“Hello?” The gentle east midlands accent of Mrs Fisher asked.

“Hi mum,” Hayley said, making no effort to disguise her usual feminine tone. “Long time no speak.”

“You,” Mrs Fisher sneered angrily. “What do YOU want?”

“Well, I wanted to see how you were doing,” Hayley replied, casually dismissing the anger in her mother’s voice. “You, Lucy and Dylan, how you’ve been keeping during covid and all that.”

“Why should you care?” Mrs Fisher scoffed. “You didn’t care when you walked out on us.”

“Oh, you mean when you threw me out after doing nothing wrong?” Hayley retorted, instantly flinching after the words left her mouth- she didn’t want to be TOO confrontational too quickly.

“Nothing wrong?” Mrs Fisher laughed.

“Nothing wrong,” Hayley echoed. “Not a single thing, unless you count ‘living life as my true self’ and ‘making an effort to avoid crippling depression and misery’ as something ‘wrong’.”

“You had no thoughts of how confused your brother would react when you flounced off,” Mrs Fisher said, her anger audibly wavering.

“Yeah, well, as he’s now twenty, he can presumably think for himself,” Hayley retorted. “How- how is he, anyway? And before you say ‘why do you care’, I care because he’s my brother, and I still love him, believe it or not.”

“…He’s fine,” Mrs Fisher replied with a mumble. “He’s just started his third year at Lincoln Uni- well, studying remotely, doing forensic science.”

“Nice,” Hayley replied.

“Aren’t you going to ask about your sister as well?” Mrs Fisher asked.

“Well, I would, but I did speak to her a couple of weeks ago,” Hayley replied. “So I know that she’s getting married next summer- don’t worry, I’m not going to be a bridesmaid, I don’t even know if I’m invited yet- and I know that she's still furloughed. So- yeah. Dunno if she’s told you that we’ve been back in contact for ages, ever since she came to Bristol to meet up with me and dad.” Annnnd now I’ve ruined Lucy’s relationship with the family as well, Hayley ruefully thought to herself.

“Yes, well, as you said, she’s an adult as well,” Mrs Fisher mumbled. “And are you still a trolley dolly for that French airline?” Hayley bit her lip and tried not to bristle as her mother insulted her- the phone call had, so far, gone better than she could have hoped for, and she didn’t want to let her mother get under her skin and ruin it. Mostly, though, she didn’t want to give her mother ammunition to blame her for the failure of the call and cut off contact for another three years- or more.

“Well, as you might imagine, flight numbers have been way down since March, so I haven’t had as much work as normal over the last few months,” Hayley replied.

“I had assumed,” Mrs Fisher said. “And that’s definitely beyond your control right now.”

“Well- yeah,” Hayley said. “But what isn’t is- like, umm… The airline, they- they’re closing the hub at Heathrow. So I’m not technically out of a job, but- but I’d need to move to Paris in order to keep it.”

“Oh,” Mrs Fisher said. “Have you decided what you’re going to do?”

“Well- not yet,” Hayley replied. “They only announced the closure a few minutes ago.”

“…And you chose THIS as the reason to make contact after all this time?” Mrs Fisher asked.

“I just- I just needed to surround myself- well, sort of, anyway- with family,” Hayley replied. “I have- I have missed you, after all this time. But I just- I just couldn’t go on living the way I was. And I- I mean that literally, like.”

“Oh,” Mrs Fisher mumbled.

“And- and I don’t want to, you know, never see you again,” Hayley said, biting her lip as she sniffed back tears. “I just- I just needed to be who I really am, on the inside.”

“I see,” Mrs Fisher said stoically.

“And I- I need to know, like, that if I call again, you- you won’t just hang up on me,” Hayley whispered.

“…I won’t,” Mrs Fisher said. “Especially if you have to spend the extra money from France. Harry-“

“Hayley,” the young woman interrupted her mother, biting her lip as she pictured her anger- but if she wasn’t willing to accept something as relatively simple as her new name, then Hayley saw no future for the relationship between her and her mother.

“…Hayley,” Mrs Fisher corrected herself. “What you’re asking won’t be easy. But I can tell just from this conversation that this isn’t some silly little game you’re playing just to be like your ‘father’. You are your own person- your own, um, woman. So it’s your right to live however you want to live, whether I like it or not.”

“Th- thanks,” Hayley whispered. “Though I- I will let you know what I’ve decided to do, when I’ve, well, decided it.”

“Thank you,” Mrs Fisher said.

“So…” Hayley said hesitantly. “Dylan’s studying forensic science, then?” Hayley smiled as she relaxed and chatted with her mother for the first time in years.

The two women talked for another half an hour, before Mrs Fisher was called back to her home-based work, leaving Hayley feeling elated about her repaired relationship with her mother- though she knew she still had a long, long way to go. However, the phone call didn’t make Hayley’s choice any easier, and as she changed back into her casual clothes and left the airport, she was no closer to making her decision.

“Hey Hayley,” Amy said as the brown-haired girl returned to her apartment. “Everything okay?”

“Y- yeah,” Hayley replied, before taking a deep breath. “I’ve just- I’ve just been talking to my mum. On the phone, like, for almost half an hour.”

“Oh- really?” Amy asked, a wide grin spreading across her face. “This is awesome news! Soph, get out here!” Hayley giggled as Amy launched herself at her for a long, tight hug, which Sophie eagerly joined in with when she emerged from her bedroom.

“Yay!” Sophie giggled. “Why are we group hugging again?”

“…Hayley?” Amy asked.

“I- I kinda spoke to my mum today,” Hayley replied. “Like, successfully. Mended bridges, that sort of thing.”

“Oh my god, congratulations!” Sophie squeaked as she tightened her hug.

“Let- let’s not go TOO far here, okay?” Hayley said as she wriggled free of her flatmates’ arms. “It’s not like I’ve been welcomed back with open arms, I mean, I called her and she didn’t immediately slam the phone down. Doubt I’ll even get so much as a Christmas card from them this year, heh.”

“It’s still an important step, though,” Sophie said, her smile not wavering. “Heh, and here we were thinking Amy’s news was going to be the biggest thing to happen to Team ASH this week!”

“Well… I’m happy to call this one a tie, heh!” Amy giggled. “Though while I would normally say this calls for a celebration, maybe we should kinda put it off for now until our cash flow is a little more stable, heh.”

“Well- yeah, no argument here,” Hayley sighed. “Especially… especially because I’m not going to Paris.”

“Wh- what, really?” Sophie asked.

“Hayley, have you- have you thought this through?” Amy asked.

“I have,” Hayley replied. “I mean, yes, it’s not like jobs are easy to come by right now, but I have my first aid certificate and a whole armful of other qualifications from working with their airline, so I- I’ll be fine. Britain’s my home, it’s where I want to be, and- heh. Home is where the heart is, right? My heart is with my family. And I don’t mean my mum, my sister or even my dad. I mean you two.”

“Don’t- don’t stay just because you think we want you to stay,” Sophie said.

“I’m not,” Hayley whispered. “I’m staying because I want to stay. Team ASH forever and ever.”

“Even- even though you know we’ll have to leave this flat soon?” Amy asked. “And- and I’m going back to Sittingbourne, Soph will be staying in London with her parents… Team ASH is going to change, whether we like it or not.”

“But we’ll still be Team ASH, right?” Hayley asked, smiling as her friends chuckled and nodded.

“And we would- we WILL, even- if we’re in different countries,” Amy said.

“Girls, seriously,” Hayley said. “I’ve made my decision. I’m staying. A job is a job. But this? This is forever.” Hayley smiled as she shared another group hug with her friends, though deep down inside, she was forced to admit that they were correct- within weeks, they would be forced to leave the flat, and even if they could stay, they wouldn't be able to afford to without jobs. Nonetheless, Hayley, Amy and Sophie were determined to enjoy the remainder of their time together.

However, in what seemed like the blink of an eye to them, the time eventually came for the trio to leave their flat for the final time. As they dragged their packed cases and boxes out to the waiting vans, Amy, Sophie and Hayley paused for a second to take one final look at the home where they’d spent the previous three and a quarter years. All three women blinked back tears as they thought back over the many adventures they'd had together, none more than Sophie, as she realised that the flat was more than a simple residence- it was where she'd been reborn.

“…How many memories do you suppose are now sealed in these walls?” Sophie asked, her voice quivering with emotion.

“Didn’t realise you were a poet as well as a journo,” Amy teased her friend, who responded with a gentle elbow. “But seriously… yeah. Three of the best years of my life, even if you include covid and lockdowns and everything like that.”

“Same,” Hayley whispered. “I can’t- I can’t believe I’m going to wake up tomorrow and you girls aren’t going to be around…”

“Your dad’s not a bad substitute though, isn’t she?” Sophie asked, smiling as her friend nodded.

“Still not the same, though,” Hayley mumbled. “Especially as we’re in lockdown AGAIN, I- I really don’t know when I’m going to see you two again…” Sophie and Amy shared in the young woman’s tears as they pulled each other in for yet another group hug.

“Then let- let’s make a decision right here, right now,” Sophie said. “Covid permitting, we spend at least one Saturday a month together. A ‘Team ASH weekend’, just the three of us.”

“So… what?” Amy asked with a chuckle. “We keep meeting up once a month until we’re all in our eighties, getting together, mixing our drinks with Valium pills and dancing with Zimmer frames?”

“…First time I’ve ever actually looked forward to getting old,” Hayley giggled. “But- yeah. These last three years have been the best years of my life, bar none. I love you both so, SO much.”

“Same,” Amy whispered. “I never had sisters before I met the two of you. You’re not just friends, you’re family, and you always will be.”

“You- you two opened up my eyes, opened up my entire world, even, in a way I’d never even dreamed of,” Sophie said. “If it wasn’t for you, I genuinely don’t know where I’d be right now. But I know this for certain: I wouldn’t be anywhere near as happy as I am right now. Team ASH forever and ever!”

“Team ASH forever!” The three women all whispered emotionally, before sighing as they left the flat for the final time.

Amy, Sophie and Hayley shared one final group hug after locking the front door behind them, before heading to their separate vans and cars. Sophie let out a long sigh as she slid onto the passenger seat of her father’s Volvo, smiling as the older man smiled supportively at her.

“End of an era, eh?” Mr Connolly asked, smiling as his daughter sighed.

“In so many ways,” Sophie mumbled in reply. “Though I- I do just need you to be okay that, like, my ‘Sophie era’, like, isn’t coming to an-“

“Whether you’re my son, my daughter or simply my child, I will support you,” Mr Connolly said warmly, smiling as his child's eyes started to well up. “That will never end, kinda like the love you and your friends obviously have for each other.”

“Thanks,” Sophie whispered.

“Though I will say that I’m glad you’re not working for that airline anymore,” Mr Connolly said. “Not because I don’t like the idea of you in the uniform, because- well…” Sophie smirked as her father gestured to the plain black pencil skirt and thick tights covering her legs. “But because, well, it was a waste of your talents. You worked too hard on your degree to waste your time making coffee on an aeroplane.”

“My responsibilities were more than just THAT,” Sophie retorted. “And I wouldn’t trade my time there for anything. Okay, yes, I’m not going to miss making coffee for people obsessed with what I’ve got under my skirt, but- but the camaraderie there was- yeah. And it’s not just Amy and Hayley, they genuinely became like a second family to me.”

“Just as long as you remember who your FIRST family is as well,” Mr Connolly chuckled.

“I won’t, I promise,” Sophie said with a smile. “Thank you again, for- for just letting me be me, I guess.”

“I’ll never understand parents who don’t,” Mr Connolly said. “Hopefully your book will help educate some of those parents who forgot what unconditional love actually is. As well as all of the other books you’re going to write!”

“Well, maybe when I have an idea of what I’m going to write,” Sophie sighed. “And get a publisher, heh.”

“Reality hitting hard, then?” Mr Connolly asked with a chuckle.

“A bit,” Sophie shrugged. “But if I’ve learned anything over the last three years, it’s that I get to decide what my reality actually is.”

Sophie smiled as she thought back over the previous three years and the journey she'd taken. When Rachel had initially approached her, Sophie had initially been sceptical, then nervous about what the job entailed. Pretending to be a woman for six months was a prospect that Sophie had approached with trepidation, but as time went on, she’d grown to see it not as simply a job, but as an opportunity- an opportunity to build her own identity, unburdened by what everyone said she 'had' to be. By the end of her tenure with Soixante-Trois Airlines, Sophie no longer felt like she was just ‘pretending’ to be a woman. She’d laughed, loved and truly LIVED as the woman she never realised she truly was on the inside- and there were several years, decades even ahead of her to explore who she was and grow- not just as a woman, but simply as a person. Even if her professional future was uncertain, she knew that whatever she chose to do next, Sophie Connelly would have the love of family, the love of friends, and the confidence that could only be provided by being a strong, independent woman.

“Sophie!” The young woman’s mother said happily as she and her father entered the house, dragging her large cases with them. “Welcome home!”

“Thanks,” Sophie chuckled quietly. “Sorry I’ve got a lot of stuff with me, especially this weekend of all weekends!” The two women shared a giggle as Sophie gestured to the half-decorated Christmas tree in the corner of the room.

“Don’t worry about it one bit,” Mrs Connolly said. “Just drop your bags on the landing, you can unpack later after I’ve put the kettle on.”

“Thanks,” Sophie said, taking a deep breath as she started hauling her cases up the stairs, ready to start the next stage of her life.

A short while later, after everything had been safely put away, Sophie returned to the living room where she curled up with her phone and a cup of tea in her favourite mug. Sophie smiled with confusion as she discovered on her phone a voicemail from a number she didn’t recognise, but her smile widened as she listened to it.

“Hello Sophie, this is Joshua Benedict,” the man who had called her said in an ebullient African-London accent. “We have met before, but just in case, I am the owner of CEO of Heavenly Talent. I have been given your name by one of my business partners, Rachel Harrison, in connection with starting a publishing wing of my company. Please call me back when you get this message- don’t worry about calling late, I shall be available all day until late evening.” Sophie let out a giggle as she clicked the ‘return call’ button- her future suddenly looked VERY bright…