"Who Would've Thought Getting Knocked Down Would End So Well?"

A few days later, I lay on my living room floor, melting in the unforgiving heat. I could feel the waves of humidity settling against my skin, heavy and incessant. And, to top it off, our air conditioning was broken. Drew lounged lazily on the couch, focused on the melting pink popsicle in front of him. I closed my eyes in an attempt to drown out the obscene noises he made with the sticky, dripping mess.

I was jolted awake when the phone rang, its shrill tone slamming against my ears and filling the house with sound. Sitting up quickly in an attempt to extinguish the noise as soon as possible, I reached for the cordless phone sitting on the coffee table.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Amelia?" The voice on the other side of the line was unfamiliar. Still situated on the floor, I leaned against the front of the couch. I pulled my knees up towards my chest as I settled into a more comfortable position.

"This is she. Who is this?"

"It's Adrienne." No wonder I did not recognize the voice, I'd never spoken with her on the phone. Adrienne and I had traded phone numbers so we could become better acquainted. She was still very much involved in Billie Joe's life because of their children and the record label they co-owned, and that was fine with me. It would be better for both of us if we could become friends.

"Oh, hi Adrienne. I didn't recognize your voice."

"Don't worry about it."

Adrienne and I made small talk for a few minutes. We decided to meet up for a late afternoon lunch at a small café downtown. We said our goodbyes and I placed the phone back onto the coffee table. Leaning my head against the couch, I closed my eyes. The silence was quickly interrupted with the sound of Drew's voice.

"Isn't Adrienne the name of Billie Joe's wife?" Drew asked.

"Yeah. We're going out to lunch later." I turned my body sideways so that Drew and I were facing one another and I was just in time to witness him pulling a face.

"What was that for?"

Drew shook his head. I continued to stare at him questioningly until he finally gave in. "It's just -" he paused, trying to organize his thoughts. I waited for him to continue. "I don't know. I mean, why do you want to get so close to her? Aren't you afraid that the more time she spends with you and Billie Joe, the more she'll realize what she's lost?"

"You know me, Drew, I'm not the jealous type. Besides, Adie is in a relationship and she was the one who divorced Billie Joe in the first place. And I trust Billie Joe."

"Ok, Amelia. Sounds like you know what you're doing."

"I do. But thanks for always being there."

"I always will be."

The small café was located in the heart of downtown. As I walked towards the café, I quickly spotted Adrienne who sat alone on the terrace. She waved at me as I moved towards her table. I smiled and waved back. Having approached the small table, I settled myself into the seat across from her. She was finishing up a conversation on her cell phone.

" So tomorrow we'll have the photo shoot for the clothing line …She did?! That's going to be a pain in the ass ….Ok, I'll see you then … I will … Ok, bye." Adrienne closed her cell phone, ending the call.

"Sorry about that," she apologized, "last minute changes in our photo shoot. One of our models isn't coming."

"That's too bad." I was not sure what else to say. It seemed to be enough because Adrienne nodded and picked up a menu; I followed suit.

Ordering a roasted vegetable sandwich and a green tea, I waited for Adrienne to order her almond croissant and iced chai latte. When the waiter walked away to fill our orders, Adrienne looked me in the eye.

"I guess you're wondering why I asked you out to lunch."

I smiled shyly. "A little. I mean, I know we're trying to get better acquainted, it's just ..."

Adrienne cut me off. "It's just that you didn't expect me to call you today and ask you to come out tonight?"

"Sort of."

It was Adrienne's turn to smile. "I just wanted to get to know you. You seemed like a fun person when we met and my kids can't stop raving about you, and they're pretty good judges of character." I was delighted when I heard that Joey and Jakob enjoyed my company as much I did theirs.

"Joey and Jakob are amazing kids. I really had a good time with them."

Adrienne chuckled. "You know, all Joey can talk about is that mural."

A comfortable silence fell upon us until our food arrived. Throughout the meal, we learned a bit about each other's childhoods, relationships and our pasts in general. Adrienne was a very friendly person; I was happy I had agreed to meet up with her.

We were finishing our meals when Adrienne glanced at her watch. She did a double take. "Oh, I have to go. I'm sorry to cut our day short, Amelia, but I didn't realize how late it was. I have to pick the kids up from camp." She fumbled for her wallet and signalled to the waiter that she was ready to pay.

"Don't worry about it, Adie. Do what you've got to do."

"Thanks." We paid the waiter and got up to leave. Before parting ways, Adrienne stopped to look at me more closely. I felt slightly uncomfortable under her scrutiny.

"You know, you are almost the exact size and shape of the model who quit. Would you ever consider modelling, Amelia?"

I blushed. I never felt that I had the body type nor height to be a model, and here my boyfriend's ex-wife was sizing me up to model their clothing line.

"Uhhh." I stammered. "I wouldn't know what to do."

"That's ok," she rushed on, "we'll show you everything tomorrow." She produced a business card and handed it to me. "How about ten o'clock tomorrow morning?"

"Uh, ok." I was still overwhelmed by the situation so all I could do was nod. What would it hurt?

"Ok, see you tomorrow." And with that, Adrienne rushed down the street toward her car.

After arriving at home from my late lunch with Adrienne, I decided to call Billie Joe to see if he was free. Reaching for the phone that hung on the kitchen wall, I dialled his phone number, a number I knew all too well. After two rings, I heard a faint click then the voice that could render me a puddle on the tiled kitchen floor.

"Hello?"

"Hey Billie Joe."

I could hear the smile in his voice. "Hey babe. What's up?"

I shrugged as though he could see me. "Not much. What do you want to do tonight?" I threw a grape at Drew as he walked into the kitchen. He began a long, drawn-out death scene. I shook my head and threw more grapes.

"Well, right now I'm with Mike and Tre. We're laying down some tracks for the new album. Do you want to come watch and listen? We can decide what to do when you get here."

I smacked my palm to my forehead. "Oh yeah. I completely forgot you guys were working on the album today. You guys have a good time, I'll just distract you, I'm in that kind of mood."

"What kind of mood? Dirty?" I could imagine Billie Joe smirking suggestively.

"More like annoying."

"Oh." I laughed at the disappointment in his voice. "How about tomorrow, then?"

"Ok, but later in the day. I have to work."

"Ok . Wait, what? You found a job?"

"Sort of," I began. "I met up with Adrienne for lunch today and she asked me to replace one of her models for an Adeline Street photo shoot tomorrow. I guess I'll give it a try." Drew fell to the floor, clutching his chest. He began to convulse on the ground, the theatrics mounting. With one final jerk, he 'died' on the kitchen floor.

"Wow, ok. Well, try it out, maybe you'll like it. My girlfriend, the model. Weird. "

"I know, I'm so not the type." Rolling my eyes, I cradled the phone between my ear and shoulder and walked over to Drew. Bending down slowly, my finger reached out to poke him in the ribs. I knew he hated this and I also knew there would be repercussions for my actions. Drew jumped up suddenly, a look that demanded how dare you? painted clearly on his face. I knew he would get me back when I least expected it.

There was a slight pause on Billie Joe's end of the line. "Do you want company?"

I smiled. "Of course I do! That will make it more comfortable. And at least you guys created a really cool clothing line that I would wear in real life."

Billie Joe and I continued to chat for a few more minutes, then he went back to practicing with the guys.

Drew and I stayed in and had a movie night. I must have drifted to sleep during the film because I felt Drew shake me gently, telling me to go to bed. Dragging myself up the stairs, I hauled my tired body into my bedroom, wanting nothing more than to cuddle with my blankets and pillows. When I reached the bed, I noticed it was bare, no sheets or pillows anywhere. Confused, I scratched my head. Then a thought hit me: Drew. This must have been his comeback.

Looking around tiredly for my belongings, I rolled my eyes for what must have been the twentieth time today. I suddenly caught a glimpse of something on the ceiling. Turning my eyes upward, I groaned at the sight. While I was asleep, Drew had managed to use the staple gun to securely attach my blanket and pillows to the ceiling. Too exhausted to care, I crawled onto my empty bed and fell asleep almost immediately. I needed as much sleep as I could get so I could look at least half decent for the photo shoot tomorrow.