Caroline & The Parallel Universe
By: Jana~
And: Caroline
Chapter One
*****~*****
--"I'm telling you Annie, I have interviewed a hundred people… they're all either not qualified or just plain weird!" Caroline sighed… "I'm never gonna find a new colorist…"
"You're so pessimistic!" Annie scolded her best friend… "Try to think positively! Maybe the right guy for the job is the very next person you interview!"
"Ugh! I doubt it! My luck doesn't run like that. I'm gonna be coloring my own strip for weeks I'm sure! I won't have any time for anything else… I won't have any time for Del…" she stopped at that comment, thinking for a moment… "Actually, that might not be so bad!"
"Uh-oh… troubles in paradise?"
"It's hardly paradise!" Caroline replied adamantly… "He's nice… don't get me wrong. And he's good in bed…"
"Caroline!" Annie interrupted, embarrassed… "You know I don't like it when you talk about…" she hesitated… "that…"
"What? Sex?"
Annie turned several shades of red… "Yeah…" she admitted sheepishly…
"Sorry. I sometimes forget you're a 30 year old virgin…" Caroline shook her head… "Why you're waiting is beyond me…"
"I'm waiting for marriage, thank you very much." Annie defended herself… "Now, you were saying? About Del?"
"Right. He's just… smothering me! All I ever hear is how much he wants to settle down and have a family…"
"Caroline, most gals would be thrilled if their boyfriend said those things!"
"Maybe… and I want those things, don't get me wrong… just… not now. And not necessarily with Del…"
"So, why not break it off?"
"I don't know. It's comfortable… y'know?"
"Yeah…"
"Hello all…" Charlie greeted as he skated through the door with only a brief knock to announce his presence…
"Hey Charlie…" Annie chirped… "How are you?"
"Well. And yourself?"
She smiled… "Also well…"
"What's up Charlie?" Caroline asked as they finished their 'hello's…
"Del wanted me to give you this." He informed, handing her an envelope.
"What is it?"
"I don't know… I'm just the messenger…"
"Yeah, and why is that exactly?" Annie asked as she grabbed him a bottle of water out of the fridge…
"Why is what?" he caught the water as she tossed it…
"Why are you 'just a messenger'? I mean, you're highly intelligent, somewhat rich… cute…" she blushed… "Why do you have this job?"
"I've seen the way 'big business' does business. It's ruthless… and I just didn't like myself very much when I was apart of it. This is simple… easy… far from ruthless."
"Yeah, but you don't need the money… why work at all?"
"For fun! Roller blade-ing is great fun! And good cardio-vascular exercise!"
She smiled and nodded her understanding…
"Oh my God!" Caroline called out as she finished reading the letter from Del…
Annie's attention quickly turned to Caroline… "What? What's wrong?"
"Del is breaking up with me!"
"What?! Why?!"
"He says we want different things!"
"Well, you do… don't you?"
"Yeah! But that's not the point!"
"What's the point?"
"He didn't even have the courage to do this in person!"
"Oooohhh! I see. Well, can't you look at this as a good thing?"
Caroline looked at Annie like she had just lost her mind… "What?!"
"Yeah! I mean, you were just saying you weren't so sure you wanted anything permanent with him…"
Caroline shook her head in disgust… "Still! A letter? Ugh!"
"Sorry Caroline…" Charlie apologized, patting her shoulder… "I have to go. Would you like me to come by later? We can talk…"
"No thanks Charlie…"
He shrugged… "Ok. Bye."
"I gotta get him back for this!" Caroline told Annie as soon as Charlie left…
"Uh-oh… I see that look in your eyes. What are you gonna do?"
"I don't know yet. Something…"
Just then the downstairs intercom buzzed…
"Yes?" Caroline said into the intercom as she pressed the appropriate button…
"Hi! This is Richard Karinsky. I'm here about the job?" It was more of a question than a statement…
"Yeah, come on up… second floor…" Caroline told him, then turned to Annie… "Another freak no doubt…"
"Oh, c'mon! He sounded perfectly nice!"
"Yeah, well, we'll see…"
A quiet knock a few moments later alerted them to Richard's presence…
"Hi! Richard Karinsky." He extended his hand to Caroline, who took it reluctantly and shook it…
"Caroline Duffy." When Richard looked to Annie, Caroline immediately introduced her… "This is my best friend and next door neighbor… Annie Spadaro."
Richard smiled and extended his hand… "A pleasure."
Annie smiled shyly in return, then excused herself… "I'll let you guys talk business now…" she headed for the door… "See ya Caroline."
*****
--Caroline interviewed Richard… asked about schooling and qualifications… he was more than qualified…
"You seem more than qualified for this job…" she told him…
"Thank you!" was his upbeat reply… "I know."
"Then, why do you want it?"
"Well, to be honest with you, I need the money. Until I become a recognized artist, I still need to eat." He smiled…
"Yeah. Ok… well, maybe we can try this out…"
"Great!" He shook her hand enthusiastically… "I can start immediately!"
"Well, it's about lunch time…" she murmured as she looked at her watch… "Why don't we pick this up after lunch…"
"Sounds great! What time would you like me back?"
"Two."
"Not a problem!" he zipped up his portfolio and headed for the door… "You know of any good places to eat near by?"
"Yeah. Remo's…" she started to give him directions, but he held up his hand to stop her…
"Have you had lunch yet?"
She looked at him for a moment… "No, why?"
"Why don't you come with me? We'll have lunch together… and become acquainted…"
She seemed to give the invitation serious thought before responding… "Sure. Ok…"
*****~*****
--They talked over lunch… about everything from families to work to schooling to dreams to love's lost… almost every subject was broached. They were just getting ready to leave when Del walked in…
"Oh my God!" Caroline whispered frantically…
"What? What's wrong?" Richard asked with concern…
"It's my ex-boyfriend!"
"Huh?"
"My ex-boyfriend just walked in the door!"
"Oh. Wow… I'm sorry. We can… go…"
She only half heard him as she watched Del, her mind racing. She wanted to get him back… for breaking up with her by writing a lame letter. She could yell at him… make a scene. No, not good enough. Finally, an idea crossed her mind…
"Richard… kiss me…"
"What?" That question totally shocked him…
"Kiss me! I want to get him back for hurting me!"
"Are you serious?"
"Yes!" she whispered urgently… "Please?" She could see him start to think about it, but when she spotted Del walking towards them, she took the initiative. She leaned in as she gripped the back of his neck and pulled him towards her… then kissed him.
At first Richard's shock caused him to just sit there, rigid… but soon he was kissing her back.
"Ahem…" Del cleared his throat, catching their attention…
Caroline pulled away from Richard and pretended to be surprised to see him… "Del! Well, hello…"
Del shook his head… "I see you wasted no time…"
"Hey, you broke up with me!"
"Not because I don't love you! But because we just don't want the same things!"
"Yeah, I don't want to be having this conversation right now…" she cut him off before he could continue… "Richard, Del. Del, Richard." She introduced them.
The men shook hands cordially, then Del turned his attention back to Caroline… "Guess I'll see ya around…"
"Yeah… we'll see…"
With that Del left, leaving an embarrassed Caroline and a confused Richard…
"This has to be without a doubt my oddest 'first day' at any job ever."
"Sorry…" she apologized… "I panicked…"
"It's ok. I understand. I'm no stranger to a broken heart."
*****~*****
--"So my paintings didn't really sell in Rome either…" Richard added wistfully as he and Caroline stepped off the elevator in front of her apartment… "Just as well… after Julia I couldn't paint anymore…"
"She broke your heart?"
"Not to mention my paintbrush…" he chuckled.
She smiled politely, then turned to open the door… "I have a few simple things for you to start on… we'll do the greeting cards tomorrow…"
"Ok." He replied agreeably…
"You're like, always in a good mood, aren't you?"
He smiled… "I try to be…"
"Oil and water…" she mumbled softly…
"Beg your pardon?"
She shook her head… "Nothing. Just thinking how interesting this is going to be…"
"This?"
"Yeah… working together. I'm not exactly a 'chipper' person…"
"I noticed…" he stated softly… "I thought maybe you were having a bad day…"
"Try bad life…"
"What could be so bad?"
She sighed as she gathered together a few panels… "Long story…" she dropped the subject there… "Start on these. If you have any questions, just ask…"
"No problem!"
*****
--"So, how's the new colorist?" Annie asked as Caroline pulled her clothes from the dryer…
"Fine…" Caroline replied flatly… "Really happy. Like, all the time…"
"Well, that's a good thing, right?"
"I guess…"
"He's cute."
"What?!"
Annie blushed… "Sorry, was that out loud?"
"You think he's cute?"
"Yeah! Don't you?"
Caroline shrugged… "I don't know…" She grabbed her now-full laundry basket and headed for the laundry room door… "Good kisser…"
Annie grabbed Caroline's arm and spun her around… "What?!"
"We were at Remo's… and Del came in… and, well, to get back at him, I kissed Richard."
"Lucky! Did he kiss back?"
"Not at first… but after a moment…"
"Oh, you are soooo lucky! I wish I could kiss him!"
"You're interested in him?"
"Yeah… kinda…" she admitted sheepishly… "But if you are…"
"I'm not." Caroline interrupted… "I just kissed him to get back at Del."
Annie smiled… "Do you think he might be interested in me?"
"I don't know. Find out."
"How?"
"Flirt with him."
Annie let out a nervous chuckle… "Yeah… I don't know how…"
"Just talk to him… smile… laugh at his jokes…" Caroline advised as she headed out the door and for the elevator, Annie right behind.
*****
--Annie laughed at Richard's jokes, smiling and listening to all his stories intently as he colored the panels Caroline had given him…
"This isn't distracting you, is it?" Caroline asked, referring to Annie's presence…
"Not at all. I can actually do 2 things at the same time quite well!" Richard replied… "I can even chew gum and walk at the same time!"
Annie laughed at his comment, and Caroline rolled her eyes at her friend's inexperienced attempts at flirting.
"Hey, Annie, y'know… maybe after I'm done here we could go grab a bite to eat?"
She got excited at his invitation and the smile across her face showed it… "Sure! That would be great!"
"Great! I look forward to it…" he smiled and winked, which caused her to blush.
"I'll just… let you guys… get… back to work then…" she stammered as she headed for the door… "See ya later…"
He nodded… "Yep." He watched her leave, then turned to Caroline… "She seems really nice…"
"She is."
"Shy?"
Caroline looked up from her work… "Yeah…"
He nodded… "I could tell." He returned his gaze to his work as Caroline watched him…
"Y'know… she's my best friend…"
He looked up again… "Yeah…?"
"Almost like a little sister…"
"Ok…?"
She could tell he was starting to wonder what she was getting at… "I just don't want to see her get hurt."
He smiled… "I don't intend on hurting her…"
"Ok…" she nodded, returning to her work.
*****~*****
--The soft knock on Caroline's door caught her attention as she sat reading her book. She looked through the peephole first before unlocking and opening the door…
"Hey, Annie… what's up?"
"Can I come in?" Annie asked, a wide smile on her face…
"Yeah, sure. What's going on?"
Annie walked to about the middle of Caroline's livingroom and spun around… "He kissed me!"
"Richard?"
"Uh-huh!" Annie was obviously very excited, and Caroline grinned at her enthusiasm…
"So, tell me about it…" Caroline grabbed a bottle of wine and 2 glasses and joined Annie on the couch…
"He was so romantic…" she sighed… "After dinner we took a walk and talked, and he held my hand… and offered me his coat cause I was kinda cold. And we walked back here… and when we got in front of my door he kissed my hand… you know, my knuckles? Like they do in the movies?"
Caroline nodded…
"And then his other hand moved to my cheek while he was still holding my left hand… and he leaned in… and he kissed me!"
"And how was it?" Caroline asked with a smile…
"So nice. Oh! His lips are like velvet! So soft! It was just the best night!" she gushed… "Do you think he'll wanna go out again? He said he wanted to…"
"Then he probably will." Caroline's tone was wearied…
"I'm sorry…" Annie apologized… "I'm being totally silly, aren't I?"
"No, you're not. I understand how exciting this is for you…"
"Thanks!" she jumped up and headed for the door… "I'm gonna go home and write in my journal!"
"Your journal?" Caroline repeated… "What are you, like 12?"
Annie smirked… "Oh, hush!" she chuckled… "See ya tomorrow…"
Caroline smiled weakly… "See ya tomorrow."
Annie left and Caroline locked the door behind her, then headed up the stairs. She got ready for bed and lied down, but she couldn't fall asleep. Her mind had too many thoughts racing through it to stop for sleep. All her thoughts seemed to come back to one point… Richard. Why? She had no idea. All she knew was her mind was heavy with thoughts of him. She forced her eyes closed… forced all thoughts from her mind… and eventually, she fell asleep.
*****~*****
--"Good morning Caroline…" Richard greeted his boss cheerfully as he walked through the door…
"Morning is true enough… not so sure about the 'good' though…"
"Well, maybe the day will get better…"
"Doubtful." Caroline countered, then gathered up some panels… "Greeting cards today…" she informed him… "Let me show you how these go…"
*****
--They worked for several hours before Annie made her daily appearance…
"Morning all…"
"Afternoon, Annie…" Caroline corrected and greeted at the same time…
"So it is…" she smirked… "Hi Richie…"
Richard smiled… "Hi Annie. Sleep well?"
"I did, thanks."
"Richie?" Caroline asked…
"My nickname for him…" Annie giggled… "It's cute! You know… Annie and Richie…"
Caroline rolled her eyes and headed for the coffeemaker… "Ok… gag me…"
Annie just shook her head and headed for Richard… "So, I had a good time last night…"
"Me too." He smiled and reached for her hand, which she gave him… "I was thinking maybe we could go out again tonight. You know, if you're not busy…"
"As a matter of fact I am free tonight…" a slight blush crossed her cheeks and Richard smiled at her shyness…
"Good. I'll come by as soon as I'm done here."
"I'm looking forward to it…"
"I'm looking forward to getting some work done…" Caroline interrupted… "Bye now Annie…"
"Ok, ok… I can take a hint…"
"A hint? Yeah, I was dropping a real subtle hint telling you outright to leave…" Caroline quipped sarcastically as Annie headed for the door…
Annie turned around and smirked… "I love being your friend!" she teased, then left.
*****~*****
--Weeks had gone by and Caroline's sleep habits began to get worse and worse… and it was starting to show. Deep down she knew what was wrong… what was plaguing her mind, preventing her from sleeping… but she refused to admit it. She tossed and turned, frustrated and irritated…
"Why?!" she asked her ceiling… "Why can't I sleep?!" She grabbed her pillow from behind her head and covered her face with it.
*Richard. Richard is why you can't sleep. You have a thing for Richard.*
"No I don't!" she barked into the pillow…
*Yes you do.*
"Shut up brain! I do not! Annie likes him! He is with Annie!"
*So?*
"So, she's my friend! I'm not gonna do anything to mess up her thing with him!"
*Pathetic!*
"You think I don't know that?!"
She threw the pillow across the room and headed downstairs to make some warm milk.
"Maybe that will help me sleep…" she muttered to herself as she descended the stairs. She heard voices outside the door and quietly opened it, peering out. There was Annie and Richard, kissing and touching…
*You didn't need to see that!*
She quietly shut the door and bolted it locked again… "No-duh! Really?!" she ridiculed herself… "Just another reason why my life sucks…" she reminded herself as she made the warm milk… "Just like you Caroline to fall in love with your assistant. The ONE man your best friend has actually shown an interest in…" She drank the warm milk quickly and headed back upstairs… back to tossing and turning…
*****~*****
--"Good morning, Caroline…" Richard greeted in his typically cheerful way…
"For once, could you please come in to work and not be all happy and chipper?" Caroline grumbled as she downed 2 aspirin with her coffee…
"Sorry…" he apologized… "Long night?"
"Yeah…" she sighed… "Not sleeping well…"
"You look all tense too…" he added, walking towards her… "Let me see if I can help…"
He directed her to sit down and started rubbing her neck. It felt good… too good.
*Stop this Caroline! Stop this now!* her brain screamed at her, but she ignored it.
All too soon, he stopped… "Better?"
"Yeah, thanks…" she replied distantly… "Let's get to work…"
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah. Sure." She handed him a stack of panels… "Here…"
He took them from her as he watched her expression for a moment, then got to work.
*****
--Hours later and close to quitting time, Annie arrived in her usual good mood, immediately making her way over to Richard. She kissed him quick and hovered over him as he finished his work…
"Almost ready?" she asked in a whisper in his ear and he smiled in response…
"Ask the slave driver…" he joked, looking at Caroline…
Caroline rolled her eyes and peeked at his work… "Yeah, fine… go…"
"Thanks Caroline!" Annie chirped as she headed for the door, Richard just a few steps behind…
"See ya tomorrow, Caroline!" he stated quickly, putting his jacket on. He and Annie shared looks as they walked out the door, and Caroline felt a pang of jealousy as she caught it.
"Yeah. Great. Tomorrow. Whatever." She mumbled to herself as she cleaned up the work station…
After a brief knock Charlie came skating in… "Hello Caroline. I have mail for you."
"Thanks. Just put it on the fish tank."
He noticed her downbeat tone, and he dropped the mail on the tank before turning back to Caroline… "Are you ok?"
"Not really…" she replied quietly… "But what else is new…"
"Would you like to talk about it?" he asked compassionately…
"Have you ever been in a situation, where you basically have 2 choices… be miserable or hurt a friend?"
"Yeah, actually, I have…"
"What did you do?"
"I hurt my friend. Ruined our friendship as a result. And wasn't all that happy in the long run either…"
"So, I should just keep my feelings bottled up and stay miserable?"
"I don't know. I can't tell you what to do… plus, I don't know enough about what you're talking about to render an intelligent decision. But hurting a friend is never a good thing…"
"Yeah. I guess…"
Charlie hugged her for a moment, then pulled back… "Would you like me to stay with you for a while? Looks like you don't want to be alone…"
"No, that's ok. Actually… I do want to be alone…"
"Alright then…" he skated for the door… "You'll be alright?"
She nodded… "Yeah. Thanks Charlie…"
"Ok…" he smiled… "Bye…"
*****~*****
--Weeks of Caroline holding in her feelings caused her to get more and more agitated… and the sleep deprivation didn't help either…
"So, he took me on this carriage ride through Central Park… and we held hands… and we kissed…" Annie shared with Caroline the details of her last night's date with Richard…
Caroline felt like she was going to explode. It was hard enough seeing the simple kisses and love-struck glances between them… but to hear every romantic detail of every date… she'd had it…
"Annie! Please! Must you tell me every detail of every date?!" she barked, causing Annie to stop abruptly and stare with confusion…
"What?"
"I just… I've tried to be a good friend and listen to all your little stories… but I just can't do it anymore! I can't listen to any more!"
"What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing! Nothing is wrong with me! I just want you to stop giving me every detail of your dates!"
"We've always shared details! Why does this bother you all of the sudden?"
Caroline couldn't give the reason why… but she couldn't think of a lie fast enough. Instead, she just stormed upstairs.
*****
--A few hours later there was a knock at the door, and Caroline descended the stairs heavily to answer it. She peeked out and saw Richard, and quickly opened the door…
"Richard? It's Saturday… what are you doing here?"
"Can I come in?" he asked in a tone that was not at all like his cheery self…
"Yeah, sure. Is something wrong?"
"You tell me…" he said as he entered her livingroom… "I just talked to Annie…"
Caroline took a deep breath as her heart fluttered… this conversation could lead to nothing but trouble… "Ok…"
"Why did you yell at her? She's very hurt you know. And worried about you. She says she's never seen you like this before…"
"Like what?"
"She says you seem angry with her…"
"I'm not…"
"Then what is it?"
"Why do you care? I'm just your boss…"
"Well, I'd like to think we're friends too. Plus, Annie cares… therefore I care…"
"Yay… and thanks… but you needn't worry about me…" Caroline snipped as she headed for the kitchen, but Richard stopped her by grabbing her arm and turning her towards him…
"Caroline, c'mon! Talk to me! Please…"
She gasped and struggled to keep balance as she found herself looking straight into his concerned eyes. Something snapped, and she couldn't stop herself. She reached for his lips with hers and kissed him. Her actions shocked him, and he pulled away to look at her, questioning her with his eyes…
"I think I'm falling in love with you Richard…" she whispered, then leaned in to kiss him again. Once again, he pulled back... and she could see pity in his eyes... it was written all over his face...
"Wow, Caroline… I don't know what-- I mean… I'm flattered. Really. You're a great boss, and a good friend… but I just don't feel that way about you…"
She dropped her head low and fought the tears that were starting to well up in her eyes, but it was no use. She nodded slightly and turned away from him, but he caught her with his arms, attempting to hug her. She let herself get lost in the embrace before she snapped back into reality…
"Don't…" she choked out, trying to pull away. He kept his grip on her and she fought harder, breaking free and pushing him away… "Just get out, alright? Leave… please…" she pleaded, then ran upstairs, slamming the door behind her.
*****~*****
--Caroline locked herself in her room and refused to come out… not for work, not for food… nothing. Annie tried to get her to come out… Richard tried, Charlie tried… even Del tried… she just simply wouldn't budge. She wouldn't even talk through the door except to say 'Go away.' Everyone was at their wit's end.
--"Guys…" Richard said softly as everyone stood on the landing at the top of her stairs, just outside her room… "Give me a few minutes alone with her… ok?"
They all nodded and left, Annie kissing him before leaving. Then, he turned his attention towards the door again…
"Caroline, if you don't open this door, I'm gonna break it down."
No answer.
"I mean it Caroline!"
"Go away." Her scratchy voice called out from the other side.
That was it. No more talking. Richard backed as much as he could in the narrow stairwell and threw himself against the door. Two times… three… four. It took eight tries in all, but he finally got the door open. A quick look around told the story… Caroline was covered in blankets despite how warm it was in the room, her face buried in the pillows. Used kleenex littered the room and the shades were drawn, causing the room to be near about as dark as night.
"Caroline…" he whispered with a scolding tone…
"Go away…"
"No. This is not healthy! What you're doing… It's not healthy…"
"Please just leave me alone…" she pleaded with a sad and strained voice…
"Not until you talk to me!"
"There's nothing to talk about. You made your feelings perfectly clear… and I made a fool of myself…"
"Caroline, you didn't make a fool of yourself…"
"Yes I did. I kissed you! And I looked pretty foolish doing it too… seeing as how I was the only one doing the kissing…"
Richard sighed and sat on the edge of her bed… "I want to help you… I really do. Please, tell me how to help you…"
"You can't help me… just leave. I don't even want to look at you. I can't look at you…"
"I hate seeing you this upset. We all do…"
"I'm fine…"
He scoffed at that statement… "You are not fine…" he informed… "This is not fine…"
"It is for me…"
"Caroline, please… what do you want from me?"
"I want you to leave!"
"Not until we work this out! I want us to be friends!"
"Friends?! How can we be friends now?! With you knowing how I feel…"
"That doesn't matter!" he replied… "I mean, it matters… but it's not anything to stand in the way of a friendship!"
"I told you I love you Richard! Do you have any idea how embarrassed I am about that?"
"I'm guessing a lot… but there's no need to be. It's always nice to have someone say 'I love you'…"
"Not for the person saying it when the words and feelings aren't reciprocated…" she countered…
"Yeah, you're right. That sucks. And I'm sorry… I really am… but I can't make myself feel something I'm not."
"I know. And I'm not asking you to. I just… I shouldn't have even said anything... I should've just sat there and watched you and Annie have your little fling while this just ate away at me..."
"But you did."
"Yeah…" she rolled over just enough to look at him… "I don't suppose you could fly around the earth backwards really really fast and turn back time…"
"Sorry, my cape's at the cleaners…" he quipped, causing Caroline to chuckle slightly.
She sat up in the bed and hung her head low… "I'm sorry about all this…"
"I know…" he said, wiping the tear that fell from her cheek. He lifted her chin and smiled at her… "Friends?"
She nodded weakly… "Yeah…" she whispered, still unsure, but willing to try…
"Thank you." He whispered, leaning in and kissing her cheek, then he hugged her tightly.
She let herself get caught up in his compassion, holding him like it would be the last time she ever would be allowed to…
"You had us all so worried…" he told her as he pulled away from their embrace… "I'm gonna let everyone know you're alright…"
She nodded. He wiped another tear from her face, then turned and left. Caroline threw herself back into the pillows and sighed…
*How are you going to be in the same room with him day after day? Seeing Annie with him. Kissing. Touching--*
"Shut! Up! Brain!" she barked into the pillow. Sleep soon enveloped her and she dozed off into a restful sleep for the first time in months.
*****~*****
--She didn't know what had interrupted her sleep, to cause her to wake, but something had. Caroline bolted upright and looked around her bedroom, as if something there would help her to get past the hazy feeling she felt. She wiped her eyes and brushed her hair back from her face… deep in thought…
"Man! What a weird dream!"
TO BE CONTINUED
Thanks for reading!