Eden lay on her bed and took a deep calming and cleansing breath. Her eyes were closed, her body was lax, and her arms were loosely at her side.

Relaxed.

Birds chirped outside her small balcony, most likely taking advantage of the small bird feeder she kept there.

She wondered if she should get takeout from her favorite vegan restaurant down the road or if she should get her grocery shop for the week out of the way. She mentally started running through in her head what she was missing from her fridge and pantry before the muted noise of New York City traffic started to seep through into her thoughts.

Quickly she took another deep breath before slowly exhaling out. She was bone tired after coming off a long haul flight from London.

Fashion Week was one of her favorite events. Even though the weeks leading up to it and the week itself was filled with fittings, meetings, rehearsals and barely enough sleep, she loved it. She got to see beautiful designs that were yet to be released yet, try on the most gorgeous outfits, work and be mentored by amazing and talented designers as well as catching up with her fellow modeling peers. Not to mention the fact that she got to revisit one of her favorite cities - London.

A lot of people dismissed models and modeling itself as a frivolous profession. That they all rolled out of bed, smoked a cigarette and drank a glass of wine to stay skinny before walking down a runway and going straight to an after party.

Nothing could be further from the truth. To be a top model, like her, walking and sometimes headlining shows, pulling in major beauty contracts as well as ads, you had to be at the peak of your mental and physical health. You also had to work your ass off tirelessly, make some tough sacrifices and network like crazy to be at the level where she and a select few of her peers were at.

That fateful vacation to New York City when she was eighteen all those years ago, the hurried trip organized by her Mom in a desperate attempt to get her daughter over a heartbreak, was the most transformative trip of her life.

To be scouted as a novice when she had literally stepped off the plane at LaGuardia, her heart still shattered, was a walking dream. One she sometimes pinched herself for. Not once had the idea of modeling entered her head, something she at times felt guilty for. After all, a lot of young girls model young, hoping to hit the big time; where here she was - not even looking and the most amazing opportunity found her.

She knew how lucky and blessed she was and did not take her good fortune for granted.

After taking another deep and restorative breath, she opened her eyes and stared at her ceiling for a few minutes before slowly sitting up on her bed. The first image that greeted her tired eyes was the sight of her large suitcase and small carry on bag. She grimaced. Right. She forgot that she still had to unpack.

Instead of slinking back down onto her bed, which she was sorely tempted to do, she jumped up and moved to her kitchen. She opened her cupboard door and pulled down a metal tin.

What she needed was a nice cup of peppermint tea. She grabbed her green kettle, deftly filling it with water before putting it on her stove top to boil.

While the kettle quietly whistled away, she grabbed her handbag from the counter top, rifling inside until she found her small black journal. She opened it to the to-do list she had scribbled hastily while on the plane.

-Unpack!! (even though you don't want to)

She smiled at her own fortelling

-Get groceries

She frowned. She hated plane-excited Eden.

-Call Mom

-Text Sof

She grabbed her pen and crossed that off. She had texted her bestie at the airport and they had caught up on the Uber ride back to her apartment.

She moved the now loudly whistling and steaming kettle off the stove, turning the knob off and filling her mug up with the boiling liquid. She bounced her tea bag a couple of times in the water before leaving it to steep for a few minutes.

She returned back to her journal and wrote: try to make 6pm yoga class.

"Try to" gave her room not to go if she wanted without making her feel guilty. She always knocked off her to-do list unless she had good reason. Like being bone tired from a long flight. But she had time to kill and as much as she wanted to nap, she knew it would mess up her body clock so she had to hold out until nightfall.

She searched in her bag for her favorite oversized hoodie before tugging it over her head. Carefully grabbing her hot mug, she padded towards her balcony before stepping out, sighing in pleasure as the warm sun hit her face.

It was October and, while the weather was cooling down; prepping for winter, her apartment was east facing and got hit with a nice blast of sun during the day. She spent a lot of her time just sitting out here, surrounded by her beloved plants, just basking

She had moved out to NYC right after graduating from highschool. After her denim campaign with Levin's took off, she was in hot demand. She had gotten a call from her agent a few weeks later saying that she was booked for NYC Fashion Week but not only that - she was chosen to be the "new face." The New Face was usually picked to walk the majority of shows and was an open door to more exclusive campaigns.

She had screamed her mother's ear off when she called to tell her. She probably would've waited until she got home if she knew that her Mom had currently been at Kelly Carter's place for coffee. Barron had been there at the time, shyly trying to converse with her Mom. She tried not to remember the confrontational conversation she had with him after that.

Gah! She shivered, despite the warmth of the day. Why was she taking a trip down memory lane?

Maybe it was because she needed to call her Mom. She took another cautious sip of her Peppermint tea before setting it down on the small round outdoor table. Pulling her phone from the front pocket of her hoodie, she searched her favorites and hit her Mom's number.

"Sweetheart!" her Mom's warm tone filled her ear almost immediately. "How was London? I streamed all the shows you walked. What was that red number you wore on your second show? You looked so stunning in it, darling. I took a screenshot and posted it on my instagram. I got a hundred and twenty likes."

She laughed, pure joy at listening to her Mom filling her. "That was a Karl Lagerfield creation."

Her Mom gasped. Everyone knew who Karl Lagerfield was. "Did Aunt Ursula comment on it?" she asked, reaching down for her tea.

Her Mom huffed. "Yes. She said you were too skinny even though I told her that you eat more than she does. She's just a jealous cow because her daughter dropped out of school and moved in with her loser druggie boyfriend."

"Mom!" she gasped, sputtering her tea.

"What?" She snapped. "I tell no lies."

"So what's new with you?" She quickly changed the subject before her Mom could really get into it. "Any local goss to share? I spoke with Sof this morning and she said Ryan's got a new man. I'm gonna message him tonight for the juicy deets."

"Hmm," her Mom hummed. "Nothing I can think of. Lucy's got a new owner, they've painted the storefront vomit yellow."

"Scandalous." she joked.

"Tell me what's next for you? Any new shows coming up?"

"I have a couple of fashion shows later in November, I'm shooting a new Marc Jacobs perfume in January and then the Met Gala in May. Other than that, nothing else major. Thinking of coming home for a few weeks next summer."

"What?" Her Mom gasped. "You always go away for Summer."

"Well, New Haven is hardly a coveted vacation spot." she joked. "And I come to visit you a lot during the year."

She was coming home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. But it was true, she and her friends usually took off to vacation somewhere exotic and sunny during summer. One of the many perks that she enjoyed. Sometimes she flew her Mom and friends from New Haven to where she was or took them on surprise trips. But her Mom was always so busy with her job as a nurse at their local practitioner's office that she rarely took vacation days. Sofia as well was going to supervise some summer school classes next year, she had told her, so she had thought "why not come to them?"

"Well if you're absolutely for sure coming home I wanna run something past you."

She frowned and sat up straight in her chair. "Sure, Mom, what's up?"

"So you know how Kelly runs holiday programs during the summer for kids?"

"Yeah," she said slowly.

Kelly worked as a teacher at the local middle school but on summer break she always rallied local teachers and artists to run fun classes during the summer to keep the kids engaged. They could be anything from art classes, horseback riding, creative writing, woodwork and everything in between.

"Well," her Mom continued hesitantly. "She wants to do a class specifically for pre teen and teen girls. Chatting about the pros and cons of social media, self esteem, career options - some of these girls are so into that influencer stuff for example." her Mom took a deep breath but Eden could see where this was going.

"She wants me to do a talk with the girls?" she guessed.

"Yes!" her Mom exhaled. "When she brought the idea up to me she had women signed up - a self defense instructor, a sexual health nurse and she has a make up artist and hair stylist coming in to show the girls how to do simple hair styles and play around with make up. She made a throwaway comment about how amazing it would be if you could be a special guest since you are our most successful expat - everyone is just so proud of you, darling."

Eden flushed with pleasure at the compliment. She wasn't modest, she knew that the people of New Haven were proud and fiercely protective of her. When a reporter came sniffing around a few years ago when she had started dating the lead singer of The Living English, the town had given her such a run around that she was convinced that Eden had lied about being from there.

"Anyway," her Mom continued. "I told Kelly that you usually go away to some Greek island for summer so we left the idea as is. But, since you're planning on being here anyway, maybe you could spare an hour or two chatting with the girls? They would be so excited, sweetie."

"Well -" she started.

"But," her Mom interrupted, "We completely understand if you don't feel comfortable. I know you and Kelly have lost touch a bit since - ya, know," her Mom laughed uncomfortably, "but she still loves you so much and we talk about you a lot. Oh, but not to Barron," she rushed to say.

Eden's heart lurched. She cursed herself that just hearing his name could cause even the tiniest bit of reaction from her. It was so stupid. She had seen him around town on the sporadic visits that she made back to New Haven. He used to raise his chin at her in greeting but stopped, probably after she made no attempt to respond to his subtle signals.

It was true, her relationship with Kelly, the woman who was like a second Mom to her, faltered. They made polite small talk with each other but the ease in their conversation was gone. She tried so hard to make the other woman feel welcome, that she wasn't harboring any ill will towards her son - because she wasn't. Not anymore, anyway.

But unfortunately there was always this big glaring elephant in the room that no matter how many times they smiled and laughed with each other, she always felt like their energy was off. Thanks, Barron, she moodily thought.

This could be the chance for them to get back on track. She probably wouldn't come over for Sunday dinners like she used to, but she could enter her life again in a new way. She would still do anything for Kelly Carter and her husband, Jim. She still loved and missed them both.

"Mom," she interrupted before she started rambling again. "Give me Kelly's number." she simply said.

Her Mom gasped in delight. "You mean..?" she pressed in anticipation.

"Yes, Mom, I would be happy to help out. Kelly's done so much for me and her program is amazing. I've always wanted to give back to the community, and I don't mean just money," she had donated a lot in the past. Her highschool's new gym roof was courtesy of her. "But something more tangible. This is such a great idea." she insisted. "Let me call Kelly myself and let her know I'm in."

She put the phone away from her ear at her Mom's squeal of joy.

"Thanks, Mom, I'm deaf," she joked goodnaturedly.

"Sorry, darling, but argh!" she squeaked. "The idea of you coming home for summer and then this program... I just can't wait!" she exclaimed.

"Me, too." she genuinely replied. She grabbed her mug and finished off the last of her tea. "Okay, Mom, I gotta go get some groceries." she told her. "Text me Kelly's number and I'll touch base with her." She stood up and climbed back into her apartment.

"Okay, sweetie. You take care of yourself. Love you."

"Love you too, Mom," she replied before ending the call.

After putting the empty mug into her sink and filling it with water, she opened her journal.

-Call Kelly