Meril was going nothing more complicated or less prosaic than sitting on her bed and brushing her hair.

It was an effort towards normalcy, trying to reestablish a normal routine and normal behaviors after she and Greg had let themselves slip. With a new band and new music to be made, she had to pull herself together -- and that meant, among other things, taking care of herself.

So she sat on her bed, ran the brush through her hair, and did her very best not to think too much.