Before they leave the karaoke booth, Guns N' Roses' ''Paradise City'' comes on. Ami points at Yumi. ''She loves Guns N' Roses.'' Indeed, Yumi begins to hum the lyrics, even slowly swaying. It seems as if some Puffy karaoke might be in the cards after all. ''No,'' says Yumi, but she has a confession to make. ''It's not that we hate karaoke. It's that. . .''
Ami cuts her off: ''It's that she used to do too much of it! I'd call her up at, like, 3 a.m. and she'd be in the booth singing. She'd sing and sing for hours and hours, like she was addicted.''
Yumi grins sheepishly. But that was years ago, right? She's conquered her addiction and can now karaoke once more?
''Well, it wasn't that long ago. It was about. . .three months ago.''
Ami puts her hand on Yumi's shoulder. ''Yes. It's true.''
Yumi sighs and takes another sip of tea. One day at a time, she seems to think to herself, one day at a time.
