Changing Her Tune — Amanda Kabak

Allie Coleman, professional musician, hates reading her mail, and this bad habit of hers may now prove to be her undoing. The space she’s been renting for practicing her trumpet and providing lessons for both willing and unwilling students is going under renovation, and she’s caught flat footed. Left without a place to contain the noise, she’s relegated to playing and teaching out of her apartment.Unfortunately, right above her lives Cait Durant, a freelance editor who works from home with her horse sized dog, Pancho Villa, and the ultimate productivity that comes from peace and quiet. The three-ring circus below her isn’t Cait’s only headache when a new project from the independent press she contracts with comes with a prized author who seems hell bent on not allowing her to actually edit his novel. Given that Allie’s suggested remedy for the noise is earplugs, it’s easy to blame everything on the infuriating and unapologetic (yet attractive) sprite just downstairs. Earplugs!Cait’s silent suffering is loud every time she passes Allie’s apartment or encounters her at the coffee shop Cait’s been banished to, and she just refuses to get on board with the current reality. If that weren’t bad enough, when Allie’s wayward brother shows up to surf her couch and open up a whole familial can of worms, Cait noses into their admittedly loud business. She’s the last person Allie wants involved in anything, and yet, Allie finds her compelling despite everything.Is there a world where Cait would just see the music in the noise and Allie could get on board with some quiet? If not, how long until the fire of their antagonism burns the whole building down?