Lacie's goofy face smiling at me from the screen. I sighed and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Hey, girl. You didn't listen to me, did you? You went out with him."
"Well... yes."
"I figured as much. So... how was it?"
"It was great. It really was. He came back up to my place afterwards and w..."
"You didn't!"
"I know, I know."
"Bad girl."
"Yeah, yeah. Anyway. So, he came up afterwards and things were going really well and
then he got this phone call and just up and left. Honestly, I don't know what to make
of it."
"Maybe he had to go whack someone."
"Come on."
"I'm just kidding."
"Alright, but look, I can't really talk right now. I'll see you at work on Monday."
That was a lie, but I really didn't feel like having that conversation at the moment.
"Okay then. See ya."
"Bye."
I hung the phone up and set it down on the table in front of me, staring at the empty
plate in front of me. She was joking, no doubt, but what if she was right? It was
a strange time of night to receive such a call. Especially for a guy in the waste
disposal business. Yet there he went, dropping everything to rush off. None of it
made any sense and all I wanted was for him to call me, anyway. I sighed, gathered
up my things, and went back home.
The rest of that day came and went, and my phone didn't so much as make a sound. Tony's
suit jacket stayed right where I had left it, folded up neatly on the table. The next
day turned out pretty much the same. I spent the whole day lazing about my apartment
with Tom, waiting on a phone call from the man who had completely spun me off of my
feet two nights before. Nothing, though. Not so much as a text message. I had to check
my phone several times throughout the day just to be sure that the battery hadn't
died on me, but of course that wasn't the case. Finally, as the sun was starting to
set, I became fed up. Honestly, the nerve of this man to just run out like that and
then not even call afterwards to explain. I snatched my phone up and went into the
recent calls list to find the number that he had dialed me from that morning at the
office. I waited patiently as it rang, and then heard that sweet manly voice of his
come across the receiver.
"This is Tony."
"Tony. It's Tara. I'm sorry if this is a bad time but..."
"Tara, baby. I'm so sorry I haven't called. There was a work related emergency and
a lot of fallout from it that we're still trying to get taken care of."
"What kind of emergency?"
"Well, you know... uh, one of the guys we got driving for us managed to crash one
of our trucks into a street light and tear everything up. One truck out of commission
can take whole neighborhoods off your grid, you know. It's been a real mess."
"Oh. That's awful." I was relieved to hear him explain it.
"I want to get together with you again real soon though."
"I'd like that too. Um, you left your jacket here."
"Oh yeah. I knew I had forgotten something. Can I stop by tomorrow to pick it up?"
"In the evening, yes. I'll be here."
"That's good. I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Alright, bye."
I hung the phone up and held it against my chest. Thank
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