Cooper
You have a cute glare.
Liesel
I’m not answering you.
Cooper
I appreciate the clarification. I was confused, you know, on account of you answering me.
Liesel
SHH!
Cooper
Even cuter.
Liesel
Does this mean that my dad’s chat didn’t scare you off?
Cooper
What chat?
Liesel
Uh huh.
Cooper
SHH!
I didn’t get a second with Liesel at the Christmas party last night, but I did get alotof meaningful glances.
A few were even from Liesel.
The rest were from Doug and Bruce.
Man, that guy wants to kill me.
But the staff retreat is officially over, and I’m waiting at the airport for my plane. And because I can, I go into the VIP lounge and reserve a small private meeting room, where I can talk on the phone without a dozen people being able to hear me.
My mom doesn’t answer.
That’s not too odd. She doesn’talwaysanswer when I call. She’s homebound, but she still does plenty of things throughout the day. She does Tae Bo videos or walks on the treadmill. She cooks and makes cool crafts. When I was in middle school, she became a wizard at decorating cookies and cakes. And she’s even started gardening.
I call Dad instead. He answers on the third ring.
“Hey, Son!”
“Hey, Dad.”
“Your mom didn’t answer?”
“What, like I can’t talk to my old man?”
