As the evening goes on, I finish my nails and dry my hair and then get lost in a medieval drama with lots of romance and hot actors. Right as the main character is finally going to kiss the servant woman, my phone blares out an awful screechy sound that makes me jump and nearly trip over my blanket that gets caught up in my feet.
Heart pounding, I read the bad weather alert. Severe thunderstorms with the potential to create tornadoes and flash floods? What the hell. That came out of nowhere. As soon as I put my phone down, the earth shudders with a loud crackling thunder and rain unleashes from the sky.
The weather app on my phone is a kaleidoscope of awful colors over the entire area, lasting until three in the morning. This is a bad storm, and I had no idea bad weather was even headed our way. So much for having a relaxing Sunday evening. I can’t sleep with thunder this loud.
I try to go back to my show, ignoring the bright lightning flashes outside my window. By the third angry flash flood warning alert on my phone, I realize what that heavy dread could have been about.
I call Caleb.
He answers after a few rings. “Charlotte? You okay?”
“Yes. Why? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I just wasn’t expecting your call.”
The gentle sound of concern disappears and coldness is back in his voice. I clear my throat, but it doesn’t get rid of the lump feeling that just arrived. “I’m sorry to bother you. I just have a question. Does the barn flood?”
He’s quiet for a moment. “No. Not in my lifetime, at least. We’re on the east side of town which is at a higher elevation.”
“Right. Okay.” Outside, thunder cracks and lightning bursts across my room. “I keep getting flash flood warnings and it mademe worry about the gala on Friday. If it floods, we could be in trouble.”
“It should be fine. The storm is supposed to be over tonight and then it’s sunny weather all week. The ground should dry up fine.”
“That’s good.” I’m not ready to get off the phone. A pathetic little part of me wishes Caleb was right here next to me, cuddled up and watching TV while the storm rages on outside. “And the barn should be fine in the high winds?”
“Yep. It’s held on this long,” he says with a chuckle. “I think we’ll be all good.”
“That’s great to hear. I’m sorry I called you so late. That’s not very professional of me.”
“You can call me anytime,” he says.
Beside me, the lamp flickers and my TV goes out for a second before turning back on. My heart races at the sound of his voice saying those things to me. “Is that so?”
“Of course.”
“I can call you any time?” I’m just dragging out the conversation now, for no reason other than it’s fun, and I like his voice, and I’ve been watching a swoony romantic show all night and wish I was part of a swoony real life romance scene.
“Yes, Charlotte,” he says. “You may call me any time you’d like.”
A quiet moment passes between us. On the TV, my show is paused right as the hot prince’s hand has touched the servant woman’s cheek.
“Thanks for being nice to me again,” I say.
“What do you mean? I’m nice all the time.”
“Yeah, right! You’ve been totally weird around me ever since the donor dinner.”
Another moment of silence. I can’t believe I just said that out loud, but phone calls give an illusion of distance. It’s easier to say in my living room than to his face.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve been perfectly nice and professional around you, Charlotte.”
“Ah… is this your way of holding up the no flirting rule?” I ask, feeling like my entire life is paused the way the lovers are on my television. “Because I don’t really care about that anymore. We’re … friends.”
“Maybe a little,” he admits. “I’ve made an effort to respect your wishes, and I’m sorry for all the flirting when I first met you. I would not have done it if I’d known you had a boyfriend.”
“Wait, what?”
Thunder crashes. Rain pelts hard against my window, and all at once, the lights go out. In the darkness, I’m wondering only one thing: he thinks I have a boyfriend?
