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“I think your life is safe. Oh, and speaking of my parents. When I got back from the shop today, there was a present awaiting me on my doorstep. Mom got another one of those horse head squirrel feeder things.” Elle paused a moment for impact, then said, “For you.”
There was dead silence on the line for a moment and then he cleared his throat and politely said, “Oh. Uh, good. You’ll have to thank her for me.”
Elle said, “It has installation instructions. Super easy. I’ll bring it with me next time I see you.”
“Great,” Jim said with false enthusiasm.
She laughed now and said, “At least it wasn’t a heart-shaped birdbath.”
“Thank god,” he said quite fervently. Then he asked, “Seeing you again? When can we make that happen?”
“Eager to get your hands on your squirrel feeder?” Elle asked, smirking now.
“Among other things,” Jim said.
“I must say, I like the sound of that,” Elle said. Thinking for a moment, she added, “I’m free Tuesday night.”
“Hmm,” Jim said. “I’ve got a conference call until 7:00. Talking to a soccer team in Hawaii. We could do a late dinner if you don’t mind.”
“I could meet you there if it makes it easier for you,” Elle said.
She could hear him hesitate now. Finally he said, “That might be a good idea. You’re sure you don’t mind?”
“I wouldn’t have offered if I minded. Driving into the valley that time of night is normally terrible. Traffic heading into LA will be much better. I can meet you at your office,” Elle said.
“Thank you. That makes it much easier. The rest of my week is not great. I’m going to Kansas City on Wednesday and won’t get back til late Friday night,” Jim said somewhat grumpily.
“What’s in Kansas City?”
“Gavin Johnson,” Jim said. “He plays for the Kings.”
“I know. Center fielder. Batting average in the .360s,” Elle said, enjoying the momentary silence on the other end of the line.
“Holy shit. Marry me,” Jim said, mild surprise in his voice.
Elle burst out laughing and said, “Whoa. Let’s slow it down just a tad bit, please.”
She heard him sigh deeply, then he grumbled, “Fine. I guess.” A moment later, he added, “But seriously. I thought it was kind of hot when you would call out the plays during football season before they’d run them. Baseball too?”
“Football, baseball, basketball, hockey. Most sports. Except racing. I can’t call driving cars around an oval a sport,” Elle said.
“Because it’s not,” Jim said, snorting. He was silent for a moment and then said, “I didn’t realize you were that big of a sports fan.”
Elle laughed now and said, “I was a daddy’s girl growing up. Total tomboy. I outgrew some of it, but not all.”
“You never fail to surprise me,” Jim said, bemusedly.
“How so?” Elle asked.
“You just quoted me Gavin Johnson’s batting average, you own a butter churn, and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen you wear sparkly hair clips in every color known to man. You’re a mass of contradictions. I never know what to expect.”
“Pfft. I’m really an open book,” Elle said. “You just have to know what questions to ask.”
Over the next forty minutes, Jim proceeded to ask her a ton of random questions. They ranged all the way from favorite color to more serious topics like religion and politics. He kept it fair by answering all of his own questions, too. Elle was pleased to see that they had quite a few of the major things in common.
Eventually Jim said, “Hang on. I’ve got another call.” He paused for a moment and then regretfully said, “It’s my brother. I should probably take this.”
“You’re lucky. He just called. He didn’t randomly show up at your house at 8:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning,” Elle said.
