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Temporarily postponing the plumbing work once more, I pulled my phone from my pocket into the cabinet with me to see what the emergency was.
The screen lit up with an image—a smooth apricot-hued squash on a bed of ink-black pasta. No. The reality was far more horrifying—it wasa penis.
Shocked, I jolted upright.
And smashed my head on the PVC pipe.
A jolt of pain stormed through my skull. I let out a frustratedugh,and the phone slipped from my grasp.
“Are you all right, Gabriel?” Oma’s voice echoed down the hall. The sound of her footsteps grew nearer.
“Yes.” I batted my hand frantically around on the floor until my fingers met cool glass. I snatched up my phone and pulled it back in with me, hiding the horror from sight.
Oma’s stocking-clad legs came into view.
“Sorry to see Jasper go so soon,” she said. “Anything I can do to help you?”
“No. I have everything I need.”
“I’ll be out in the garden then. I left you a glass of sweet tea on the table.”
“Thank you.”
She chuckled, a warm and hearty sound. Then she left.
I lifted my phone so I could once again see the screen. The sender of the offensive image was none other than Layana Hartley. My heart beat a little bit faster as dots blinked across the screen.
Layana: Good morning, sunshine
I could practically hearthe words in her voice, rough and acidic.
Me: It’s two in the afternoon.
Layana: It’s two twenty-one in the afternoon. Now who doesn’t know how time works?
I closedmy eyes and took a breath.
Me: Why did you send me that image?
Layana: You asked for it
Me: I would never.
Layana: Yet you did. Interesting how that happened. Now it’s our thing and I will send you daily dick pics in perpetuity. It’s part of my job
Me: It’s not.
Layana: When can I see you again?
I paused,my thumbs hovering over the screen. Layana wasn’t the solution I’d hoped she could be. Instead, she was a distraction. I had no room in my life for distraction. Even now, I was supposed to be fixing Oma’s sink, yet I was allowing Layana to consume my time instead.
I locked the phone and set it on my chest.
It dinged.
Despite better judgment, I checked the screen. But it wasn’t Layana who had texted. It was Pamela. I ignored the pang of disappointment in my chest and clicked to see what Pamela had to say.
Pamela: YOU DID IT
