AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“L-lovely.” He repeats. “G-good. It’s-it’s Saturday.”
“It is. But I had the best day and I wanted to share.”
There’s an ease that takes over his breathing. I hear it through my speakerphone. It’s peace. Peace at hearing me whole and well. It comes whenever we talk and I prove to him that I’m happy. That this was the right choice for us both.
“I’m g-glad you called,” he says.
And I start in–telling him all about the butterflies, not so much the kissing. He’d only stress about the germs Levi and I swapped.
“You like this young man?” Days says and I can hear the smile on his face.
“I do, Dad. I really do.”
After my chat with Dad–where he only asked me a dozen times if anyone around me had the flu or if I thought to wear a mask or if I wore protective clothing–I busy myself with other tasks. I do my laundry, search up a few apartments on Realtor.com, ones closer to North Idaho campus, and glance at my phone only two thousand times.
Levi hasn’t messaged.
But did I think he would? He went into work late. He had a lot to catch up on. He’s got things to do—he can’t just text me whenever he wants.
Right?
Right or wrong, I don’t know. Here’s what I know—despite all that he has to do, I thought he would message.
But then, I think about what Uncle Bob is always telling me—I’m in charge of my own happiness. The items on my list—err, my torn-up list, are to give me experiences. Not to whip up bliss, like a recipe. They get me out into the world.Living. Living makes me happy.
So, I take charge of my feelings. And I text Levi.
Me:I’m going to Nikki’s once she’s out of school. We’re trying a new cookie recipe and going for a ride. We could swing some by. If you’d like to try them.
That’s good. It’s nonchalant. It’s laid back. It doesn’t say—I’ve been thinking about you, have you been thinking about me?
But when ten minutes pass and he doesn’t write back, I message Coco. Why? Because she wanted to know about our morning, she’s the only adult female friend I’ve got, and I need to talk to someone who knows more about this subject than me.
@merry.bess23:Did Levi tell you where he took me?
@coco.crisp.99:Butterflies. So cute. Did you love it?
@merry.bess23:I did. It was beautiful.
I wonder…
@merry.bess23:Have you seen him again? This afternoon, I mean?
@coco.crisp.99:Nope. But I assume he’s still at work.
@merry.bess23:Right. That makes sense. So, he hasn’t seen Alice again?
@coco.crisp.99:Since she is home sick—nope.
@coco.crisp.99:What’s up, Meredith?
@merry.bess23:Nothing. She said he tells her everything. I was wondering if they talked. If he shared anything with her.
I hit send on my weirdly cryptic message and wait… and wait… and then my phone rings. Instagram is calling me—no Coco is calling me via Instagram. I hit the answer button and find myself in a box on the bottom half of my smartphone, with Coco in the top half.
“You’re being weird.” These are the first words Coco says to me.
“Um. Am I?”
