There are a few good things about this tiny town, I suppose.
I drive home in Gran’s old Lincoln, change into my favorite sweats set and heat up some leftovers. I pour myself a glass of wine and then pick up my phone.
“Ja-Janie?” Benedict answers my FaceTime call right away.
“Don’t make a big—”
“The Janie I married? FaceTiming? It can’t be. There’s been an alien abduction, obviously. Blink twice if you’re in distress, damsel!”
“Well, I’m hanging up.”
“Stop! This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Was this your first time to initiate a FaceTime? Was I the first?”
“You flatter yourself.”
He pretends to be disappointed. “Still. I know I’m in small company.”
“You told me to call you, remember?” He straightens up and moves further into some kind of dark hallway. “Where are you?”
“Meeting.” He says right as a chorus ofShots! Shots! Shots!rings out in the background. He winces. Something in me winces too, but I keep my face neutral. He can do what he wants when we’re not pretending. His face is almost contrite, though, as heexplains, “Well, itstartedas a meeting a couple hours ago. Some of our partners are in the city from Japan. Had to show them a Big Apple good time, you know.”
“Uh huh, I can let you go.”
“No, this is vastly superior to texting. I get to actually see you roll your stunning eyes, rather that sense it through the chilling tone of your messages.”
“I really want to roll my eyes but now I’m not going to.”
“Damn.”
“What did you want to change in our plan, Boss?”
“Ben, please, you’re killing me. And I just thought I should probably have movers come and pack and move your things to the house.”
I frown at the idea of him or anyone coming to Gran’s house. “Oh, no, thank you. I can pack it up myself.”
“Tomorrow? All of it? We need to lay it on a bit thick these next few weeks. I’d rather not have photos of you or me carrying boxes about.” I start to scoff but he beats me to the joke on the tip of my tongue, “It’s not only that I’m too wealthy and handsome for manual labor. Or that I’m out of shape. I work out, as my wife noticed and recently mentioned, I have big muscles. Huge.”Don’t roll your eyes. Or blush that he noticed you noticing that.“It’s just because they’ll run the image with a headline that I’m moving out or I’ve kicked you out or something. Even though the opposite is the truth, they’ll put the more clicky caption on there.”
“Right. Good call.”
“So, I’ll have a company come gather everything tomorrow daytime, then when you leave work, you come straight to the house, I’ll arrange for you to be followed and photographed. I’ll be in sometime that night and then Saturday, the apples best prepare themselves.”
“The apple picking is not a contest,” I remind him.
“Even so. We will be the best, sexiest, most adorable newlywed apple pickers that the internet has ever seen.” I roll my eyes. At that, he beams.Dang it.“Listen, this is not about you or me, darling, this is about that neck. She is a goddess and needs to be redeemed. We owe it to her.”
I laugh, “You are ridiculous, you know that?”
“Sorry, can’t hear you over my Japanese mates here. What’s that?” He pretends, making a show of holding the camera to his ears.
“Goodbye, boss!”
“It’s Ben, for f—”
I hang up.
And, annoyingly, I feel better again. Until I look around at the tiny kitchen and realize strangers will be here tomorrow, seeing everything, touching things. That won’t do.
I take one last bite of food and go search for a few moving boxes.
