So today, I’ve decided to surprise him. He’s taken the initiative to surprise me, and I feel like it’s his turn today.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” I call through the phone. “Are you working tonight?” Asking Andrew if he’s going to be delivering today feels a little unfitting, so I stick with a vaguer term to ask about his plans.
“Probably,” he says. The raspy, flat way he answers me puts me on edge, and I start to worry if he’ll shut down my offer to provide him a much-needed distraction.
“Can you take a night off?” I ask.
“Why?”
My throat suddenly feels tight, and a nervous quiver snakes up my back. “I, um, just thought that maybe you’d want to do something.”
“What did you have in mind?” His voice picks up. Maybe it’s silly of me to be so nervous.
“It’s a surprise.”
“A surprise? Should I be scared?”
“Not unless you think waffles and the beach is a bad idea.”
“You are horrible at surprises.”
“Oops,” I say, feigning remorse. “But now that you know, are you up for it?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Great, I’ll see you after I get off?”
“Can’t wait,” he answers, his voice carrying the hint of a smile.
I hang up, relieved for this much-needed interlude. We both need it, especially Andrew. Something to remind us we’re two people who very much care about each other. And as we keep things on the DL, it’s a good way to remember we still matter. Secret relationships, skeletons and all, mean just as much as all the conventional ones. Especially ours.
I’m about to get back to my workday when my phone buzzes on my desk. I expect it to be Andrew but am proven wrong when Jade’s name flashes on the screen.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” Jade responds. “Are you busy?”
“Not really. Just at work, but I have a minute. What’s up?”
“I was just wondering if you’d like to go trick-or-treating with us next Thursday.”
“You’re going trick-or-treating? Avery can’t even eat candy.”
“Yeah, I know. But we got her a costume. We’re going to go to a few houses in our neighborhood and take alotof pictures.”
“What is she dressing up as?”
“A baby lion.”
I laugh, imagining little Avery in a brownish-orange jumpsuit with a mane of polyester and felt. “That is adorable.”
“Right? And Trevor is going to dress up as a zookeeper.”
“I have to see this in person. What time are you guys going?”
“We’ll wait for you to get off work. So maybe around six? Seven?”
