Jim stares at the photo, doing what I did, enlarging it, bringing it close to his face, all of that. “Looks like she fell.”
“That’s what she claims.”
“Here.” He holds up my phone and points at the screen. “There’s a spilled beer or something there.” He slides the screen a little. “There’s another person beside her in the heap.”
Taking the phone from him, I zoom in on the image. He’s right. It’s not just Matilda on the floor beneath the guy. “Shit.”
“You overreact yet?”
I laugh at his assumption. I guess he’s been there. “Yeah.”
“Hmm. Better start groveling.”
* * *
“I needyou to go over to Matilda’s house again.”
Adrian is silent on the other end of the line.
“This is your fault, asshole. You sent me that picture because you knew I’d overreact.”
I hear the snicker, but he quickly stops, clears his throat, then yawns. Yeah, I woke the dickface up. “What’d you do? Yell at her?”
“No.” Yes. “This time, I want you to get roses. Either yellow or pink. A dozen of them. I’ll pay you back.”
“Just have them sent over.”
“No. Because, I’m sure she’s figured out that you’re the one who sent the photo. She’s gonna be mad at you too.”
“Jesus. When are you gonna quit that army bullshit and come home? Then you can kiss your girl’s ass in person.”
“June.”
“What?” Adrian sounds surprised. I’m a little shocked I told him first. Hell, not even Jim knows. “You’re serious?”
“Yep. I’ve turned in all the paperwork. I’ll be out June 30th.”
“I’ll be damned. Who else knows?”
“Nobody. Keep your mouth shut for now.”
“Come on. Let me tell Anthony and Angelo, at least.”
“Fine.”
“We’ll have to have a big bash in honor of your homecoming.”
“Please don’t.”
“Gotta, man. We’ve been waiting on this for a long-ass time.”
Shit.
“Just get off your ass and do this for me, yeah? Ask her to call me,” I tell him.
“Jesus, you’re whipped, man.”
I am. And it all happened eleven hundred miles apart. Well, most of it happened like that. It started at home.
