Julia put her phone down. “Bye,” she said sarcastically.
Alex raised an eyebrow.
“Kenneth, the super. Said he was calling around to check on everyone. He’ll probably call you next.”
“Um. Doubt it,” Alex said. “I’m guessing it’s only the hot single women he’s checking on.”
“Cynic,” she said. But when an hour passed and his phone didn’t ring, she silently conceded he’d been right.
Once the sun set, they lit candles and pulled out blankets. Alex and Calvin used the furniture to build a fort out of couch cushions, chairs, pillows, and blankets. Finally, Calvin pooped out and fell asleep looking at a book.
“I miss Charlie terribly,” Julia said. “But I have to admit, it’s nice not having to take him outside on days like this. Maybe we’ll get a cat next.”
“I’d love a dog, but my work shifts are too long. It would be cruel to leave him cooped up all day.”
“That is one benefit to working from home.”
“That reminds me. I wanted to ask you something. Have you seen the threats in the comment section of your videos?”
“Oh, yes. My assistant, Ellie, told me about them.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
“There’s not much I can do. Is there?”
“You could call the police and at least make a record of it. Maybe they can track the person’s IP address based on his username or something.”
“I guess. I’ve got enough on my plate to worry about right now.”
“You still planning to move?”
“I don’t see any way around it. I’ll probably have to let Ellie go too. She only works part time, and I’ve already explained that I won’t be able to pay her much longer. By the way, Cal doesn’t know yet, so please don’t say anything.”
He nodded. “That’s too bad. Have you thought about getting a regular job?”
“Yes. But putting Cal in daycare would be so expensive it would defeat the purpose. A daycare bill would suck up all the money I made. I’ll see where I am when he goes to school full time. I make enough to get by, but the market is so crowded—everyone wants to be a social media star—and the money is so unpredictable, I’ll have to do something else eventually. In the meantime, a lower cost of living will help.”
“Manhattan is pretty expensive.”
They moved to the couch and had to squeeze onto half of it, because the other cushions still held up the fort. His proximity was intoxicating. Heat emanated from him, which felt nice as the condo was cooling quickly.
“So, you’re back to work. What took them so long to clear you?”
“There were no criminal charges, but the fire brass had to gather their own ‘evidence’ and determine whether my behavior was unethical or unbecoming.”
“How could standing up for a woman and defending yourself be considered unbecoming?”
“You’d be surprised,” he muttered. “Anyway, they decided it wasn’t, and I’m on the schedule for next week.”
“Will you get paid for the time off?”
“Yes. If I’d been guilty of something, probably not, but it’s all working out.”
He threw his arm onto the back of the couch. It was around her but not touching her. She didn’t think it was an intentional “move,” but nevertheless, it pushed him closer, and she was very tempted to lean in.
Calvin stirred and looked up with sleepy eyes. “I’m gonna get in my bed,” he said. “G’night.”
Julia helped him to his room. When she returned, Alex was still on the couch. “A five-year-old putting himself to bed?” she said. “That’s a first.”
