“You answered too quickly.”
“I’m standing in my kitchen.”
“That was not my question.”
“I was asleep.”
“At nine-thirty?”
“I’m on vacation.”
“You don’t sleep past seven.”
“I’m growing.”
Rachel said something I could not make out.
Annie turned away, but I could see her trying not to smile.
“No, I did not go out last night.”
I raised my eyebrows.
She held up one finger.
“Technically, Rachel, dinner came to me.”
That was apparently the wrong answer.
Annie moved the phone away from her ear.
“Everything is fine. I’m safe. I ate. I slept. I remain unphotographed.”
The last word caught my attention.
Rachel’s voice softened.
So did Annie’s expression.
“I know,” she said. “I promise.”
A pause.
“Tomorrow.”
Another pause.
“I said tomorrow.”
Her shoulders dropped slightly.
Then she looked at me.
“I might stay an extra day.”
My stomach performed an embarrassing little lift.
Rachel responded immediately.
