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Terese had texted their standard emojis: a telephone and a heart. You didn’t have to be a genius to figure out their complicated marital code. The telephone said, “Do you want to talk?” The heart said, “I love you.” They often sent these emojis before calling because one (on the lighter side), the other may be busy or in a meeting or in some other way not alone and ready to talk, and two (the darker side), they both led lives where things went wrong and a phone call out of nowhere might cause a few seconds of unnecessary worry.
Myron opened his phone to Favorites and tapped the fourth one down. Myron’s father held the top fave spot, Mom the second, his parents’ home phone—yes, they still used one—was the third. Win had been fourth, Esperanza fifth, but both got knocked down a peg when Myron and Terese tied the knot.
Terese answered on the second ring and said, “How was your day?”
“Good.” Then Myron added: “I almost lost my baby toe.”
“Left or right foot’s?”
“Left.”
“Yikes. That’s my favorite toe. What happened?”
“A bad man tried to cut it off with pruning shears.”
“And what happened to the bad man?”
“Win happened to him.”
“Is it okay if I’m okay with that?”
“It is.”
“Myron?”
“Yes.”
“I’m keeping it light to stave off my panic.”
“I know,” Myron said. “Me too. But it’s okay.”
“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”
“Maybe later. Right now, I just want to hear your voice.”
“Is that code for phone sex?” she asked.
“I’m on Win’s plane.”
“That sounds like a yes.”
Myron smiled and felt the warmth spread through him. “I love you, you know.”
“I love you too. Are you free Tuesday?”
“I can be.”
“I’ll be in town to interview the Manhattan district attorney.”
“Oh wow, great.”
The phone clicked. Myron checked and saw it was Chaz calling him back. Through the line, Terese said, “Incoming call?”
“Yeah. Can I get back to you in a few?”
“I’m half asleep. Let’s talk in the morning, okay?”
Terese was the least needy person he knew, far less needy than Myron, but he said okay and they both said love you again and then Myron clicked over to the other call. Mee brought him over a Yoo-hoo, already shaken and poured into a glass. Myron hoped she hadn’t thrown in any absinthe.
