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I’m pulling a box of spaghetti out of Lila’s pantry—there was some sort of leftover meat sauce in the fridge, and even I can use a microwave—when I feel my phone start buzzing with a call in my pocket. I dig it out and check the display before answering.
“Mei?”
“Hey, Ginger Giant.”
I roll my eyes, amending, “Bella.”
“What’s up? My wife wants you over for dinner, for some reason.”
“Maybe she misses me,” I taunt. It’s harmless, since Bella and I both know that Mei is head over heels for her, but it’s still fun. “Maybe she’s already tired of you.”
“Hardly,” Bella scoffs. “She’d miss that thing I do with my t—”
“Bella,” my ex-wife hisses after what sounds like a small scuffle. I hear Mei sigh heavily, and then her voice is coming through the speaker. “For fuck’s sake. Is it too early for divorce?”
“You love me!” Bella yells from the background. “No take-backsies!”
Another labored sigh before, “We just got back yesterday. I wanted to see how you were doing.”
“I’m…” My mouth quirks on its own, thinking about the woman in the other room. “I’m great, actually.”
“Huh.”
“What?”
“You actually sound…happy,” Bella chimes in, suspicion in her tone. “What’s going on?”
“Am I on speaker?”
“Duh,” Bella says, at the same time as Mei’s, “Of course not.”
“Wow,” I laugh. “Smooth.”
“Shut up and spill,” Bella tuts. “Why do you sound so happy?”
“I can’t sound happy?”
“Normally you sound like someone ate your puppy in front of you.”
“That’s a horrifying image,” Mei says.
Bella snorts. “But am I wrong?”
“You do sound…” Mei trails off, as if thinking. “You sound different.”
I pause after filling one of Lila’s pots with water, weighing my response. “I’ve just had an…interesting month.”
“Does that interesting month have anything to do with a hot baker?” Bella singsongs.
“Bella,” Mei hisses. “We said we wouldn’t pry.”
“You said,” Bella corrects. “I said no such thing.”
“We’re supposed to be a united front,” Mei argues.
Bella’s voice turns coy. “I can give you a united front if you want, baby.”
“Ladies,” I interrupt, not needing to hear their foreplay. “Focus.”
