Two Weeks
It was 3:37am when his cell phone rang. He cursed before rolling over and fumbling for the send button. He was giving her a clock that showed multiple time zones for Valentine’s Day, romance be damned.
She’d been in India for a little over a week, away from him for two, and hardly a day had gone by that she hadn’t managed to call him at some bizarre time. If he hadn’t known better, he’d have guessed that it was all part of her plot to keep him in the same time zone. She never did take it well when he talked about London.
“Hi, baby.” He hoped he sounded really asleep.
“Hi! Oh, crap. I did it again, didn’t I?” Somehow she managed to sound both excited and chagrined.
“Not quite four a.m. this time. We got in at about one thirty after our gig.”
“I’m so sorry, baby. I just had a break and I wanted to talk to you and I didn’t even think to check…” He could just imagine her flapping her hands about in distress.
“It’s ok. Really.” Tired as he was, he meant it. She was too adorable when she got all flustered like this.
“I still feel really bad. How did it go?”
“The show was fine - pretty uneventful - and the gig…hey! Shove over!”
“Who are you talking to?” She tried to make the question lighthearted, but it just sounded concerned. As though she had anything to worry about.
“All the groupies sharing my bed, obviously.” He grinned, even though she couldn’t see it.
“Oh ha ha, very funny.”
“Your precious little angel, who takes up a surprising amount of space for such a little dog. Seriously, Rocky, scoot over!” Sharing with Rocky was like having a little stone anchoring his comforter down. He could barely move his legs.
“Hi, Rocky! Be nice or I’ll have to come home and make you behave.” She laughed, and he could imagine how she must look, her head thrown back and her smile wide.
“Well in that case, keep up the bad behavior,” he told Rocky. “Maybe she’ll come home and save us both.” Her laughter faded away, and they were silent for a minute.
“I miss you, Mark. I really do.”
“I know, baby. I miss you too.” The phone calls, though frequent, were cold comfort. He’d much rather have her right here where he could wrap his arms around her. Three months was a really long time. Speaking of… “Did you get my email? I sent it right before I went to bed.”
“Yeah, I did! That’s what I was calling about, actually. I managed to get a few days off when you’re here. Only two more weeks until then!”
“That’s great. I can’t wait to get there. The tour is fun, but…” He rolled over, so he could look at the picture of her he kept right next to his bed.
“I know. It can’t end soon enough for me either. Get here soon, ok?”
“Two weeks. I promise.” Knowing he’d see her soon was what kept him going.
“Fourteen days.” He could hear the smile in her voice.
“A whole lot of hours,” he responded.
“Too many minutes.” He wished he could see the pout on her face. He could certainly hear it.
“I’ll be there soon. And we’ll both be busy until then.”
“That’s true.” She paused, and he could hear someone calling her name. “I have to go, baby. Sorry I woke you.”
“It’s ok. I’m always glad to hear your voice.”
“Well, regardless, you can go back to sleep now. Have sweet dreams.”
“I always do, after I talk to you.” He knew she recognized his playful tone.
“I’m not sure whether that’s sweet or badly behaved of you to say.”
“Think what you will.” He said it just to hear her giggle.
“Ok, you. I’ll call you later.”
“You’d better. Have a good afternoon.”
“Have a good night.”
They both sighed at the difference in their schedules and the distance it implied.
“Bye, baby,” they said at the same time. The last thing he heard before he turned his phone off was her giggle, impish and sweet. He sighed again. Two weeks couldn’t pass fast enough.