Page 122 of Flirtasaurus
Placing the phone down on the table, I put my head in my hands and continue to let it ring.
“Calliope, want me to answer that for you?”
“Mabel, if I wanted to answer it, I would’ve answered it,” I mumble. “It’s an unknown number.”
“Oh, then you should definitely answer it! You could be missing out on good news! A surprise opportunity! Oooh, you could have won a contest!”
God, I wish I had her optimism sometimes.
“More likely, it’s Sallie Mae coming after me for my student loans,” I grumble.
“Well then, let’s nip it in the bud, shall we? Nothing smells as good as financial freedom feels.”
“What?!” I say.
“I worry about this kid when she talks like that.” Otto shakes his head like he’s at a loss with what to do with her sometimes.
“No, Mabel, don’t!”
She ignores me, grabs, swipes, and chirps, “This is Calliope FitzGerald’s personal assistant, how may I help you?”
This girl, I swear.
“Mm-hmm. Uh-huh. Oh well, hi! I’m Mabel. Nice to meet you too!”
“Who is it?” I ask.
Mabel holds her finger up, telling me to hold on for a minute.
The nerve.
“Oh, you work there? I’ve heard such great things about that place! Are you happy? Yeah, you like it? Oh, good! It’s so important to enjoy your job, isn’t it? I’m an entomologist. That’s right, bugs! Mm-hmm, I do, thanks for asking! Are you a geologist then?”
What in the world is going on?
“A marine biologist! Ooh! Cool! You know we have a great aquarium in Philly, don’t you? Yeah, I’ve been meaning to get over there. It’s been too long, and I heard they have that new jellyfish exhibit—”
“Mabel, is that Louise?” I ask, exasperated with her, but I’m also suddenly hopeful as hell.
She covers the mouthpiece, and whispers, “Nope, her name is Lou. Isn’t that cute? A girl named Lou?”
“Will you give me the phone please!?”
“Sure! Here you go!”
“Lou?” I ask as soon as I have the phone to my ear.
“Hey, Calliope,” she says simply.
I immediately start rambling, like she might hang up on me at any moment, because for all I know? She just might.
“Hi! Hi, Lou! Thank you! Thank you so much for calling me back! I wasn’t sure if the message would get through to you at the quarry, but I wasn’t sure how else to get in touch with you, and Ralph is obviously not taking my calls so—”
“What can I do for you, Calliope?”
She’s not as warm as she was when I met her at the dig, but she’s talking to me, and right now, that’s more than I deserve.
“Did he tell you what happened?” I ask her quietly. “I mean, of course, he did, right?”
