Page 123 of Once a Month

I smile at how thoughtful she is and say, “It’s his gallbladder. They say he’ll be fine, but my parents have been together since they were sixteen years old, and this is the first health scare he’s really had. My mom is terrified he’s going to go into surgery and not come out. The doctors assure me it’s a standard procedure, but I want to be there for her – and for him, obviously.”

“Of course. I’m sure it will be fine.”

“Yeah.” Neither of us say anything for a moment. “So, I have your number now.”

“And I have yours,” she says, sounding happy.

“That’s a good thing, right?

“What do we do now?” I ask.

“Well, we could just talk,” she says.

“I guess we could,” I reply, laughing. “Is that okay? Did I interrupt anything?”

“No, I’m at home. Where are you?”

“Home,” I tell her.

There’s another long silence.

“Baby?” I say, trying to make it as normal for us as I can.

“Yeah?” she replies.

“I miss you.”

“I miss you,” she says.

“Are you going to the party?” I ask.

“I have to, or I’ll lose the job,” she says.

“Yeah,” I say, thinking about some other member touching her and hating it.

“I’ll just ask my friends if I can hang out with them all night.”

“Hang out with?” I say.

She laughs and says, “I don’t participate unless you’re there. I’ll just watch.”

“That sounds nice,” I say.

“Do you ever think about that night?”

“Yes,” I say.

“Would you want to do it again?”

“Yes,” I repeat.

“Me too,” she says.

“I miss your hands on me,” I tell her.

“Fuck, me too.”

“I shouldn’t ask you for this,” I say, knowing that it’s wrong.

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