‘There’s going to be a storm tonight,’ I tell her in excitement. ‘A big one.’
‘Yeah,’ she answers in a distracted way. ‘I saw that on the news.’ I can barely hear what she is saying above the tap, tap, tapping of her fingers on the keyboard. She must have me on speaker phone.
‘Are you coming over after work?’
‘I’m a bit busy at the moment.’
‘But you always stay here when there’s a storm. We always watch it together. It’s exciting. Romantic.’
‘Yeah, but…’
‘I bought some fresh salmon. I’m going to make that thing you like.’
‘Listen, it’s crazy here. I could be in the office half of the night.’
‘I see,’ I try to keep the disappointment out of my voice. ‘Maybe next time?’
‘Yeah, maybe.’
‘When will I see you again?’
‘Not sure. I have so much to do right now.’
‘I’ll call you tomorrow, we can talk about what damage the storm has done.’
There’s a long silence, kinda awkward. The tapping continues. ‘No, I’ll call you when I have more time to chat.’
‘Fine. Well, talk soon I hope. I love you.’
‘Alright,’ she says and hangs up.