I knew Annie didn't get off work until at least six depending on when all of her kids were picked up by their parents, so I had a bit of time to wait. Normally, I was a patient person, but I was chomping at the bit to talk to her right now.

I knew I needed to ease my mind, so when I got home, I went straight through the house and out the back door. As usual, Lefty was circling in the cove of the lake just opposite my house. When he saw me—or heard me, as I couldn’t be sure he could see that far—he started honking his hello and making his way to the shore.

A reddish hue painted the sky where the sun was setting, and I forced myself to enjoy the view as the blind goose finished his dinner and started grazing on grass.

I tipped my head back and took a long, soothing breath. This was when I felt closest to God most days. The clean cool scent of the lake and the quiet of nature seemed like the creator’s way of speaking to me.  A gift.

A while later, just as I was opening the door to go back inside, my phone rang.

I was disappointed when I saw that it wasn't Annie, but rather a number I didn't recognize.

“Hello?”

“Yeah, this is Mad Munch Delivery.  I’m at your front door.”

“Mad Munch? I didn't order anything.” I frowned.

“Well, looks like from the note here that somebody ordered it for you. It says uh… Just a little something for a long day. Love Annie.”

He’d no sooner said her name than I practically sprinted through the house to the front door and found a young delivery man with a bag from my local Chinese restaurant. My heart did a funny little flip flop as I grabbed that bag and dug into my pocket to tip the driver.

“Thanks, man.” He waved goodbye and drove away.

As if right on cue, my phone rang again, and this time it was my girl.

“You'll never believe what I'm doing right now,” I told her, a huge grin splitting my face.

“I think I can guess. I bet you’re eating Chinese.”

“Well, not eating it yet. It just got here.”

“Oh, it's a little late. I hope it isn’t cold.”

“He might have been waiting at the door a while before he called me. I was out back feeding Lefty.”

“And how is our feathered friend?”

“Hungry as always.  Give me a sec to make my plate, then I’ll turn on the video.” 

“Sure,” she said. “You know, I thought by your distant texts earlier that maybe it was a rough day. I know you're struggling with this whole thing about replacing Sherry.  Maybe Chinese can make up for it.”

I poured out a generous helping of chicken and rice, then dropped two eggrolls on top and carried it all to the table.  Touching the video button on my phone, I waited a few seconds for her to tap the button on her end so that I could see her smiling face.

I knew she had her phone propped up on the dashboard in her car.  We’d done this before many times in the last few weeks, video chatted while she drove home from work.

“You know, you’re beautiful,” I found myself saying without thinking.

“Oh, yeah, right.” She made a funny face. “I'm pretty sure I have glue in my hair, and it was so hot today that every bit of my makeup melted right off me during play time outside.” She pulled a chunk of her red strands out with one hand then wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, definitely glue in my hair.”

“I don’t care.  I still think you’re beautiful.” I let my eyes linger on her a few minutes, watching as her eyes darted this way and that as she maneuvered traffic.  Finally, I took a deep breath and focused on my meal.

“You did have a rough day today, didn’t you?” she asked, and when I looked up, I saw she was now the one looking intently at me.  I figured she was at a stoplight, waiting for it to turn green.

“You talked to Brent today?”

Annie pinched her eyebrows together in a frown, then her eyes widened. “Are you worried about that?  I’ve been friends with Brent just as long as I’ve been friends with you.  You know that.  You know he reaches out to me sometimes.”

I dropped my chin to my chest and scrunched up my face, feeling a sudden pang of embarrassment.  But I was worried and there was no use trying to hide it from Annie. That was no way to conduct a relationship.

“Honestly, yeah, it bothered me. I know you’ve been friends with Brent a long time but…” I just shrugged, not sure what I was trying to say or how to say it exactly.

“You don’t need to worry about that.  I mean, geez, Tim, I’ve committed to a relationship with you. Brent’s just a friend.” I could tell by the tone of her voice that it had her back up. 

“Brent’s just a friend now.  But he wasn’t always, at least in your mind and heart.  So I think I have the right to get a little concerned when you talk to him.  This relationship is important to me, Annie and I don’t want him to come between us.”

She was quiet a long time.  I saw her hand turning the wheel of her car this way and that. Finally, I heard the sound of her putting it into park, and she took a long, slow breath, closing her eyes and putting her head back against the headrest.

Then she leaned forward, put her face close to the camera.  Her eyes looked at me, into me. “I don’t want Brent to come between us either.  So we can’t let him.  We can’t let him.”

I knew her meaning.  Me creating something that wasn’t there out of this text could drive a wedge just as surely as if there had been something real in that call she had with our friend Brent.

“You’re right,” I sighed. “I’m sorry.”

She smiled. “I don’t think an apology is necessary.  To be fair, I have a history of letting imaginary ideas come between a lot of things.  But not now, Tim.  Now I’m all in on our reality, okay?”

“Okay.”

The tension melted away, and she grabbed the phone and started walking to her front door. “So Brent and Lindsey want me to do a photoshoot for them.  They were both on the phone. They're going to take that honeymoon they talked about, and on the way back, they want to stop in Houston and have some photographs taken. I told them I'd look at some options for locations, and I'd send them an estimate of what I would charge.”

I couldn’t help the little pang of shame I felt for having briefly considered my friend had already thrown away his new marriage.  There was no use focusing on that, though, so I picked up an eggroll and took a huge bite.

“That sounds fun.  Any ideas on where you’d shoot them?”

“Not yet.  I’ll have to do some investigating, maybe peruse some wedding photography portfolios online for ideas.  And I have no idea what to charge.  I may have to get Lizzie’s help.” She chuckled, then plopped onto her couch with a serious gaze. “Listen, I understand why you were worried. And I get it. It's no wonder, really, and I don't know how to convince you, but there's really nothing there.  In fact, the truth is when he texted, I didn't even call him back immediately. A few months ago that wouldn’t have happened, but the old urgency is gone. It doesn't make sense, I know, but it really is like I told you before.  Like an idea that was nothing more than a bubble that burst. And it's not ever coming back.”

I was silent. I picked up the phone and my plate, taking it to the sink to rinse, then shifting to my living room where I laid back onto the sofa. “I want you to know that it's really not that I don't trust you, Annie. It's just that I was afraid if he came calling, it would rekindle some old feelings back up in you.”

“I know.  And I know trust isn't easy to build. But I hope we're getting there.”

I slapped a hand on my full stomach. “Thanks for the Chinese, by the way.  Definitely hit the spot.”

“You're welcome. This does mean you owe me, though. You know that, right?”

“Ha! And what, pray tell, will you demand?”

“That girly movie I've been wanting to see is coming out next week. I think that would be a suitable repayment deal.”

Chuckling, I covered my eyes then gave her a thumbs up. “Deal.”

She gave me a radiant smile. A smile that looked happy and comfortable and natural.

 

Read to the bottom of this page to see a video of our very own LEFTY THE GOOSE.