Phone a friend

Luke had no contact photo. That made me wince. All my friends did. Choosing one was one of my favorite parts of making new friends. I loved trying to pin down someone’s vibe. Apparently, Luke hadn’t made the cut. With any luck I would have the chance to make it up to him. It’s a pretty minor offense, I thought, but that didn’t make me feel better. “This is him,” I said, to vocalize what was going on in my head.

“Are you going to call him or text him?” she asked.

Gen Z par excellence, I hated making phone calls. This wasn’t a situation where I thought I could wait long for the information, but I was repulsed by the thought anyway. I tapped out a message I hoped would be innocuous.

I glanced out the window at the deepening evening with a little guilt. The time to check in should’ve been hours ago. To be fair to myself, I had pretty real issues occupying me, but Luke wouldn’t know about that. Unless he did. Maybe more than me. I don’t know what that would mean, or how I would react.

Only a touch older (though considerably better off in terms of finances and career prospects), Luke’s response came quick.

Uh oh. You didn’t need to be a mind reader to guess the vibe on the other end. Pride unbecoming of the moment licked back at me. Fine, fuck you, you needed me and I needed you. Why do you think you brought me to a fucking ‘meeting’ with your ‘associates’? Whatever the fuck that is supposed to mean. It’s not like either of us thought-- That wouldn’t get me anywhere. With him, or in terms of my… situation.

“Fucking asshole,” muttered Eden. She, like me, knew that with the knowledge we had now, either of us could’ve easily been the asshole, but it was a friend’s job to back you up whether or not you were in the right. Say it with me now: that wouldn’t get me anywhere. I needed to do some fence mending.

Over the phone, even, if need be.

Our phones were posing a major barrier between us. I wished I could smash both of our screens, reach through, grab his face, and make him look at me. If he saw what I looked like almost a full day after we headed out for Le Mythe together, I thought I could make him believe me. The thought of taking a selfie and sending it honestly crossed my mind. That would look less convincing, though.