A major change in plans

My phone rings, startling us both. I pick it up—it appears to be Scarlett’s parents. I accept the call and say, “Hello, this is Ben.”

“Hi, Ben, this is Fiona,” Scarlett’s mom says. “Is Scarlett there? I tried calling her phone and she didn’t answer.”

“Yeah, Fiona, I can see her from where I’m sitting,” I say easily. If you knew how much of her I can see, you wouldn’t be pleased, though. Scarlett covers her mouth to keep from laughing, but her eyes dance and she gives me a thumbs-up. “She’s just nowhere near her phone—I’m sure none of us heard it. What’s up?”

“Well, Ben, I’ll just tell you—I don’t want to interrupt her if she’s enjoying her time with Lily,” Fiona says earnestly. I manage not to laugh. “Garrett and I have to head out of town for a week—a big opportunity just came up for the business. I wouldn’t have any problem with her being home alone, but if she can spend the week with you, I’m sure she’d enjoy that a lot more; she can swing by the house any time to pick up anything she needs, of course. Would you be OK with her staying there? We’d be happy to reimburse you for food, if you want.”

“Think nothing of it,” I say offhandedly. “Her presence is reimbursement enough. Of course she can stay with us—it’s no problem at all.”

“Good,” Fiona says, the relief clear in her voice. “That’s settled then. We’ll actually be gone longer than a week—we’ll be back next week Thursday. Let us know if anything major happens.”

“Will do,” I say. “Safe travels.”

“Thanks. See you next week.”

“See you next week,” I say, and Fiona hangs up.

I turn to Scarlett, whose eyes are blossoming with speculation. “Your mom said she and your dad have to make an important unscheduled business trip, they’ll be gone until Thursday of next week, and she wanted to know if you could spend the week here. She thought you’d enjoy it more than being home alone.” The look on her face is indescribable, mingling joy, amazement, anticipation, and blazing lust. “Of course, I didn’t tell her how much more you’d enjoy it . . .”

Scarlett bursts out laughing.