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Harry had just switched over phone services and was now buying internet, phone and cable from the cable t.v. company. Mostly it was because he wanted a high speed internet connection so that he could work from home when he wanted to. Ultimately, as managing editor, having to be on the floor all the time, his working from home days limited themselves to Saturdays and Sundays.

One of the added benefits of packaging all three services into one bill was the accessories package offered him. He got five more cable stations. He had three separate email addresses. He got call waiting.

Not that really mattered. He was excited about the channels and hadn't figured out how to set up multiple accounts and nobody really called all that often.

So when the phone beeped at him, he had no idea what to do.

"You still there?" Chris asked. Her question had stunned him. Her voice on the phone, even more so. It had been close to a year.

"Uh. Yeah. " The phone beeped again.

"Do you want to get that?" She asked.

"What?"

"The call you have on the other line."

"Oh, is that what that is."

"You didn't know you had call waiting?"

"I guess not. How do you use it?"

"Harry. You keep maps of Paris Streets in your head. You remember the day of the first Atomic bomb drop. You can order the right wine in three languages but you don't know how to use call waiting." It was a statement, not a question. "Click the receiver button down quickly, whoever is on the other line will be there."

"Where will you be?" he asked.

"Right here. Waiting."

He felt better having heard that. He clicked. "Hello."

"Harry, you are home."

"Hi Kathy."

"Who you on the phone with."

"Just a friend." Wrong thing to say to her. Kathy was insanely jealous and with little reason. She was also smart. If he had lied and said "Jim" or "Dave" she would have made some cutting remark and told him to get off the line or call her right back. She was demanding that way too and it kept Harry off balance and after three months it was starting to irritate him. He liked dating her and they had fun together. He just didn't like the games she was starting to play more and more.

"You're asking some girl out on a date." Her voice was both a little sing song but also had an edge to it.

"No. I'm not." Harry said "Let me call you right back."

"Sure. Whenever. If you're not all tapped out. Bye."

She hung up. He was in deep shit again with her. But right now he didn't care. At all. He clicked the receiver. "Chris?"

"Right here. Like I promised."

Harry exhaled deeply.

"Where do you want to meet?"

Intermission

"Hey." she said. Then there was nothing. Just the background silence of the line. "You there?" she asked when Harry's pause went on and on.

He had no idea what to say, how to start. Kind of unusual for a smart mouth but such was the extent of his shock.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm here. Where are you?"

"I'm ok." she ducked the question and Harry realized it right away. He jumped back in to the conversation.

"You're well? Not hurt? You're ok?"

"I'm fine. Everything's all right. Thanks. Thanks for asking."

"So what's up?" Why are you calling was the question tearing at Harry's brain but this was Chris and he knew she either would or would not answer the question in her own time and on her own terms. So he kept up a bantering line, hoping to keep her on the phone. After all, this was the woman he had put in a car over a year ago and said his final farewell to a tail light in the rain. This was a voice he had never expected to hear again. And it suddenly felt so good to hear.

"Nothing. Nothing really. I just thought it would be ok to call. It is ok to call, isn't it?"

"Rob's in jail. It's ok."

"I didn't mean that."

"Josette is long gone too."

"I didn't mean that either."

Harry wrestled. This was Chris and only the truth would do, but the truth might slam a door that had just cracked open. Maybe. If it was, he was inclined to see how wide open he could get it, and he had to be careful doing so. The truth, then: "There's someone, but she doesn't live here." He held his breath. "It's serious enough not to be dismissive about it but it's not that serious. I guess that sounds confusing."

Chris laughed. "No, it pretty much sounds like you."

Harry laughed, and he laughed with all the joy he had lost over the last year. And then he noticed that there were tears on his face.

"Could I see you?" she asked.