Page 117 of Never Forever

“I am. I’m fine. I’m just sleeping a lot. Decompressing after the shoot. I like the privacy.”

“What about food?”

“I have plenty.”

“What about your appointment?” She lowered her voice on appointment like she was talking in code, so I knew she was at the bookstore or with Levi.

“I…postponed it,” I lied, and winced when I did it.

“What? Why?”

“Honestly, I just need a few more days to sleep and recover and then…”

“Operation Stork?”

“That name is worse than Snowman Magic,” I said.

“Operation Knocked-Up?”

“I’m sorry, are you trying to be funny?”

“Sort of? Swear to me you’re okay.”

“I am good. Come out and visit me. Bring ice cream,” I said, because I suddenly had a craving.

“Sure. Tomorrow. Anything else?”

“Barbecue chips? Maybe some cucumbers and ranch dressing?”

“Really?”

I knew how deranged this list was. But also, it was genius.

“Yeah. No meat though. I’m off meat.”

“You’ve been dreaming of cheeseburgers.”

“Don’t-” I hid my gag. “Bring cheeseburgers.”

“Is this the vegan debacle from two years ago? You lasted like six days.”

Since I couldn’t imagine crying in my car and eating a tub of fried chicken right now, which was how the vegan episode became a debacle, I wasn’t planning on going vegan.

“No, just reducing my carbon footprint is all.”

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow. But don’t go dark like that again. It scares me.”

I promised I wouldn’t and apologized again. I didn’t mean to worry anyone, I was just deep in a cocoon mode. All I wanted to do was stay on this island and fall asleep in the sun reading the book that Matt brought me and hope he showed up with more french fries.

We hung up.

“Hello?” Jonah the contractor called from the front of the house.

“Back here!” I said, and Jonah walked into the kitchen with more tarps. “So many tarps. You sure you’re not planning on burying bodies?”

“What happened to your hair?” he asked, with what I was coming to learn was standard Jonah bluntness.

“I cut it?”

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