Page 44 of More Than Pen Pals

I listen to my own voice instructing the caller to leave a message after the beep.

“Leslie Beckett,” Wendy’s voice blares out of the answering machine, “you’d better be home and not still with Ash. But if you’re home, why aren’t you answering your phone? Are you avoiding me? Call me. Byeeee!”

It occurs to me if she’s only now calling, she didn’t leave the earlier message. Aunt Star didn’t know about tonight’s dinner, so I doubt it’s her, and my parents and siblings usually only call me on the weekends. I finish getting ready for bed and then hit play on the machine.

“Leslie,” a low voice rumbles, “I’m sorry for everything. Please call me so we can work things out. I miss you so much, and I’ll do anything to make this up to you. I love you, baby. Call me. I don’t care how late it is.”

I lie motionless on the bed while the machine beeps and then Wendy’s message plays. My brain can’t process what I heard. How does Glenn even know my phone number? I didn’t know it myself until after I moved in, and I haven’t talked to him since the breakup.

I roll over, pick up the phone, and punch in a familiar number.

“Hello?” a deep voice answers.

I sniffle. “Darren, is Aunt Star there?”

“Hi, Les. Yes. Let me get her.” He hollers for my aunt and then says, “You okay, kiddo?”

Tears slide down my face. “No.”

“Babe, you can hang up now,” my aunt orders him.

“I hope you work out whatever’s wrong,” Darren says. “Talk to you later.”

“Thank you. Bye.”

The line clicks.

“He’s a good man,” I say to Aunt Star.

“I don’t know what I did to deserve him.”

“You deserve only the best,” I choke out.

“So do you. What’s going on?”

I tell her about Glenn’s call and how I’ve been avoiding thinking about him until now. “What do I do about him?” I ask when I’m finished.

“What do you want to do about him? Do you want to try to work things out?”

“I don’t know. I’m so confused about how I feel about any of this. If I hadn’t reconnected with Ash …” I don’t know how to finish my thought.

“Okay, let’s put the Ash aspect aside for a minute. If Glenn had called you two days ago, how do you think you would’ve responded?”

“I would’ve been angry, but I would’ve wanted to talk to him and see if we could try to patch things up. I missed him, regardless of what he said and did.”

“You said ‘missed’ in the past tense. Do you still miss him?”

“Not as much as before Ash.”

“Because now you know Glenn’s not your only option?”

“That and I like Ash a lot.”

“What do you like about him?”

“He’s kind, and he’s smart, and he’s …” I trail off when I realize I know little more about him.

“You don’t know him very well, do you?”

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