“Perfect. Text him that you have what he wants.”
“Right now?”
“You want to move fast on these things—it gives you the advantage. Want me to?” He puts his hand out for my phone.
“No, I’ll write it. I just need to think how to put it.”
“I’ll draft it.”
“Shouldn’t it be in my voice?”
“The man’s not a forensic linguist.”
“Fine.” I hand over my phone.
He types a while and shows it to me.
Luka found me somehow. I have his story—it’s a shocker—and I have the hair. Ready to meet. But I need proof of life. Ask my sister what Brittany’s favorite food was and text me the answer.
“I can’t order him around like that! He’ll freak out!”
“This is how you do it.”
“Maybe howyoudo it, but nobody my age would call something a shocker.”
“What would you say?”
“Probably just WTF.”
“As an adjective?”
I grin, surprised. “Yeah.”
“What?” he says, typing. “Is it such a WTF thing for me to know what an adjective is?”
“Kind of.”
“I attended a harshly regimented school run by priests and sadists, princess,” he says as he types. “Check it out.”
He found me somehow. I have his WTF story and the hair. Ready to meet. But I need proof of life. Ask my sister what Brittany’s favorite food is and text me the answer.
“You don’t want him to know your story, though, right?”
“If we have to tell him, we have to tell him. Not much he can do with it.”
“Here. Let me.” I take the phone back and fix it:
I have his story WTF!!!! And the hair I’m ready to meet but need proof of life please understand I need to know! ask my sister what Brittanys favorite food is and text me the answer
“Did you just fuck up the punctuation on purpose?”
“Nobody punctuates texts except exclamation points, and periods come off too stern. It’s perfect.”
“Periods are stern now? Jesus Christ,” he says. “Also, you don’t say please to a man like that.”
“I do.”
“Fine. Go ahead and send it.”