“Good. No alarm then. Just close your eyes and think of a nice, peaceful place. Where’s your favorite peaceful place?”
“Beach,” she murmurs.
“I like the beach, too. Picture your favorite beach. It’s not too bright or hot. Just warm and peaceful with the waves lapping on the sand.”
“Sounds nice,” she whispers.
“Shh. Just listen to my voice.” I cast my mind back to the relaxation exercises the therapist the Navy made me see taught me. “You lie back on the sand. It feels soft and warm under you. You close your eyes and listen to the waves and the calls of seabirds in the distance. You stretch, starting with your toes. Can you point your toes and stretch for me?”
I flex my feet under the covers, pointing my toes and feeling tension in my ankles unlock.
“Yeth.” Such a tiny, sweet voice.
“Now your legs. Feel the stretch in your thighs, your calves, keep your toes pointed. Are you doing that?”
“Yeth.”
“Now up through your hips, your tummy, stretch your ribs, your shoulders, arch your back.” I do and hear my whole back crack. Ah. “Arms up over your head and stretch, stretch, stretch. Hold it. Now relax, ahh, every muscle limp as a noodle.”
A small giggle.
“Keep your eyes closed and just listen to the waves and the birds while letting yourself sink deeper and deeper into the soft sand. The sun feels warm on your skin. You’re completely relaxed. So relaxed you could float away over the waves into your dreams. Turn off your phone now and go to sleep, sweetie.”
“Night-night, Max.”
“Night-night.” It slips out, just like the “good girl” this afternoon. I can’t stop it. “Baby girl.”
I turn off my own phone, push it over onto the charging pad, and flick off the light.
I sleep like the dead for ten hours and wake to seven missed calls from Lindy.
“Hey, man,” I say when he picks up.
“I found a hole,” he says, without returning one of my rare greetings. “I’m flooding your system with dino porn and malware right now.”
“You dick.” I scramble out of bed, grabbing a pair of shorts, and run downstairs only to find black screens.
Then I realize I shut down my rig completely last night. Something I rarely do, but I did it last night after an update. I tap the power switches to start everything up.
“You didn’t find a hole. I turned my system off last night.”
Lindy huffs into the phone. “I could have, though.”
“Not likely. Is it good dino porn, at least? Like when they’re wearing those blow-up T-Rex costumes, or is it crappy cartoon dino porn?”
Lindy chuckles. “Like I’d give you the good stuff.”
I yawn and stretch before walking into the kitchen to start the coffeemaker. “Did you actually find any weak spots?”
“A couple. I’ve sent you a report of where I think you need some overlapping firewalls. Oh, and spend less time gaming, you slacker. Fuck, your game time is extreme.”
“I’m running a campaign right now,” I say defensively. “And it’s not just me. My neighbor plays on my system a lot.”
“Yeah, I found him. BoyFalcon9722, right? His game time is a third of what yours is. I’m going to have to assign you more homework.”
I chuckle and scratch my belly. “Eat shit.”
“And NotJeff64? What kind of handle is that?”
