"Do you get paid overtime?" she teased.
"Tiel? Hi. I'm glad you called."
"It's after hours. I was afraid you wouldn't answer."
"Reflex. Where are you?"
"The end of nowhere."
"Everything okay? You haven't had car trouble or anything?"
"No, everything's great. I called for a couple of reasons.
First, because I miss you."
This was the tack to take. Establish that the trip was still on. Establish that it was being delayed, not derailed. Assure him that everything was cool, then inform him of the slight wrinkle in their plans for a romantic getaway.
"You saw me just last night."
"But only briefly, and it's been a long day. Secondly, I called to remind you to throw a swimsuit into your suitcase.
The hot tub at the condo complex is public."
After a pause, he said, "Actually, Tiel, it's good that you called. I needed to talk to you."
Something in the tone of his voice prevented her from prattling on. She stopped talking and waited for him to fill the silence that yawned between them.
"I could have called you on your cell phone today, but this isn't the sort of thing… The fact is… And I'm sorry as hell about this. You can't begin to know how sorry I am."
Tiel stared at the countless perforations in the metal surrounding the telephone. She stared so long without blinking that the tiny holes ran together. Absently she wondered what purpose they served.
"I'm afraid I can't get away tomorrow."
She'd been holding her breath. Now she released it, relieved.
His change of plans alleviated her guilt over having to change them herself.
However, before she could speak, he continued. "I know how much you'd looked forward to this trip. And so had I," he rushed to add.
"Let me make this easier on you, Joseph." Meekly she confessed. "The truth is, I was calling to say that I need another couple days before I can get to Angel Fire. So I'm fine with a short postponement. Would your schedule allow us to meet on, say, Tuesday instead of tomorrow?"
"You don't understand what I'm saying, Tiel. I can't meet you at all."
The perforations ran together again. "Oh. I see. That is disappointing. Well-"
"It's been very tense around here. My wife found my airline ticket and-"
"Excuse me?"
"I said my wife found-"
"You're married?"
"Well… yeah. I thought you knew."
"No." Her facial muscles felt stiff and inflexible. "You have failed to mention a Mrs. Marcus."
"Because my marriage has nothing to do with you, with us. It hasn't been a real marriage for a long time. Once