Savannah

Savannah stood near the window; her fingers entangled in the fabric of her curtains. Her head throbbed with the dull pain of frustration. Thomas always played the same game every other Friday. Call her so that she would drop what she was doing, get the boys ready, just to make her wait for him while he took his sweet time getting there. Thank God the only connection between the two of them were the kids.

Nicholas was asleep against his book bag and Jake was fiddling with his action figures. They were so eager to spend the weekend with their daddy that it was all she could do to keep them off the ceiling and she felt sad for them.

She remembered what it was like growing up in the Mitchell residence. Her father, Alexander Mitchell was a lawyer, and a very good one at that. His mornings were full of depositions and researching law books and most of his evenings were snagged by other lawyers wanting to pick the brain of one of Baltimore’s finest attorneys. All Savannah could remember was her mother’s sad eyes and the rumblings in her own stomach as they sat at the dinner table, waiting for Alexander who always said he was only twenty minutes away, but seemed to keep his family waiting for hours.

Jake, her oldest, stood up and walked over to her. “I thought you said he was coming?” He looked up at her, his brown eyes begging for an answer.

“I know baby. I’m sure he’s on his way.”

Jake turned slowly shoulders slumped and hopped back onto the couch. She sucked her teeth and glared out at an empty street. This was one of the more irritating things about trying to co-parent with someone else. This was adding to her fatigue from earlier. Work had been taxing. Her boss had managed to ask her for a hundred things plus hold six meetings … it was just too much for her to take on over an eight-hour day, especially on a Friday. Bad enough she had to leave the house an hour early for one of those stupid meetings he had scheduled that morning Savannah managed to get her work done, though, despite the interruptions. There was no way that she would ever let them see her not busy. Marketing was a field that she had wanted to be a part of since she was in high school. She worked her magic on simpler projects like making her cousins more attractive to the opposite sex. Then as she got older, she began making fliers and suggesting changes to a neighbor’s day care business. Before long, she was looking up courses to take that would lead her to a career where her skills would be useful and lucrative.

Savannah had always dreamed of a picket fence, a house full of kids and a husband she would race home to after work. All the hours at the office were supposed to support her dreams, but whoever was granting wishes had obviously not been listening to hers because she just had the house and kids. The stress of not having a husband made it difficult at times.

Doctor and dentist appointments, laundry, cooking, cleaning, and the quality time she had to ration out to each boy required significant finesse. She loved being a mother, but she could not deny the fact that it was hard. It deepened the respect she had for her mother who had raised two girls. On the other hand, her time with Thomas seemed to support the argument that it was just as hard with a husband as it was without one.

A honking horn made her jump and she peered out to see Thomas’s SUV pull up in her driveway. She turned to the kids. Jake had heard the horn also and was running over to her. Snatching the door open, she smiled stiffly at Thomas.

“Stop playing. Where are my boys?” He grinned. Savannah had to admit that he was a handsome man. Over six feet tall and weighing around 200 pounds, he wore his features well. He had always kept his haircut short, and his goatee trimmed to perfection. Thomas owned a nightclub with one of his friends from school, so he felt the need to always wear something expensive. He was doing very well for himself and always paid his support on time. As a father he was great. It was the husband role that tripped him up.

Thomas loved female attention. He seemed to crave it. He tried his hardest to be respectful of her whenever she had come to the club on his invitation, but she always felt that he had fondled or even slept with a few of his regulars. The smug glares from the women did little to convince her otherwise. Of course, Thomas only denied it every time she mentioned the strange looks she was getting from the other women. But, in life there was only so much a person could hide before being caught. When Angie showed up on the doorstep with a belly protruding through her dress, Savannah had gotten the answer she knew all along. She sent Thomas’s belongings with Angie and changed her locks.

“Nicholas is asleep.”

Thomas sucked his teeth. “Why did you let him go to sleep?” he complained. He pulled out his cell phone and glanced at it. “I told you I was coming around five.”

“Yeah, but as you can see it is almost seven. A phone call would have been nice. I may have had something to do.” She stared at him, a wall of frustration building up inside of her.

“I had something to take care of first. I didn’t have time to call you.”

“All I want Thomas, is a little consideration. Especially for Nicky and Jake, who have been waiting for two hours. It’s not fair to them.”

“Fine. I’m sorry, okay,” he mumbled. “Are you going to let me take them or what?”

Savannah moved from the door and Jake rushed forward into his father’s large frame. “I’ll bring them home Sunday night.”

Savannah walked over to the couch and picked up her sleeping son. Kissing him on the cheek she handed him over to his father and pressed her lips to Jake’s forehead. “You have fun baby, okay?” He reached up and hugged her tightly before rushing to the car. “Nicky’s inhaler and spacer are in his bag. I packed extra underwear and pull ups for Jake. He’s using the bathroom but just in case you want him to sleep in them at night.”

“You keep babying him. He won’t need those things with me. I’ll get him together.”

Rolling her eyes at Thomas, she closed the door behind them and retreated to her bedroom. Sighing, she stretched her weary body across the comforter and closed her eyes. All she needed was a little time to rest her eyes.

************************************************************************

Savannah yawned as she sat at her kitchen table scribbling a list onto a piece of paper. She had slept through most of the night and some of the morning. She planned to get up last night and get some of the laundry done. But, when she cracked her eyes open at ten o’clock the following morning, she had to rearrange her to do list. She was only thirty-three but an organizer that held her grocery lists and kept track of doctor’s appointments had replaced her little black book a long time ago.

She thought of Thomas who seemed to be having the time of his life and sucked her teeth. Why was it that men were able to walk away so easily, without any sense of responsibility? Men could just make babies and then decide that it was too much responsibility and leave. Mothers, whether it be because they were a part of the process from conception to birth, could never be so callous. At least not a mother in her right mind.

It just wasn’t fair. He got to party. And sleep in if he wanted. He didn’t have to worry about late nights and sick kids. Or worry about school stuff. She folded the piece of paper up and stuffed it into her jeans. “First stop, Club Walmart,” she mumbled.

“But I really have to go Daddy!” Savannah could hear the whining and crying from where she was standing. She felt sorry for whomever owned the little person who was whining like that. She was happy that her own boys were not whiners. They had their moments, but overall, they were good kids. Savannah surveyed the items in her cart. More underwear for the boys. Cleaning products. A few extra bras for herself. Some snacks for Jake and Nicholas. Chicken. Bread and milk. And heart burn pills. She was sure it was nothing, but her chest had been feeling weird lately. Chalking it up to the spicy foods she had been eating, she shrugged it off. When Savannah rounded the corner, she was surprised when a tall, brown-skinned figure ran into the side of the cart, almost knocking it over.

“I’m sorry!” The man grabbed the cart, anxiously trying to stand it upright. She watched in amusement as he spent several minutes wrestling with the cart. She hid her smile behind her hand and watched as the little girl stopped fussing and tried to help her daddy.

“It’s okay,” she finally interjected, “Really.”

He stood up and adjusted his clothing. He was wearing basketball shorts and a black tee shirt with large white lettering on it. He was a gorgeous chestnut brown, a brown that reminded her of her favorite actor Idris Elba. He was built like Idris too—broad shoulders, thick muscular legs, strong arms. Her eyes rolled over him slowly before she realized that she had completely undressed him. “Dwight.” He held out his hand.

“Savannah.”

“Like Georgia?” He smiled. He had beautiful teeth.

“Yes.”

Dwight glanced down at his side and nudged the little girl forward. “This is Isabella.” She looked to be around the same age as Jake. She reached out her hand as her father had done moments before.

“Nice to meet you. You have quite a set of lungs on you.”

The little girl smiled.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Dwight stooped down to face her. “You still gotta go, sweetie?”

The little girl looked at her father, her lip tucked underneath her two front teeth and nodded her head vigorously. Dwight looked at Savannah, his eyes pleading.

“If you want, I can take her for you. I won’t run off with her.” She smiled.

He smiled back, a nervous grin spreading across his face. Eventually he gestured for Savannah to take his daughter’s hand. Within minutes, Isabella was back with her father and Savannah was waving bye to them. Savannah had always wanted a little girl. A little image of herself. She imagined a sleeping angelic face in her lap as she braided her hair. But she imagined a lot of things. Placing her items on the counter to check out, she felt a tug on her sleeve.

“Sorry to bother you.” It was Dwight.

“Is there something wrong?”

“No. Everything is fine. But I couldn’t let you leave without offering to take you to dinner for helping me out back there.”

Savannah smiled back. “Oh no. I didn’t mind at all. You don’t have to pay me back for that. It was my pleasure.”

Dwight eased a little closer. “Well, let me take you to dinner because I want to.” It came out as a whisper. Savannah immediately thought of a thousand reasons to say no, her boys being the top one.

“Look, Dwight. I’m sure you’re a nice guy,” she paused to hand the clerk a credit card, “but I’m not looking for a relationship right now.”

“Whoa!” He loaded a few items onto the conveyor belt. “Me neither. I just want to spend some adult time, with another adult and listen to adult music. If I hear another Disney song, I think I’ll crack.” He laughed.

Savannah laughed as well, recalling her own sessions of torture as she was forced to listen to the singing yellow sponge. “I see.” She took her credit card back, signed the slip and handed it to the cashier.

“Just a light dinner. Or drinks.” He grinned at her. Perhaps Dwight being a part of her life would be just what she needed. Having a friend around to talk to other than her catty girlfriends or her sister would be a good change. Besides, it wasn’t like she was planning to marry the guy.

“Okay.”

Dwight smiled as he scribbled his number down on the back of her receipt. Tearing a piece off, she followed suit. Waving bye to Dwight and his daughter, she exited the store, feeling a slight pep in her step.

Dwight picked his daughter up from the floor and placed her in the front of the cart. His eyes watched Savannah as she left the store. He thought of a corny ritual his father had told him about. “Listen here, son. The way you can tell that a woman is into you is if she turns around when she leaves you. No matter where you are and no matter who walks away first. If she turns around, you got her.” His father’s voice echoed clearly in his head. His eyes glued to her backside bouncing around in her jeans, he cheered silently when her head turned, and their eyes met briefly.

“76.80 sir.” The cashier announced.

Snapping his eyes back into his head, he reached for his wallet. He handed the cashier several twenty-dollar bills and tossed the bags inside the cart near his daughter, who was scrounging around for the pack of candy she had snuck onto the conveyor belt.

“If I may say so myself, sir, that was some playa type skill right there.” The teenager smiled at him, while counting out his change.

“Oh that. Psheesh. That was not my best work.”

“Well, you got the number. That’s old school right there.”

Dwight’s smile faded as he took the change and guided the cart out the store. Old school? He had prided himself on being fit and attractive. He thought he looked young for his thirty-six years. The comment had made a small dent in his armor. Arriving at the car, he pulled Isabella out of the cart and buckled her into the truck. Tossing the bags into the trunk, he eased out of the parking space he was so blessed to get. He had been in three accidents and they all occurred in Walmart parking lots so if it took him thirty minutes to pull out of a space to avoid a collision, he would take the whole thirty.

“Daddy?”

“Yea?” He peeked at her through the rearview mirror.

“Is that lady your wife now?”

“Huh?”

“That lady in the store. You got each other’s phone numbers. Justin said that when you give someone your phone number, they are your wife.” She stared at him with waiting eyes.

“No Izzy. She’s not my wife. We gave each other our numbers because we want to get to know each other. It’s a way for us to stay in touch.”

“Oh.” Izzy popped a few Skittles into her mouth. “Daddy?”

“Yea.”

“You need a wife.”

Dwight laughed to himself. His daughter always managed to keep things interesting. “Really? Why?”

“Because all my friend’s daddies gots wives and they are okay daddies. But you’re a bestest daddy so you should have a wife too.” She was so matter of fact.

“Well, thank you baby. If you find a good one, let me know.”

“That lady was pretty. She should be a good wife. When are you going to call her?”

He turned the radio down a little since it seemed that his daughter was fixated on talking about the fact that he was a spinster. “Well, I…um… I was going to call her in a few days. A-After a few days.”

“Call her now, Daddy. Call her today. Granddaddy says you should do things right away, so you won’t forgets.” She paused. “Sometimes, when you tell me to pick up my toys, I wait a few minutes and then I forgets. But when I do it right away, I don’t forget.”

Who was this grown woman sitting in the booster seat behind him? He figured that when she got old enough to talk that she would be something else, but there was nothing that could have prepared him for the force that was Isabella. Of course, her mom was fiery and went toe to toe if there was a fight. It was what had attracted him to her in the first place. But after a while, the back and forth was too much. She never let things go smoothly and got bored when things were going too well. Obviously, her imprint had been made on the little girl. Dwight sighed when he thought about the day when Isabella would get her period and start talking about boys. Yea, he needed a wife.

“I can’t right now. I’m driving. But I won’t forget to call her.” Just then his phone started ringing. “Hey what’s up?”

“Nothing. I was off today and thought maybe you and the little missus wanted to join an old coot for an early dinner?”

“Sure Unc. That’s cool. I didn’t feel like cooking anyway.”

“Well, come on over then. I’m on the grill and the meat is looking right! Where is that princess of mine?”

Dwight passed the phone to Izzy, who was practically hanging out of her seat to hear. “Hi Pop pop. Can we come over your house today?”

“Sure can. What did you do today?”

“We went to the store. And then I had to pee. And then Daddy knocked this lady’s cart over. And then they changed numbers and now he got a wife!” She chuckled into the phone.

Dwight almost slammed into the car in front of him because he was trying to snatch the phone from his laughing daughter. Isabella managed to draw her legs up so that they were out of his reach. She chuckled for a few more moments with his uncle before she hung up and handed the phone to her father. Getting his bearings, he reasoned that his uncle would be wise enough to know that you cannot believe everything that a child says. But, as he pulled up in his uncle’s large driveway, the huge smile on his face said otherwise.

“How dare you keep a wife from me, all this time! You know I have been pushing you to get married. When do I get to meet her?” He asked, helping Izzy out of the car. He swung the little girl around his body until she was sitting on his neck.

“You are getting too old to be doing that.” Dwight followed his uncle into the large house. It was a beautiful house. Marble floors in the kitchen, large floor-to-ceiling windows in the family room. The lower level of the home had been converted into an entertainment area. Surround sound enhanced the audio from his 60-inch plasma screen tv. On the other side of the basement was a boy’s club, complete with pool table, several pinball machines and a bar. His uncle had hosted plenty of parties there and it was at one of his parties where Dwight met Sandra. He put his keys down on the granite countertop in the kitchen and headed out to the backyard with his daughter and uncle.

His uncle had always been a part of Dwight’s life. When his father was alive, the three of them were always off on some adventure fishing, shooting in the fields, or just hanging out. They were like peas in a pod. Dwight was only 11 when his father was shot while on duty. His mother had died earlier from a rare illness that quickly took her life. Immediately, his uncle had come to the boy’s side, raising Dwight as his father would have liked. He even paid for his schooling while Dwight focused on which career path he wanted to take. He could afford it. In fact, his men’s apparel store had done much better than he had hoped.

Dwight found his uncle and Isabella running around the backyard like two kids. He could not understand where his uncle found the energy to do it, but he was glad that he was around to do it with her. “Is the food done yet?”

“That little girl of yours is crazy!” He walked over to the grill and used a small towel nearby to wipe his forehead. “So, what about this woman from today?”

Dwight sighed. “Just someone I met at Walmart. She helped me take Izzy to the bathroom.”

“And.” His uncle stared at him; an eyebrow raised.

“And she was beautiful. Not like Sandra. Beautiful in a natural way. Without all that makeup stuff. And she was nice.”

“Well, obviously she’s made an impact on Izzy. Did you call her yet?” He flipped a few pieces of chicken on the grill.

“No. I just met her.”

“You young fellas are crazy. By the time you finish taking your time to call her, someone else can ease on up in there. If I was you, I’d call her when you got home. Tonight.”

Dwight barely ate his food and hardly paid attention to the conversation at the table because he was too busy thinking about Savannah. The last time he felt like this, he was trying to get to know Sandra. And he certainly spent a lot of time wooing her, so much so, that he barely realized that she was more toxic than she appeared. She certainly was a treat for the eyes. Skin the color of whiskey, blond hair that she dyed all the time. An athletic body that she kept in shape, with the hopes of becoming a model. And the things that she did to him in bed were illegal; he was sure of it. Hours later, he gathered a sleeping Izzy and headed home. After a much-needed shower, he checked in on Izzy one more time and tossed his body onto his large bed.

Dwight moved into the three-bedroom house once he gained custody of his daughter. He worked as a financial consultant for several different companies and earned a pretty good amount to make sure that his clients’ money was moving efficiently, that they were doing everything according to the law, and that they were geared to continue to make more money. He was good at what he did and the relationships that he built with present customers were sure to yield him more business. He rubbed his aching calf muscle and stared at the receipt in his hand. A few moments later, the receipt placed gently on his nightstand, he drifted off to sleep.

***

Savannah cracked her eye open. Stretching, she looked at the clock on her wall. It was a little after nine. She stretched like a cat, letting the sensation roll over her and stood, trying to find her cell phone when she heard it vibrating against her floor. The caller ID showed that it was Thomas.

“Are the boys okay?”

“Yea. I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was going to be this late. We’re just leaving the restaurant. I’ll keep them until the morning and bring them home early.”

“I’m going to the gym in the morning. What time are you talking?”

“I can get there by eight.” He sighed heavily into the receiver.

“I’ll be gone by 7:15. Just take them to my sister’s house. I’ll call her and tell her you’ll be there.” Savannah walked out of her room to the kitchen. She glanced on the refrigerator hoping that her sister was back from vacation. According to the date, she was.

“I don’t have time to take them all the way to your sister’s house. I have things to do.” He sighed into the phone and mumbled something to someone in the background. Apparently, he and Angie were still a thing.

Savannah had known about Angie ever since she showed up, pregnant at her door. Of course, Thomas denied the relationship, insisting that she was just a friend. But Savannah knew the scent of affairs. She was, after all, a woman. Not only that, but her experience with her own parents also meant her radar was highly sensitized and she spent a good part of their relationship signaling deceit. And, if nothing else, she had her intuition. Of course, when Angie got pregnant, he could no longer deny it. And neither could Savannah.

“Look, you’re the one who was late. And now you’re telling me to wait for you while you get here in the morning? I can’t do it, Thomas.” Savannah, feeling exasperated sank back into the couch. She held her head in her hands and sighed. Just as she was about to give in, she heard him say something. “What did you say?”

“I said, I can take them to your sister’s. It’ll probably be more like seven then.” His tone seemed more relaxed.

“Where are you now?”

“I’m on Martin Luther King, where the stadium is.” Near Angie’s house.

“Okay, I’ll call Kim. Kiss them for me.”

“Alright.”

She fought the urge to let the Angie thing bother her. It had taken her a long time to reach the point where she didn’t break down every time she thought about or heard about Angie. The thought of her ex-husband loving someone else had been too much for her to handle especially since he had been incapable of loving her. She would find herself crying and talking to anyone who seemed to know anything about Thomas. She hated herself for ever being that needy, that weak, and that completely dependent on a man. She had learned the hard way with her own father. She had followed him, chased him for years for some validation that she thought mattered. A validation that had never come and in its absence grew a void that swallowed up anything that could contribute to her sanity. She cursed him.

Savannah made her way back to the bedroom. She was glad she had saved up to have the house redone. It was her post-divorce gift to herself. Thomas had never really allowed her to do anything decorative to the house. He liked the plain white walls, the beige carpet, and the simple furnishings in each room. She lived in a colorless house that seemed eerily like their colorless marriage at the time. Therefore, to cope with the pain of him leaving her, she filled her new life with fluffy rugs, bright paint, and decorative chairs.

One of her favorite places in the house was her bedroom. She had a canopy bed installed and was able to hang different fabrics from it. She painted the walls a warm golden brown, opting to have white furniture and chocolate accessories to add warmth and the feeling of peace. She knew how relaxing it was when her boys could barely keep their eyes open while they were in there.

“There better be some emergency for you to be calling me this late.” Her sister grumbled into the phone.

“Is that any way to talk to your baby sister?”

“What do you want, Savannah?”

“Is it okay if Thomas drops the boys off to you in the morning? He’s not bringing them home tonight and by the time he gets here tomorrow morning, I will be on my way to the gym.” Savannah hated when she sounded needy. Thankfully, her sister understood her drama.

“Don’t they have a daycare at that club of yours? Why are you paying all that money when you can’t even drop off them brats of yours?”

“My kids are not brats. And you know how I feel about letting just anybody watch my kids.”

“Nobody wants those kids. These days people are trying to get rid of their own children.” Kim sighed. “All right. They can come over. You still letting that man get to you, huh?”

Savannah sighed. It was true. Even though she had long since moved past hating him, she still found herself somewhat affected by what he said and sometimes did. Not intentionally, but it was harder to let go of all the years they shared than she originally thought.

“I’m trying girl. But you must admit, I’m doing much better.”

“You are. It was a lot of stuff going on at once. Then you got the boys. You just sent yourself through all kinds of crap. I’ll be ready for the kids tomorrow.” Kim yawned into the phone.

Savannah spent a few more minutes on the phone before she hung up. After obsessing over whether she locked the doors, she finally curled up with a book. She tucked her biggest, fluffiest pillows between her legs, the closest she came to having something there, and thought about Dwight.

There was nothing spectacular about him. She shook her head at the obvious lie. He was everything she enjoyed. He had a nice height, about 6’3”. Had nice teeth. A good athletic build. Great skin. Perfect haircut. She felt warmth in her bones and worried. All she needed was to be all wrapped up in some man. That’s what happened with Thomas. She was too old to make the same mistakes that she had always made. Besides, she didn’t need any more kids to look after. It had been ages since she thought about a man. And despite holding a book in her hands and forcing her eyes to look at the tiny words, Dwight’s face pierced any thought. Finally, she dropped the book to the floor and rolled over.

He was still there. His smile and the fact that he had a kid himself made him appealing. He could understand why one-night stands didn’t exist in her world. He could understand the stigma of being a single parent: the looks, the stares. Or maybe it was different for men. Maybe single fathers were regarded as heroes while single mothers were looked at as having committed a crime. Or maybe she was just thinking too much of it.

Rolling over to her other side, she felt vibration in her bed and looked through the sheets until she found her cell phone. “Who in the world could that be?” She mumbled to herself. “Hello? Who is this?”

“I’m sorry, is this too late?” A male voice asked.

“I asked who this was?” Her voice was stern.

“Dwight.”

Savannah sat up quickly and pulled the pillow from between her legs. She leaned back against her headboard and cleared her throat. “What’s wrong? Is everything okay?”

“Yea. Uh, well. Yea.” He stammered. Why?”

Savannah shook her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t get many late-night calls. Thought maybe there was something wrong.”

“I’m sorry. I was debating on whether I should call or not. But I couldn’t just lay here and think about you all night. I can call back tomorrow if you want.”

“No. No. It’s okay. What can I do for you?” She hated sounding so formal. Maybe if she learned to relax, she could get a date one of these days. Or maybe she was doing it on purpose, subconsciously sabotaging any kind of relationship with a man to avoid the heartache of a breakup later down the road. She shook her head and waited.

“I have tickets to the Chrisette Michele concert on Saturday night. Elle Varner is supposed to be opening for her. My sister backed out on me.” He paused. “Would you like to go?”

Savannah stayed quiet.

“I’m sorry to ask you. But I figure it could be a good way to break the ice, so we could get to know each other better. I haven’t been out in ages and I’m looking forward to it. My treat.”

“Hold on for a second.” Savannah clicked over and dialed Kim’s number.

“Go to bed Sav.”

“I will. But there’s this guy on my other line. I just met him today and he wants me to go to a concert with him.”

“Why are you calling me, then?”

“You think I should go?” She flicked her nail against her teeth.

“What are you, a child? Sav, it has been a decade since you went out on a date. I’ll watch the boys. Lord knows Kenneth could use some male company around here. If you call again, I’ll kill you.” She laughed before hanging up.

“Sorry about that. I had another call.” She said when she clicked back over.

“That’s okay. I thought maybe you hung up and I just didn’t hear the dial tone.” He laughed. Was that a hint of nervousness?

“I’ll go to the concert with you.”

“I was hoping you would, considering that we’re strangers.” He paused. “I know it’s late so if you need to go, I understand.”

Usually, she was in bed and on her third dream by the time midnight hit. Heaven knew that she was tired. Yet, she found that she was more curious than exhausted. “No. I’m okay. Maybe we should get all the small talk out of the way.”

“Okay. Are you from Baltimore?”

“Yes. Despite the name I was born and bred right here. You?

“Same. As much as I want to, I can’t manage leaving this place. Both of my sisters got out of here as soon as they were old enough. It was too much going on here for them.” He laughed.

“No lie, you have to be a certain type of person to live here. There are some things that I feel would only happen in Baltimore and movies.”

Dwight laughed. “I feel you. Remember that time the bull got out and was running up and down Reisterstown Road? Crazy thing is I wasn’t surprised.”

“I love it, but I can’t ignore all the people getting killed. One year, it felt like I was going to a funeral every month.”

“Yeah. I have friends who live in other cities and they are always shocked by the fact that I have no plans to leave. They are convinced that I could get shot sitting in my backyard. They refuse to visit.”

“You wanna know the crazy thing? You just might.”

“You’re right.”

“While I love my city, I’d love to travel. I have always wanted to go to Italy and ride on the gondolas. They look so pretty on TV.”

“I guess you’re the romantic type, huh?”

“How do you figure?”

“It’s not every day that you hear someone want to go to Italy, which is one of the most romantic places in the world, and then to want to take a ride on the gondolas. Sounds romantic to me.”

Savannah laughed with him for the next hour. As she asked and answered questions, she wondered if it was worth pursuing. Of course, she knew there was always a chance that things wouldn’t work out. She tried not to be a pessimist. However, in all reality, her future relationship prospects were bleak. Savannah had never pressured a man into marriage. There was a list of things that she swore she would never do, and she lived by that list. She never felt the desire to make a man do anything because she knew that if he really wanted to, he would do it, no pressure needed. Yet, as she listened to him talk about his daughter and his plans for the future, she suppressed the urge to imagine what their lives would be like together.

“Hello? You okay?”

“Huh?”

“You just got really quiet. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t say anything that would offend you.”

“Oh no. I guess I went off to la la land. Sorry.” Savannah yawned. “But I am going to have to go. Early day tomorrow.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll call you soon, alright.”

Savannah ended the call and sat her phone on the nightstand. She looked at her pillow, the one she spent most nights cuddled up with, before kicking it onto the floor.