Page 101 of Proof
“That dinner you made the other night was rather scrumptious. You’ll have to give me the recipe.”
Luna laughed. “It’s not an exact science. You put some olive oil in a pan, a little vegetable stock, some herbs, lemon juice, a dash of white wine, and parmesan cheese.”
“No quarter cup of this, a pinch of that?” Gail asked.
“Nope. You do it according to your own taste. That’s the beauty of it.” Luna squeezed one of the lemons onto her hands and wiped them with a napkin. She recalled the first time she’d done that in front of Chris. He’d laughed, because he was about to do the same thing. Luna sighed. “I miss talking to him.”
“You will soon. Your phone will be ready, and you can give him a call.”
“I don’t know if I should. He could be mad as a hatter!” Luna cringed. “Speaking of that phrase, do you know where it comes from?”
“Alice in Wonderland?” Gail shrugged.
“No, silly. It was coined during the seventeenth century, when hatters were using mercuric acid to make felt. They were actually poisoning themselves with the fumes, causing them to behave erratically.”
“Ha. Fascinating.” Gail picked up the check from the table. “You always have a wealth of information. And to think you don’t do social media!”
“I like my information to be from a sound, reliable source.” She winked.
They walked back to the store, where the tattooed young man was waiting with a big grin on his face. “You’re all set. Want to give it a spin?” He handed Luna the new phone. “You’re gonna have to set a password or fingerprint, or both.” He showed her what to do.
Gail pulled out her phone and dialed Luna’s number. The ringtone was set to “Ode to Joy” from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Gail laughed. “Now there’s irony. The piece is called ‘Ode to Joy,’ but ask any soprano how joyful it is to sing! We always joked that Beethoven must have hated sopranos.”
“Maybe he didn’t know how hard it is to hang on to all those high notes for so long.”
“Nah. I just think he hated sopranos.” Gail laughed again. “But it was the first symphony to incorporate vocal soloists and a chorus. Maybe you’re right.” She paused. “Nah. He should have known better.”
The eager young salesperson was trying to further engage Luna in Cell Phone Use 101, but she graciously declined. “Just need it to send a few texts for now. I can study it when I get back home.”
“It was a pleasure serving you, ma’am.”
That was another thing that bugged Luna and Gail: ma’am. They weren’t old enough to be ma’ams. When they left the store, Gail chuckled and said, “Whenever someone calls me ‘Miss,’ I thank them.”
“Geez, we’re not that old. Are we?” Luna’s eyes bugged out. “I mean, I want a flip phone, I want social media to go away, and I want people to stop living in their parents’ basements!”
Gail was howling. “I can’t say I disagree with you. But that does make you sound a little, let’s say, cranky?”
“I’ll take cranky. You know, had any of this happened anywhere else, I probably would have had a meltdown. I truly believe the energy here helped me to stay grounded.”
“Like I said. Magic.”
When they got into Gail’s Jeep, Luna wasn’t sure if she should reach out to Chris. “What do you think?”
“He probably doesn’t know you’ve replaced the phone. Or would he?”
“He knows I am not a techno junkie, but he also knows I have to have some way of communicating. So . . . he’ll know that I’ll get one but not when, although probably sooner than later.”
“And your point is?” Gail gave her a sideways glance.
“He could try to call my number to see if I’ve bought a new phone.”
“True. But you don’t know who he’s with, either.”
“Good point,” Luna huffed. “I suppose I need to wait this out, too.”
“This has been a test of patience, eh?” Gail grinned.
“And my relationship.” Luna sighed.