“Stay by the phone,” he said. “I’ll call you!”

And Maddy did just that. Her heart a flutter, she waited patiently. Oh, so patiently.

But the phone never rang. 

Was Bruce toying with her? Was he one of those strays who would simply tell a girl what she wanted to hear just to play with her emotions? He said he’d take her bird watching. He said he’d take her to dinner at one of those quaint little back-alley spaghetti joints, just like in the movies. He said a lot of things. But none of it was meant to be.

It had gotten late. Maddy’s emotions had run the gamut, from giddy to nervous to confusion to despair. Now she was angry. And bitter. She lashed out at even the slightest irritation. 

“Quit chewing your food like that,” she snapped at her sister. “It’s annoying!”

Leia sat in silent empathy as Maddy continued to vent.

“I can’t hear myself think between your noisy chomping, the neighbors’ awful music and that stupid device the humans use to take pictures. It’s been vibrating non-stop all damn day!”