The morning of Jeanine and Luke’s date requiring high fashion, two phones in the Revaux household awakened Stephanie and Jeanine. Jeanine listened to Stephanie race down the stairs to catch the house phone, so she didn’t look before she answered her cell phone. “Hello?”

Sylvia was on the other end of the call, “Hey!” Her tones said casual and chipper. There were no background sounds, so Jeanine guessed Sylvia was at home in her room back in Arvada, Colorado.

“Hi, Sylvia. How’s it going?”

Jeanine focused on the sunlight streaming through the window. The curtains covered just a little too much of the glass, but at least, allowed some light in.

“Pretty great. I’ve got this new job. It’s contract work but photography work is that way. You’re in France! I’m so excited for you. Anything going on? Meet any romantic Frenchman? How are your studies going? He’s not interfering, is he?”

The light cast patterns on Stephanie’s deep blue-green bedspread. The material shimmered like the surface of the ocean in sunlight. She could have sworn it rippled, but Jeanine assumed her anxiety was getting the best of her.

“It’s all good. Stephanie and I are going out tonight. No Frenchmen. And I’m ahead of schedule for my reference points. Thanks for asking.”

Stephanie’s voice rang up from the bottom of the stairs. “Dory’s on her way!”

Jeanine withheld her sigh of relief. Dory was Stephanie’s graphic artist friend who was dabbling in the local indie arts scene with fashion and costumes.

“Uh.. Sylvia, I gotta go. I gotta take a shower before company comes over.”

“Sure, Jeanie.” Sylvia sounded so disappointed before she ended the call.

Jeanine tried to assume a posture where her spine ran long as she sat up. Her shoulders were wide, opening her lungs, with every breath. She placed the backs of her hands on her knees as her mind swirled. Guilt gripped her; she had no evidence that these anxiety attacks linked to Sylvia were rooted in a reasonable explanation. But they were there and she couldn’t shake these suspicious and strenulous reactions.

Stephanie’s voice brought Jeanine back to herself, “Hey.”

When Jeanine opened her eyes, Stephanie was sticking her head in the door way initially. She maneuvered the rest of herself in once she heard Jeanine’s low volumed sigh, “Hi.”

“You ok?”

“Good.” Jeanine was determined to be good.

“Dory said she’d be here in a few and I know how much you like to shower.” Stephanie smiled during her reprimanding reminder.

“I time myself to keep it short!” Jeanine defended herself.

The phone rang again. Jeanine made certain she didn’t jump. The ID said it was Luke. His smile from when she’d caught him staring at Charlemagne’s stature filled the screen as the phone rang again.

“I’ll give you a moment, but you better be quick.”

Jeanine forced a smile as she said, “Hi.” It wasn’t quite real but at least she was honest when she said, “I’m so glad to hear from you.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” he replied, his smile coming through in his voice. “Uh… I wanted to see how you were doing in the dress department.”

“We’re tapping a local designer.”

“Really?” He sounded impressed. Behind him a woman’s voice asked what Jeanine’s answer was. His mouth was no longer aligned with the phone when he said, “She’s wearing a local designer.”

“Indie!” Jeanine yelled.

“Indie designer,” her repeated.

“The carpet organizers might want to know who,” the woman sounded like she was aiming at the phone and being held back. “They need the label!”

Luke’s voice trembled with amusement, “I think you got that.”

“Yeah,” Jeanine chuckled, “I’ll get the contact info for the label.”

“So, should we send a car?”

“Uh?”

“What?” the woman chimed in again. “Why should she get a car? We don’t get a car. We’re bussed in.”

“I guess not.”

“Yeah, a psychiatrist and a grad student are probably not limo material.”

“Oh, I firmly believe you are worth every effort,” Luke’s voice had shaved a few notes and smoothed for that statement, like stone worn by water.

Jeanine’s breath caught and heart jumped. Her uterus clenched.

“So, uh…” Luke continued after a moment of silence, listening for her breath, “we were just wondering. I look forward to seeing you.”

“Uh huh,” Jeanine said. “Yeah. Me, too.”

Stephanie snorted. “Dory is going to be here in a few minutes,” she whispered. Then, she leaned forward to Jeanine’s head, “You need to get in that shower.”

“Ok, bye.” Jeanine promptly hung up and watched Stephanie run out of the room. Her thuds on the stairs clarified her direction.