Jamie answered the phone thinking it was from Andrew, who would be away for another week, but it wasn’t Andrew, it was Clifford. That familiar number. She should have realized right away.

“I didn’t expect to hear from you,” she said. Beneath her breath “Ever again.”

As if he’d heard her thoughts, he said, “There’s no reason why we can’t still be friends.” Clifford said.

“Just friendsm, huh? I’m not sure your new girlfriend would see it that way,” Jamie replied.

“No, she wants to meet you.”

“Compare notes?” Jamie asked.

“Whatever,” Clifford said. “Come on—come over for dinner. She’s a really good cook.”

Jamie wanted say, “Yeah, but is she a really good fuck? Better than me?” but she held her tongue.

As it turned out, the dinner was great. Annie was a really good cook. Some good wine. Lots of good wine. The conversation was friendly and impersonal. Pets. Rescue dogs. Scuba diving. Poisonous snakes.

While Clifford was clearing away the dishes, Jamie said, “That was really great. Thanks for having me. I guess I should be heading home.”