I dialed a number that I hadn’t called in over a year. Though I was conscious of what I was doing, I was still jolted when Rita answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“Uh, hey, Rita, guess who?”

There was a moment of silence, and I suddenly wondered if I’d made a mistake.

“Well, hi, Ed. I’m sorry, I’m just a bit taken back. You were pretty much the last person I expected to be calling.”

“Yeah, but you know what the scary part is?” I made my voice sound like that of Vincent Price. “I’m calling from inside the house!” Rita cracked up, which momentarily took my breath away. I’d forgotten how nice her laugh was. Collecting myself, I forged ahead.

“Seriously, I don’t mean to bother you....

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