Chapter 9Friday morning a week later, my phone rings at work as I’m about to go to a meeting. A glance on the screen tells me it’s Frankie, and I frown.
“Hey you,” I say after accepting the call. “Is something the matter?” He never calls me at work; he doesn’t want to disturb me should I be busy. In general, he prefers other forms of communication than calling, and if he needs me for something important, he’ll text me and ask me to get back to him when it’s convenient. So him calling worries me.
“Yes. No. I mean, nothing is wrong. I’m fine, everything is fine, better than fine, but yes.”
I glance at my watch. I’ll be late if I don’t go now, but I don’t like cutting him off when he’s this frazzled, so I’ll deal with my tardiness later. “Okay. That made no sense at all. Take a deep breath
