Well, that’s what it felt like; I don’t suppose it actually did leap. But anyway, it rang as I sat up in bed with it in my hand. Maybe he’s sorry, I thought, that cross guard. Maybe he’s ringing back to apologize. They probably have one of those screens that tells you who’s ringing you so you can call them back if you like. We haven’t got one of those. We are very lo-tech in this family. My parents think that is a grand thing; I think it’s just a pain. We wouldn’t even have a cordless phone, only the old phone died and it was cheaper to get one of these as a replacement. But it wasn’t the guard, it was Hal. “Hal!” I yelped. “It’s the middle of the night.” “Not really,” Hal said. “It’s that sort of plum-colored time, about six.” “Does it taste like plums too?” I asked. “No, mint,” he said. “Did I wake you? Sorry.” I wondered if six o’clock in the evening was the same color and taste, but I didn’t get a chance to ask. “I just wanted to tell you,”
