He read it, confused by the number at first. Just touching base. It’s been a while. How are you doing? I’ve been busy, but that’s good, right? Angela. Long-lost Angela Walberg. Why was she texting him after a month of silence? After ignoring his every attempt to communicate with her? He considered asking San. He also considered texting back with something like, Glad to hear things are going well, but decided to delay his reply until the end of the day. After work, Jack found Nattie at the table writing another list. She looked up at him mournfully, pushing her bangs away from her forehead, meeting his eyes. “Something’s wrong with Laura.” Jack frowned. “How do you know?” Nattie shrugged. “I just do.” She returned to her list. “By the way, I changed the feeder.” “Hmm, thanks,” Jack said, knowing Nattie was trying to communicate her responsibility in the small things, hoping to parlay this into even greater responsibility, like a black Labrador, which had recently worked its way to the second spot on her retooled want list.
