After a few muttered cuss words, I eventually found one loose end, placed it in between my teeth and began working to free the rest of the lights. Nothing was loosening up, but I continued to work at it anyway. Finally I let the ball of lights and wires fall to the ground in an unholy mess. The cold sunlight caught in the miniature glass bulbs and lit them as if they were plugged in.“Come on,” I said to the string of lights. My phone rang, muffled by my down jacket. I reached in to see who it was. Apparently, I wasn’t fast enough. I had missed the call. I looked at the screen and the word that ran through my head was less than festive. Mickey had called. My mouth, which had been sort of drooly from holding the winter lights, went dry. I was glad I hadn’t just answered the call without checking who was on the other end. I hadn’t talked to Mickey for a month or more and I wasn’t sure I really wanted to now. Why was she calling?When I heard Mickey’s recorded voice, my insides tightened.
