gossip of Hollywood. She had problems of her own. Ten o’clock and no word from her father. To make matters worse, her husband Allen missed their seven o’clock call, and Josh refused to go to bed because he hadn’t said good night to either Daddy or Paw Paw. She finally got Josh down an hour late and read his favorite stories till he fell asleep. She wanted to go to bed, but her mind kept racing. She hadn’t seen her father so keyed-up since her mother’s illness, and at least then, she’d been able to share part of the burden. Her cellphone vibrated on the end table beside her chair. The caller ID read RESTRICTED. She grabbed it. “Hello.” She heard the sound she hoped for. Silence. The line was dead for a few seconds. “Hi, babe. Sorry I missed the call.” Lieutenant Commander Allen Woodson sounded exhausted. “You okay, honey?” Silence again as the communication routing delayed both ends of the connection.
