I woke to the sound of my cell phone ringing inside of my bag and struggled to untangle myself from Sam and the sheets to reach over and haul the bag on top of the bed. The contents spilled everywhere and I sifted through them to grab up my phone and silence the annoying ring.
“Hello?” I mumbled glancing down at the scroll in my lap.
“Heven! I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“Mom?” I glanced at the screen on the phone at the clock. It was barely seven a.m. “Isn’t it like one a.m. there?” I guessed, struggling to remember the time difference between Maine and Rome.
“Yes, but I wanted to speak with you and I figured before you left for the day was the best time.”
“I tried to call a few times, but you were never home,” I said as the early morning cobwebs evaporated from my head. “Is something wrong? How is Logan?”
Behind me, Sam sat up and I felt his arms wrap around my waist. I knew he was listening for my mother’s answer.
“Everything is fine. We’re really enjoying our time with Logan. He’s a wonderful boy.” I couldn’t help but focus in on the “we” and the “our” in her words. She didn’t notice my silence and said, “I just wanted to see how you are enjoying your trip so far. I miss you.”
“I’m sure Sam will be glad to hear that Logan is doing well. He’s been worried about him,” I said as I leaned back into Sam. “And so far the trip is great. Rome is beautiful and the people here are so nice.”
“What’s your favorite place you’ve visited so far?”
I spent a few minutes going into detail about the museums and the Leaning Tower of Pisa telling her all about the art and history. It was so easy to describe everything thanks to my new photographic memory. She seemed interested asking about places and people. I found myself relaxing into Sam and enjoying the conversation. We hadn’t been able to talk like this in so long… I realized how much I missed it.
“It sounds like you’re having such an experience! The memories you will have will last a lifetime!” she said.
“Thanks for allowing me to come, Mom.” I shuddered at how close I came to not being here.
“Of course. Henry was right in suggesting that you go.”
I paused. “Yes, I remember you saying Henry suggested that I come.” It still seemed odd to me, but I didn’t say that.
I could almost see Mom frowning on the end of the line. “Did I say that?”
I sat up, out of the circle of Sam’s embrace. “Mom? Are you all right?” I turned and looked at Sam, who was frowning. I knew he could hear our conversation.
“Yes. I guess I’m just tired—it’s so late here.” Her voice was back to normal and it was like the last few words never happened.
“Are you sure that’s all it is?”
She gasped and I heard a clatter, which I assumed was the phone falling to the floor.
“Mom!”
I heard the phone being picked up and expected to hear my mother on the line. But it wasn’t my mother. It was Henry.
“Sorry about that, Heven. Your mother tripped and dropped the phone.” For some reason I shivered.
“Is she hurt?”
“Oh, no. She’s fine. Just stubbed her toe on the coffee table.”
I relaxed a little, but still wanted to hear her voice. “Can I speak with her please?”
“Sure! Oh, hey,” he said, sounding like he was talking to an old friend. “Glad to hear you’re having a great time in Rome.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, wondering what Henry was doing at my mother’s house at one o’clock in the morning. The thought was so disturbing, but it kind of described her “we” comments.
“What great place are you visiting today?” he asked.
I didn’t want to talk to him. I wanted to talk to my mother, so I told him quickly about the planned visit to Via Appia Antica.
“Can’t wait to hear all about it when you get home!”
“Sure,” I said impatiently.
“Oh, and, Heven?” Henry said, annoying me yet even more. “Be careful today, those catacombs are dark and very old. Your mother and I would be very upset if you were hurt.”
He said the words good-naturedly, if even fatherly, but something inside me tightened. Before I could respond, my mother came back on the line laughing. “Sorry, about that, honey. I’m just so clumsy anymore!”
“Did you fall?”
“Oh, no. I just stubbed my toe on the coffee table. It wasn’t even my big toe, just the little one.” She laughed.
I smiled. And because I knew Sam really wanted to talk to his brother, I asked Mom, “I know it’s late there, but is Logan awake? Could I speak with him?”
“Oh, honey, he fell asleep hours ago. He spent the day with Henry and he was exhausted.” Sam was thinking so loud that I blurted out what he was thinking. “He is there, right?”
Why Sam would think Logan wouldn’t be there, I wasn’t sure, but he was clearly worried about it, so I wanted to be sure he got an answer.
“Of course, Heven.”
Sam relaxed and I turned to face him to be sure that’s all he wanted to know. He nodded. “Okay, well you should probably get to bed. It’s late there.”
“I plan to. I’m so glad we got to talk!”
“Me too. When I get back, maybe we can have dinner? I got you a present I want to give you.”
“Sounds wonderful. I’ll talk to you soon. I love you, Heven.”
“I love you too.” I disconnected the phone and dropped in on the bed next to me.
“I wish I could have at least said hi to Logan,” Sam said, looking down at the phone. Worry etched across his face.
“Do you want me to call her back and have her wake him up?”
He shook his head. “If he’s sleeping, then its best to let him rest.” Then almost to himself, he said, “I should have gotten that cell phone.”
“Even if you had, the international rates would be outrageous. I can only imagine what my mother is paying for that international plan. He was okay when you talked to him the other day, right?”
“Yeah. He did seem good.”
“See? Everything is fine. We haven’t really had much time to talk about things. How is everything with Logan? You seemed to not want to leave him alone much.”
He sighed. “He loses time, Hev. He goes to bed some nights and wakes up in a different place—not even in the apartment and he can’t remember anything.”