ThingsI
t was the insistent ringtone of Paolo’s phone that woke Ann up. It took her groggy mind a few moments to process the nature of the repetitive sounds, decide that it was neither a dream nor her own phone, and order her left arm to nudge the man sleeping next to her.
“Pao,” she said. “Someone’s calling you.”
Paolo’s eyes blinked open once, twice, before reaching for the smartphone on the bedside table. He stared at the image on the screen as the ringtone cycled again.
“Who is it?” Ann asked as she sat up, rubbing her eyes before glancing at the small clock-radio on the table on her side of the bed. “Pao, who would call this early?”
Paolo shook his head at her and in one motion sat up and answered the call. “Hello, Sara?” he spoke softly into the phone. “Are you all right? What’s
