Chapter 10
It turns into a nightly ritual, one Alan looks forward to all day long. After Brooks heads up to bed, Jim calls and Alan easily loses three or four hours chatting with the detective. They talk about any- and everything, from how work was to what they dreamed of the night before. Often they end up all talked out; when that happens, Alan simply listens to the sound of Jim’s breath in his ear, enjoying the comfortable silence between them.
By the end of the week, their phone calls have become such a routine, Alan can’t quite remember what it was like when they weren’t talking to each other every day. It’s hard to believe he used to drop Brooks off at the mall in an attempt to…what? Get Jim to notice him? Talk to him? Go out with him?
If I’d known how easy it was going to be, I c
