THIRTY-EIGHT
Jason had just sat down on the couch with his mid-morning coffee when the phone rang. Flavia was still fast asleep, so his first thought was to hope it didn't wake her, followed by a second, more alarming one: why the f**k was the phone ringing at all? Hadn't the helicopter crashed into the satellite dish and cut off all communications, phone and internet alike?
Bemused, he picked up the receiver. "Hello?"
"Finally. No, don't tell me what I interrupted. I don't want to know," Xan said.
Jason took a loud slurp from his cup. "Drinking coffee. Happy?"
"Surprised, maybe. That's all. I called to tell you the phones are fixed."
Jason snorted. "Yeah, I figured something weird was going on, when my broken phone rang. How?"
Xan laughed. "Call it a miracle, because I barely belie
