I pulled a beer from the fridge, popping the cap off with a satisfying hiss.

“You’re not drinking my cream soda, are you?” Hanna asked on the other end of the line.

“Do you really think I would steal your cream soda?” I volleyed back, settling on the couch. “I may be new to this, but I know how marriage works.”

She laughed. “Good. I’ve been saving it.”

“You know,” I told her, missing the heat of her body next to me on the couch, “even if you finish it, you can get another.”

“Hush. I like the anticipation.”

Growling, I said, “I know this about you.”

“Will.” The single syllable was a quiet plea, a gunshot at the beginning of a race.

I draped my arm across my face, working to not get distracted by phone sex. “Let’s play in a minute. Tell me about your day.”

She let out a prolonged exhale and then started. “Welllllll. Let’s see. I think my talk went well. There was a lot of great discussion. And I like the lab space they’ve suggested.”

I waited for more.

Hanna fell silent.

“And?” I prompted. “You like the faculty?”

“They seem great.”

Shifting my arm away, I stared up at the ceiling. “Hanna?”

“What?”

“Are you at all excited about this process?”

“Seriously?” she asked incredulously. “I’m giddy.”

“It’s just not like you to be so tight-lipped about it.”

Sighing, she said, “I’m trying to be contained.”

“With me?”

I could practically see her helpless shrug. “I’m trying to keep my moment-to-moment opinions in check right now. I figured we would talk about it after we have all the information.”

“Yes, you mentioned that, but I’d still prefer to be processing it together as we go,” I told her. “I mean, I know you had to take all day Sunday to think, Hanna, but it’s not like you really told me much of what you were thinking about, other than being annoyed with me. It’s a big move.” I paused, then added, “For both of us.”

“Max reminded me to worry about the job, not the location,” she said. “I mean, you can work from anywhere.”

I sat up, transitioning quickly from relaxed conversation to irritation. “Oh, Max said this?”

“Well, and you did, too,” she added quickly. “Early on you said let’s not worry about location, let’s just see where things fall.”

“Maybe because I expected to be talking about it as we went,” I argued, standing to pace the living room. “But every time it comes up, you say, ‘Let’s wait and see what the choices are.’ At this point, Hanna, the choices are every fucking corner of the globe. Can we at least narrow it down a little? Begin to form a plan?”

“I don’t know which place has the best offer yet!” she argued, voice tight.