“Yes, I’d like to speak to a guest you have there. Her name is Jane Ramos,” I replied, hoping that she was there, and we would catch a break.

“Let me see what room she is in, and I can transfer you.” I heard her clicking on the keyboard. Please, let her be there. Please, let her be there. “Alright sir, I’m about to transfer you. You have a great day.”

“Thank you so much.” Relief poured through me. Once the phone rang, I was more nervous than I had ever been. I felt like hanging up, but I knew I needed to talk to her. It kept ringing and after about the tenth ring, I knew she would not answer. Hanging up the phone in disappointment, I knew she didn’t know it was me, but it felt like she was avoiding me. I called the hotel back right away and instead of getting transferred to her room. I left a message.

I love you. We love you. Call us back please. Cal.

When I arrived at the house, I was in a worse mood than when I had left. I threw my keys in our key bowl in the entryway, feeling Tango rub against my legs for attention. I bent down to give him some love, remembering the way Jane was with him. She always made time for him, bringing him treats, belly rubs, and a spot next to her whenever we watched a movie. Our ‘no dogs on the sofa’ rule was quickly thrown out the door when we came home to her on the floor with Tango. We allowed Tango on the sofa only when we invited him, and I swear he was turning into a traitor, preferring her more than us.

The house was eerily quiet, and I was hating it. Aiden was probably holed up in his room doing who knows what. Nathan was also in his room, but he had just had surgery on his hand two days ago. He was probably asleep because the pain meds made him drowsy, and he’d been in a lot of pain since they had to put in a rod and several pins in his wrist.

It was only eleven in the morning, but I decided to see what kind of lunch I could fix for us all. Since Nathan couldn’t cook for us, we’d been eating a lot of take-out, especially since we had been home a lot this week. We were waiting on a shipment of wood and other supplies, so Aiden had Alfredo working with a small crew doing tile work and a few other projects at the Calhoun’s. I was glad he was taking Jane’s advice, and giving Alfredo more responsibility and, of course, more pay.