Me: Oh really?
Kai: Mmm hmm. What are you wearing? Send me a sexy selfie to save me from my work boredom?
Me: You don’t want a photo of me right now. I’m home sick.
Kai: What if that’s my secret kink? Invalid women who are too weak to get out of bed?
Me: STOP IT! Laughing makes my throat hurt.
Kai: Sorry.
Me: How has Sandra seemed this week? Regarding me, I mean.
Kai: Actually, I was going to text you about that. She was pleased with your email. She seems to think you’re her new “in” person at NMCF.
Kai: Aside from your boss. She likes big hunky former football players, apparently.
Me: That’s good!
Me: The part about how she’s pleased with me.
Me: So she hasn’t been sending her private security guys around to spy on me?
Kai: LOL, no. I would know about it.
Me: Yes but are you suuuuuure?
Kai: One of her guys is out of town this week. The others are all hanging out at the convention center this weekend, keeping tabs on all the businesses at the convention.
Kai: You’re not even a blip on her radar.
Me: Whew. Okay.
Kai: Why? Did someone send you a box of feces?
Me: Eww. No. I was just wondering.
Kai: And I’m just wondering if you’ll be healthy enough to meet up Friday night?
Me: I should be! I’ll let you know by Thursday.
Kai: You’d better be. I have some fun new positions to try.
Me: You mean we haven’t already tried them all?
Kai:Not even close.
Me: ooo
Kai’s reassurances worked. But I still felt uneasy afterward. If Sandra wasn’t spying on me, then who was?
Fortunately, I didn’t need to leave the safety of my apartment. I canceled my Tuesday night show and stayed in bed eating more soup. Michael had brought enough to last all week, along with approximately tentonsof crackers. I took another sick day on Wednesday, then was feeling good enough to go back to the office on Thursday. Michael’s office remained dark, though. His instant message status said he was still sick and working from home.
I wondered if I should visit him after work with soup. Repay the favor he had done for me. But when I texted him about it, he told me he didn’t want any visitors because his cold had turned into a full-blown case of the flu.
I respected that. There were some things a person didn’t need to see until they were in a stable relationship.
Relationship.