“I need to see you,” he says, phone denting his cheek.

She swallows, hard. That “sucking on a penny” taste.

20 minutes later, he rings her doorbell.

“Your dad is dead,” he says, no warmup.

“Oh thank God. I was afraid you were going to tell me you’re leaving me.”

Anne Gudger is a Portland writer who has been lucky to have words in Real Simple Magazine, The Rumpus, Slippery Elm, and more. In November 2017 Anne won two contests: Hippocampus and New Millennium Writings. She lives with her sweet husband, and their grown kids and kid-in-laws live not far.