The Friendship List(51)

“I’m impressed,” Dagmar said as they drove south on highway 82, heading to Yakima. “You’re finally getting a phone manufactured in this century.”

Unity smiled. “Don’t mock my little flip phone. It’s been very faithful to me.”

“Then you should give it a ceremonial burial when you get home. Something tasteful, with a choir and lots of flowers.”

They were in Dagmar’s car, with Unity driving. The BMW was a nice size, small, but not too small, with all-wheel drive. It handled a whole lot better than Unity’s work van. Dagmar had mentioned the car was a gift from Thaddeus—yet another example of the man’s generosity.

They’d had a good time the other night, she admitted to herself. After the tattoo fiasco, they’d gone out to dinner at a local restaurant. Conversation had flowed easily between them and the evening had zipped by. Being around Thaddeus was getting easier and she appreciated that.

“So what prompted this great change?” Dagmar asked. “I would have sworn you would never voluntarily give up your beloved flip phone.”

“I have a bet with Ellen.” She shrugged. “It’s more of a challenge.” She explained about Cooper and his belief that his mother couldn’t get along without him. She left out the fight, instead talking about how she’d come up with the idea as a way to help her friend.

“Only now I’m thinking it’s probably good for me, too. So I can get out of the rut everyone thinks I’m in.”

She did her best not to sound defensive as she spoke, but wasn’t sure how successful she was.

Dagmar only smiled. “That sounds like an excellent plan and explains the skydiving.”

They drove to the Yakima Verizon store. Once inside, she listened to an explanation about the different iPhones. Unity chose the simplest model they had, then agonized over the different cases.

“You’ll want something sturdy,” Dagmar told her. “With the work you do, you need your phone protected. But you can still get a pretty color.”

More quickly than she would have thought, her credit card was charged and the new phone was hers.

When the transaction was complete, she and Dagmar took a seat in the back of the store and waited for the phone to finish activating. Given that she was starting with no apps and no contacts, it didn’t take long.

Dagmar showed her how to work the basic functions. Unity quickly input Ellen’s number, then Thaddeus’s.

“I want to text Ellen,” she said.

“You should. Let me show you the emojis.”

Dagmar pushed a couple of buttons, then showed her the smiley face. “They’re all there. Hundreds of them. Once you start using a few, they’ll stay up front, where they’re easy to keep using. Oh, and beware of the eggplant.” She waggled her eyebrows. “That’s the symbol for a penis.”

“An eggplant? Poor vegetable. Why does it have to be a penis?”

“I don’t know, dear, but it does.”

Unity typed in a text to Ellen.

I have a new phone—one that texts. Take that, tattoo girl.
Seconds later, three dots appeared on the screen.

“That means she’s answering you,” Dagmar told her. “This is so exciting.”

Welcome to a brave new world. I’m so proud of you. How’s it going?
Great. I’m excited about the phone. How did it go with Jeremy and Coop?
He got back about an hour ago and didn’t say much. Only that he had a really good time and his dad is cool.
You worried?
Yes, but I’ll deal. Gotta go. Love you.
Love you, too.
Unity clutched the phone to her chest. “I think I love it. Is that wrong?”

“Of course not. Apple love is pure.”

They drove back to Willowbrook. When Unity was about to turn into Silver Pines, Dagmar shook her head.

“Go around the back way,” she said, patting Unity’s arm. “I want to show you something.”

“Sounds mysterious.”

She circled around Silver Pines, heading north. Just beyond the retirement community was a big, fancy golf course. There were two in the area. The public one out by the interstate and this one, which was private. Unity had never played golf and she didn’t run in private club circles, so she’d never been on the grounds.

As they approached, Dagmar pointed to an entrance to a residential community.

“In there,” she said.

Unity glanced at her. “Are you moving? Why would you leave Silver Pines? It has everything.”

“I’m not going anywhere. This is for you.”

Unity immediately pulled to the side of the road. Tension formed a knot in her stomach, making her want to get out of the car and run so far, no one could ever find her.

She drew in several slow breaths, then looked at her friend. “What are you doing?”

“Showing you a townhome. It’s just an open house. I happened to see an ad for it and thought of you.”

“Did Thaddeus tell you?”

Dagmar looked confused. “Tell me what?”

“Looking at houses is on my challenge list.”

“He never mentioned that, darling. The first I heard of your competition was when you told me a couple of hours ago.” She smiled. “But it is interesting that all your friends have the same notion.”