Coming Home(13)

The muffled sound of her phone ringing inside her purse snapped Leah out of her daze, and she immediately glanced down at the clock on the dashboard.

It was after eleven.

Few things made her more anxious than an unexpected late-night call.

With one hand on the wheel, she leaned over to the passenger seat and began rummaging through her purse. As soon as her hand wrapped around it, she swiped her thumb over the screen and pulled it out of the bag, hoping she made it before the call went to voice mail.

“Hello?”

“Hi. Um…is this Leah?”

Her brow drew together as she pulled the phone away from her ear, squinting at the screen before bringing her eyes back to the road.

“Yes, this is Leah,” she said cautiously. “Who is this?”

“It’s Danny.”

Danny? Who the hell was Danny?

When she didn’t say anything, he added, “We met the other day.”

And then it clicked.

“Oh! At Catherine’s house?”

“Yeah. She gave me your number so I could…oh shit. I just realized what time it is. Did I wake you up?”

“No, it’s fine. I’m actually driving home right now and trying not to fall asleep at the wheel, so you waking me up is a good thing.” She sat up a little straighter, hoping he was calling her with good news.

“Alright, well I just wanted to tell you that I think I found your bracelet.”

“Oh my God!” Leah gasped. “You’re serious? You really found it? Please say you found it. You’re not messing with me, are you?”

He laughed lightly. “Well, if I were messing with you, I’d feel pretty shitty about it now.”

“You’re being serious? You have it?”

“A gold bracelet. Kind of looks like it’s braided? Three diamonds in the side?”

Leah exhaled heavily as her eyes filled with tears. “Yes,” she whispered.

“I have it right here. It was on the floor in the guest room.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you,” Leah sighed. “I can’t even tell you how relieved I am right now. Will Catherine be around tomorrow? I can come down and get it.”

“Well actually, that’s what I’m calling about. I’m gonna be in White Plains tomorrow meeting a friend for lunch. Gram said you lived an hour north, so I figured White Plains is probably about halfway for you, right? Do you want to just meet there? I figured it would shorten your drive a little.”

“Sure, that works. Where are you having lunch?”

“Uh…The Cheesecake Factory. On Maple Avenue. Do you know where that is?”

“Yep. I’ve been there a few times.”

“Alright, cool. I’ll be there around one,” he said

“Perfect. Really, Daniel, thank you so much.”

“Danny.”

“What?”

“You can call me Danny. No one really calls me Daniel.”

“Oh, okay. Well, Danny, you seriously just made my night.”

“Glad I could be of service,” he laughed. “So I’ll see you tomorrow at one?”

“Tomorrow at one. Thanks again.”

“No problem. Good night, Leah.”

“Good night.”

Leah ended the call, tossing the phone onto the passenger seat before turning on the radio. She cranked it up, singing along while she drummed her fingers along the side of the steering wheel.

She felt like she could run a marathon right now.