The phone made its annoying plea for attention again. It made that troublesome sound that used to be so warming. It was now the death knell of temporary peace and happiness. Regina rolled over and pushed away the sheets. Jenny turned her head and furrowed her gorgeous in a barely conscious rebuke.
"Is that you phone?" Jenny slurred in a sleepy growl.
"Sorry Baby. I'm getting it, now." Regina responded sheepishly.
She lifted the cell phone off of the glass top night stand with a slow, trepidatious movement. She saw her husbands name and picture on the screen. He had always been so handsome. He had always been so...Right? Is that what she meant to say in her mind? He looked alien, now. His wide jawline, aquiline nose, and brown eyes seemed like those of a stranger she had not known in years.
She swiped the screen to answer.
It took a little too long for her to begin to speak. She had drawn in a deep breath and, somewhere deep in her mind, had slipped into the cloak of perfect innocence and normality.
"Hey." She drew this lonely word out unnaturally.
"Hello, my little Reggie! How you doing, Sexy?"
"Umm, I'm..." She began as she got out of bed carefully and attempted a retreat from the place where she and Jenny had spent the last few evenings making love.
"Are you okay? You sound really nervous." Phillip probed with genuine concern.
"I...I'm fine. Are you okay?" She returned clumsily.
"Yeah. Reggie, are you sure? You haven't answered most of my calls and you seem really off, lately. Is everything okay with you and Jenny."
A spark hit the flammable material of her conscience.
"Leave Jenny out of this!" She barked.
"Out of what? I was just calling to talk to you. I miss you. You haven't picked up the last three times I've called. I'm worried." Phillip's voice revealed hurt and confusion.
Regina cursed in her mind. She was a bundle of nerves since Jenny had taken her. She felt guilty for cheating. She felt the pain of broken trust most acutely because she had broken that trust. She also felt resentment. What she had wanted, no, needed, Jenny knew instinctively. Phillip had never given her that. He had never even asked about what she wanted, really. Things had just, well, happened. They did not talk about sex. They did not really explore sex. Mostly, sex just happened. As good as it was, she knew that it could be so much better. If only he was more like her. If only he could be more like her Jenny.
Regina ran her fingers through her frizzy red hair and collected her thoughts for a moment.
"I'm sorry, P Bear." She managed, "I'm stressed about being apart and my book is coming slowly."
"Sweet, I'm sorry. I know things are difficult, for the moment. You're a great writer. You will finish it when you finish it. The world will just have to be patient and wait for the greatness that is my Reggie. I won't be over here more than a month or so more. Then we can..."
"Whoa! A month more? What?" Regina felt an odd, inexplicable panic.
"Yeah, Reggie, I want to talk to you about that." Phillip's voice drifted into an apologetic tone again. "We are being asked to help with some new pipeline
failsafes in a new branch of this facility. I just have to be here to make sure that