Ace of Hearts
Her heart jumped a little every time he called. Not because she didn’t want to hear from him. (She did. Always.) And not because it surprised her, really. Mostly it was because they didn’t use the phone, and in recent years a call meant something big. Her head played a game to the tune of his ringtone. Marriage? Pregnancy? Africa? Haircut? They had each loved the other once or twice though never at the same time and rarely out loud. Eventually they decided against it, falling into a comfortable rhythm of sharing important things and wishing it were a bit more.