Gemotions

The phone vibrated insistently against the counter. Amelia stared at it, the caller ID displaying "Ben." She didn't want to answer. She knew what was coming. The text had been vague, but she knew the gist. She finally answered and pressed the phone to her ear.

She heard a flurry of excited words, all about a new career, a chance to start over, the sunnier climate, and a city she had always wanted to live in. Amelia stood frozen, holding the phone. Her fingers were twisting a strand of her hair into a tight coil.

She only managed a few clipped responses, her replies cut short and unenthusiastic. When he finished speaking, she said the minimum she could and hung up.