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Me: Unfortunately. Have you seen Robin lately?

Mike: Here and there. Why?

Me: She’s been kind of distant

Mike: Shit, sorry. Can’t be easy for you both.

Me: Yeah, it sucks. I don’t know what to do

My phone rings a second later with an incoming call from Mike. Quickly, I leave the bar to take the call outside.

“Hey,” I say, looking up and down the quiet street.

“Thought it would be better to call,” Mike’s deep voice comes from the other end.

I lean against the building’s brick wall and bite my lip. Neither one of us speaks for a minute, and I know he’s giving me a moment to gather my thoughts.

“I’m making her unhappy,” I mutter.

“You are not. The distance is making her unhappy.”

“Same difference. How did she look when you last saw her? Besides absolutely beautiful, of course.”

Mike laughs. “Of course. I don’t know, I saw her when I was working and she looked fine.”

“Fine?”

“I don’t know what to tell you.”

I sigh and run my fingers through my hair. “Just be honest.”

“She didn’t look happy. But she didn’t look miserable, either. Just more quiet than usual, I guess.”

A loud motorcycle drives by, and I watch as it speeds down the street, getting smaller and smaller until it disappears from view. My stomach twists when I think about Robin watching me ride away––the person she trusted with her heart––and disappear from her life.

“I think I’m losing her.” The words come out as a whisper, but he hears me.

“What makes you think that?”

“It’s only been a few weeks, but she seems distant. We only communicate by joking around. We never talk about anything serious.”

There’s a brief pause on the other end of the line. “I’m sorry. Do you want me to talk to her?”

I shake my head, even though he can’t see me. “Thank you, but no. I think that would just … it would make her disappear even more.”

“Can you come visit? Talk to her yourself? She’d be happy to see you, I’m sure.”

“Yeah,” I say, scratching my jaw. “I want to come soon, but I’m scared. What if things feel different now? It already feels like there’s this wall between us that wasn’t there before.”

“Only way to find out is to show up. I get you. I really do. But if you’re scared of losing her and you stay away … I just think you guys need to talk.”

“Yeah.”

“Was there ever a plan to end this long-distance relationship? I don’t mean breaking up. But do you think that you’ll eventually live in the same city?”

“Yeah,” I mutter again. My answer is vague, but he doesn’t push. “I got offered a promotion. My boss desperately wants me to take it. It’s sort of a critical time for the company right now; there’ll be a lot of big changes over the next few months. I’m kind of expected to take it. And Sarah wants me to help with Mira on some weekdays again.” It’s nice that I can finally talk to him about my sister.

“I hear a lot of wants, but none of them are yours. What do you want?”