After Eleven: Liv & Callum

Can I Call You?(Olivia)

Me: Can I call you?

Cal: Everything okay?

Me: It's not an emergency but I do really need to talk to you.

Cal: Can it wait until tomorrow?

Why do I feel like I'm pulling teeth?

Me: Not really. Do you have 5-10 minutes?

Cal: Why can't we just text? It's easier for me while I'm at work.

Me: I just need to talk to you.

Cal: Fine, give me two minutes to ask my colleagues to excuse me and then I'll call you when I'm out.

It takes him 7 minutes.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"They really didn't want to let you go, did they?"

"Huh? Liv, is everything okay?"

"I just meant that it took you a while to call, they must have not wanted to let you go."

"Yeah, it took a second. You know this pitch has been intense and I had to explain why I was stepping out of our brainstorming session." His tone is tight and rushed, and I can't hear my partner in the words that he's saying or the way that he's talking to me.

"Who's in your brainstorming session?"

"Jesus, Liv, one of the other consultants that you haven't met. What's going on? What did you need to talk about in the middle of the day?"

"I wish that I could meet her tonight, at the happy hour. It sucks that Andrea can't keep Annie tonight which means that I can't go."

Cal lets out a whoosh of air on the other line, but I don't pause too long.

"Did you lie to your coworkers and tell them that I couldn't come tonight?"

"Olivia-I." But he doesn't finish his sentence. The pause is so long that, if I couldn't hear his breath, I wouldn't know that he was still on the line.

"It feels like you lied, Callum. Do you not want me to be there?"

"It's not that I don't want you to be there, I just know that Annie wears you out during the day and you've been trying to get more contracts signed so that you can rebuild your clientele independently. I didn't want you to feel obligated to come to my things as well."

That car is finally cool enough, but maybe I left that a/c on too high because my fingers feel stiff around my steering wheel. I take a moment to turn the a/c down but I don't feel any rush of warmth.

"I wish that you would have asked me, Cal. It put Jaime in an uncomfortable position when she realized that I didn't know about it, and it made me feel really small when I had to admit that you didn't even ask me. Have I made it seem as if I feel obliged to go in the past?"

"I just know how busy you've been with trying to get clients and-," I'm rude, and I interrupt him here.

"I already have contracts signed and I've had the same work schedule for the last few weeks. I told you that last week."

"Well I'm sorry that I forgot what you told me." Why does he sound annoyed with me? I don't know how to respond to that bullshit apology.

"So are you coming tonight?" Is he kidding?

"No. I am not coming and I would appreciate it if you would only stay for a little while. I really want to talk this out, Cal. My feelings are hurt and Andrea can keep Annie for the night so that we can get this figured out."

"Why can't you just stay up a little later when I get home? WHy do I have to come home early? It's important for me to network and we have to do teambuilding to make it work with all of the new people we hired for this pitch. These things are important for me, Liv."

"Cal, the new people have been on your team for 6 weeks already and I don't see how you're going to do any new networking with Josh from Change Management who has been there for 6 years."

"Well that's because you don't have to get it! But I'm expected to be at these things, even if you don't tag along. You always go to bed super early, why can't you just stay up for an extra 20 minutes so that we can talk."

"I can compromise and stay up a little later but I would also like you to come home earlier. You said that you wouldn't be home until 9:30 or 10 and I still have to get up with Annie tomorrow."

"Fine, what if I got home at 9?"

"Sure."

"Okay."

What do you even say after a conversation like this ?

"I have to go, I'm being waved back in. The picture of Annie was cute, thanks for sending it." As olive branches go, it was anemic and stilted.

"9?"

"Yeah, I'll see you at 9."