MARI

"No, I don’t want to speak to a supervisor. Can’t you just tell me?" I pleaded with the associate on the phone, but she didn’t listen and placed me on hold.

I rested my head in my hands on the kitchen table while light jazz music filtered into the speaker, and even the ocean view from Pierce’s kitchen didn’t soothe my aggravation. A new day dawned on Pelican Bay, but I couldn’t get the memory of my kiss with Oliver the afternoon before out of my ...