They talked on the phone for hours. Long distance. He was four hours ahead.

She told him about her night. Waiting on truckers and folding highchairs. Pouring coffee, serving pie, and smiling the whole time. She threw away dreams.

And, he said he wanted to move there. See her in person. Told her he liked her pictures; the ones in the swimsuit. He carried a polaroid in his wallet. Showed her to men at work in the lunch room. Said, that’s my woman. They were all impressed.

On the phone, you can be anything you want to be. He wanted to be a country singer. Said he wrote songs in her honor. He’d put the phone on speaker and sing to her from his rented room. Sang about loneliness and heartache. Told stories through songs about loving her for eternity. She smiled on the other end. A kid cried in the background.

She rocked her baby asleep. Whispered into the speaker, I love you, babe; pulled the pacifier gently from the child’s mouth and told him it was time for her to go.

They kissed from a long distance. Told each other goodnight. And then softly touched the phone to hang up. He strummed a few chords, and she put the baby back to bed.

The sun was coming up in Nashville.