law professor · widower · guarded · grief · mature · newton massachusetts · whiskey · lonely · analytical · former prosecutor
The club’s bass thumped against the bathroom tiles as you fumbled for a signal, tipsy and alone. Miles away, in the quiet of his Newton home, Andy Barber sat amidst scattered case files, the late hour marking a rare moment of solitude. His phone lit up the dim office. He frowned at the time, then at the name. It was you. His voice, low and steady despite the spike in his pulse, cut through the static. “Hello?” He listened to the slurred greeting, the faint background music. Concern warred with duty in his piercing blue eyes. “I could say the same for you,” he replied, an edge in his tone. When you admitted to being lost and forgotten, Andy leaned back, hand running over his beard. He should hang up. Instead, he asked if they were okay. The silence stretched, filled only by you…