Ink and Heartstrings

Across Miles and Mischief

The next morning, Maria woke up early, her thoughts immediately drifting to Alan. After last night’s quiet, meaningful conversation with her father, she felt the need to share everything with Alan. Though they had been apart for a few days, it felt like weeks. She missed him the ease of their conversations, the warmth of his laugh, the way he could make everything feel lighter with just a few words.

As she lay in bed, the soft morning light filtering through the curtains, she grabbed her phone and sent Alan a message.

Maria: "Morning, love! Need to talk. Last night was... a lot. Miss you. Call when you’re free. ❤️"

She rolled out of bed, already feeling a little better after sending the text. As she got ready for the day, her phone buzzed with a response from Alan.

Alan: "Hey, babe. I’m in a meeting but I’ll call you in an hour. Hang tight. Miss you too. ❤️"

Maria sighed. She knew Alan’s schedule was packed, especially with his latest project deadlines looming, but she couldn’t help feeling a little impatient. She wanted to talk to him now to get everything off her chest. But Alan was always the calm one between them, and she reminded herself that he would call soon enough.

She spent the next hour working on her latest manuscript, trying to lose herself in the flow of words. But her mind kept drifting back to Alan, to their last conversation before she left for New York, and to everything that had happened with her family since. It was all intertwined now work, family, and her relationship with Alan making her head spin.

Just as she was about to dive back into her writing, her phone buzzed. Alan was calling.

Maria answered on the first ring.

Maria: "Finally!"

Alan’s laugh came through the phone, instantly making her feel lighter.

Alan: "Someone’s impatient this morning. Miss me that much?"

Maria: (smiling) "You have no idea. Last night was just... heavy. I talked to my dad, and it got really emotional. I just needed to talk to you after."

Alan’s voice softened.

Alan: "I’m glad you talked to him, though. It sounds like it was a good conversation?"

Maria: "It was. But now I feel like I have a million things to figure out. I’m trying to juggle everything, Alan, and it’s like... I just want to solve everything in one day, you know? My work, my family, you..."

Alan chuckled.

Alan: "Classic Maria. You always want to fix everything at once. Babe, slow down. We don’t have to have all the answers right now."

Maria: (half-joking) "But I’m a problem-solver! If I don’t figure things out right away, it feels like they’ll just pile up and suffocate me."

Alan could hear the tension in her voice and responded with playful teasing, trying to lighten the mood.

Alan: "Well, if you try to solve everything in one day, I’m going to have to step in and stop you. I can’t have you losing your mind over things that can wait."

Maria: (laughing) "Oh, so now you’re the problem-solver? Since when?"

Alan: "Since always. You just haven’t noticed because you’re too busy trying to solve my problems too."

Maria: "That’s because you never tell me when something’s wrong. You’re all 'I’m fine, Maria' while your entire world is on fire."

Alan: (mock-serious) "I’m British. It’s what we do. Stiff upper lip and all that."

Maria rolled her eyes, feeling a little lighter now that they were teasing each other. But underneath it all, there was still the weight of the distance between them. She missed him so much, and the playful bickering couldn’t fully mask that.

Maria: (softly) "I just miss you. This long-distance thing is hard. We’re both so busy, and it feels like we’re always juggling our schedules just to find time to talk."

Alan’s tone grew more serious.
Alan: "I know, love. I miss you too. But this is just a phase, right? It’s not always going to be like this. We’ll find our rhythm again."

Maria: "I hope so. Sometimes it feels like the distance is making everything more complicated."

Alan hesitated for a moment before responding.

Alan: "I think we’re just making it complicated. We’re both so driven work, family, everything else it’s like we forget to just... be. Maybe we just need to focus on enjoying the moments we do get together instead of stressing over the ones we don’t."

Maria: "Easy for you to say. You’re not the one up at 2 a.m. dealing with an editorial deadline while also trying to figure out if you accidentally insulted your mom because you didn’t have time to call her back."

Alan: "Hey, I’m up at 2 a.m. too. Mostly thinking about how much trouble you’re causing."

Maria: (laughing) "Oh, sure. Blame me."

They both laughed, the tension easing even further. There was something about Alan’s ability to make light of things that always helped Maria find her footing again. Even when she was overwhelmed by work and life, he had this way of making everything seem a little more manageable.

Alan: "Look, we’ll figure it out. We always do. I’ll be back in London in a few days, and we can talk more then. In the meantime, stop trying to fix everything at once, okay? Take a deep breath, enjoy the process."

Maria: "And what do I do in the meantime? Just sit here and let the chaos reign?"

Alan:  (grinning through the phone) "Yes, exactly. Embrace the chaos. Let it wash over you."

Maria rolled her eyes again, but she couldn’t help smiling.

Maria: "You’re impossible, you know that?"

Alan: "And yet, you love me."

Maria: (smiling) "Yeah, I do. Even though you drive me crazy."

There was a pause on the line, a comfortable silence that settled between them like an old, familiar blanket.

Alan: "I’ll call you tonight, okay? We’ll talk more then. But for now, go easy on yourself. Promise me that?"

Maria: (sighing) "Fine, fine. I promise. But you’d better be ready for more bickering tonight."

Alan: (laughing) "Bring it on, love. I’ll be ready."

After they hung up, Maria felt a little lighter. The conversation hadn’t solved all her problems, but it had reminded her of one simple truth: she wasn’t alone in this. Alan was with her, even if he was thousands of miles away. They would figure things out together, one day at a time even if it meant a little bickering along the way.

For now, she smiled at the thought of their conversation later that night. Work could wait. The chaos could wait. She had Alan, and that was enough.