She dials a familiar number, no longer staring at the roster of contacts against the wall. Fingers twisting the cord, she hitches her breath waiting for each dial tone to connect to a voice.

"Yo, this is May's tailor. On how can we serve you today?" A voice answers. Jill quietly sighs a breath of relief, she made the call in time before he closed shop.

"I would like to speak to you." Her voice casual with no lace of nervousness. A result of constantly rehearsing her greeting.
"Oh?" The man on the other end answers, a tinge of curiosity.
"And what is so dire that you'd like to speak to me about?" He feigned disbelief.

She starts to laugh, catching his act. She doesn't realize he is embarrassed. The man holds onto the phone, a smile escaping his grasp. "Are you done miss?"

"Yes of course. I'm sorry. There is nothing that is an emergency. I just wanted a casual conversation with you."

He hoped that she did not hear him swallow noisily. The man was flustered, was it weird to become affected by a woman he had never seen before? They both lived in two separate towns yet it felt like she was right next to him, her presence being as physical as his.

"Mason are you still there?"

"Of course." He quickly answered not realizing how silent he had been.

"The shop has been busy lately." He cuts, attempting to regain control.
"It must be the holidays that are driving customers here."
"Is that so?" She asks curiously.
"Yes I believe so. I've received many orders for holiday dresses and sweaters. It has been a busy week." He reflected the week in the store with customers walking inside and calls coming in back and forth. Mason felt glad to receive Jill's call amidst all of the business, even if that meant going home an hour later.

"What are your plans for cooking?" She asked timidly, unsure if it was safe to discuss his favorite hobby. He had been bullied for it yet with her, Mason gladly started to describe what he had planned for serving at the holiday dinner. The young man would be spending it with his grandmother, something he saw as a mundane activity. Jill would be spending it alone. Farm work never giving her a day off and her family a far away visit. She would never admit to him that she was quite jealous of Mason.

Jill gave all her attention to the man on the phone. They talked about clothing and wallpaper designs as well as the weather.

"It's snowing over there?" She asked surprised.
"Yes of course! Although we are a bit apart the weather is the same." Jill started to blush. On the other end Mason turned a tinge of pink as well. Suddenly he wished they were together in the room. The snow falling outside made him realize how lonely he was.

"Jill?"

"Hmm?" He didn't want to let her go but it was beyond closing time and he didn't want his grandmother to be concerned.

"Aren't you cold working outside all day?" She stared down towards the kitchen floor in thought.

"You get used to it. Especially when you're always moving."

"Have you received the latest order Jill?"
She smiled. The box had been delivered that day to her porch but was still left unopened. Her real delight however, was in talking to a particular seller of a far off town.

"Yes, I'm not really sure why the box is so big though. I don't recall ordering a lot this time." She answered honestly.

"Just open it when you get the chance."

"Look Jill, I must get going. I really love our conversations lets continue off another day." He hanged up as soon as the words left him . Mason felt afraid that she would realize his confession. Jill still held on to the phone after he had hanged up. Her heart beating rapidly and her mind trying to process what he had just said. Although it was quite obvious that he enjoyed talking to her, hearing the actual words threw her off balance. She felt warmer than usual and blaming it on illness, went to bed. Love-struck.