Free The Bubble Gum Thief by Jeff Miller

laughed.
    “
We
?” He shook his head and smiled. “This isn’t exactly inspiring confidence.”
    “I didn’t realize you were such a wimp about getting a little wet.”
    “I didn’t realize that I was supposed to bring a bucket.” They jumped off the
Danschweida
and walked it back to the crane, then lifted the boat into the air and drained the water from the hull. Dagny plugged the drain, and they lowered the boat back into the water and readied it for sailing once again.
    The sails caught wind, and they headed north, around the lighted jetty extending from the airport runway toward the Jefferson Memorial. When the wind died down, Mike reached into his backpack and retrieved a thermos. Hot chocolate. A hundred and thirteen molten calories, Dagny thought. But she neededevery one of them, and it would keep her warm. She leaned back against Mike’s chest as they floated on the Potomac. He put his arm across her and kissed her cheek. “It’s nice, isn’t it?” she asked.
    “It’s wonderful.”
    Aside from the roar of the occasional airplane, they drifted in a comfortable silence...until Dagny’s phone rang.
    Dagny looked at the screen. “Oh God.”
    “Who is it?”
    “My mother.” She had dodged her mother’s last three calls. It didn’t feel right to dodge a fourth.
    “You should take it.”
    Before she could decide what to do, Mike grabbed the phone, tapped the screen, and held it to her ear.
    “Sorry, Mom. I’ve been tied up.” Dagny pulled away from Mike and slapped his arm with the back of her hand. “How are you doing?”
    “I’m worried sick, that’s how. You know I worry when you don’t answer your phone. Is that why you took that job—so that I could worry all the time?”
    “Yes, Mom. That’s why I joined the FBI.” Mike smirked and she hit him again. “You know I just sit at a desk all day.” She had told this lie a thousand times.
    “Then why do you carry that gun?”
    “Because we all have to, Mom. It’s just the rules.”
    “I don’t like it one bit.”
    Her mother’s calls were always like this. “Why are you calling, Mom?”
    “Because I miss my daughter, that’s why. How’s that man you’re dating?”
    “Just fine, Mom.”
    “Is he treating you well?”
    “Very much so.”
    “Do you think he could be the one?”
    “I don’t even know what that means, Mom.”
    “Of course you do. Why do you have to be so difficult?”
    “Look, Mom—”
    “Dagny, just tell me if you’re falling in love with him.”
    “I can’t talk about that right now.”
    “Why not? Oh, wait a minute. Is he there right now?”
    “Yes, Mom.”
    “Can I talk to him?”
    “Absolutely not.”
    “I talked to Herb Roseman the other day. They need help in their litigation department.”
    “I’m done with law, Mom, and I’m not moving back to St. Louis.”
    “You’d make more money, Dagny. And you wouldn’t have to carry that awful gun.”
    “I’m happy doing what I’m doing, Mom.”
    “Are you eating?”
    “Yes, Mom. I am.”
    “I want to get one of those camera things so I can see if you’re eating.”
    “You don’t even have a computer.”
    “I want to get one. That’s what I’m saying.”
    “We’re not getting webcams.”
    “Well, we’ll talk about that later. But I—”
    “Can I call you back later?”
    “You promise you will?”
    “Yes, Mom.”
    “Tell Mike I said hi.”
    “I will.”
    “No, I mean right now.”
    “Mom, I have to go.”
    “Call me later.”
    “Okay.”
    “I love you, Dagny.”
    “I love you, too.” Dagny hung up the phone, and then screamed.
    Mike wrapped his strong arms around her, pressing her back against his chest, and kissed her neck. “Desk job, huh?”
    “She worries enough already.”
    “I worry, too.”
    It hadn’t occurred to Dagny that Mike would worry about her. “I’m just in class now. There’s nothing to worry about.”
    “And when the course is over?”
    “Back to work.”
    “More gunfights in New