Speaker #0Hello? Oh, hey sweetie. It's kinda late, what's up? Oh, no! I said you could call anytime. I'm honestly glad you're taking advantage of it. What's going on? I'm sorry. No, no, I'm just, um, well, I was, I was asleep. Yeah, it's a couple hours later here, remember? No, like I said, it's fine. I thought you were like at the phone or something, so I probably sounded pissed when I answered the phone, but I'm glad it's you. So was there something you wanted to talk about in particular? Oh, okay. You just had a really tough day. Well, honestly, I did too. I'm sorry I'm so far away. I feel like there's nothing I can really do to help. Oh yeah? Just talking to me helps? Mmm. You romantic fool. But I guess you're right. Just hearing your voice, Anna, has already made it all the better. So what happened today? Why are you upset? Oh, sweetie. I missed you too. So, so much. It's actually crazy. Yeah, I was pretty naive when we started this. I thought the long distance would be a lot easier than it is. But getting home and not seeing your face is like a stab to the heart every time. I know it sounds like I'm being dramatic, but... Seeing you was the best part of my day. And it's just really sad that I don't get to now. And it's even like, you know, there are times where I feel like it's okay that I'm not seeing you every single day. But even when we didn't live together, I would still see you. very regularly and we would cuddle and we would talk and I would brush my hands through your hair and just not getting to do any of that anymore it's it's really hard I'm kind of relieved to hear you feel the same way yeah I know it sounds bad I'm not I'm not happy that you're sad but I am glad that you bear the feeling of loneliness or just not being able to see your person. It sucks. I'm glad you feel the same way about me that I feel about you, you know? Yeah. Doesn't make it suck any less, but... So, let's... let's imagine it. Yeah, I'm stuck here. You're stuck there. There's not really a lot we can do about that. But I don't feel like all of our time on the phone should be about what we don't get to have. So, let's just... Close your eyes. do it. And let's together imagine what we'd do if I was with you right now. Yeah. So, I just got back from work. And where are you? In the living room, watching TV, okay? Winding down from your day. When I come in... And I sit down next to you. And I give you a kiss on the cheek. And then I grab your hand. And I ask you what you're watching. Which you say... Okay. Good. That's fine. Even though I don't really like that one, I'm okay watching it with you. I interlock my fingers with yours, and I put my head on your shoulder. And we just wind down from our day and relax together. And then we'll... Yeah, I think that's accurate. You tell me that you had a tough day, and I offer to play with your hair. So I tell you, rest your head on that one. And you do. And I start playing with your hair. And I tell you how much I love you and how I can play with it all day. scratch your skull with my nails, give you a tiny little bit of massage, while you tell me all about your day, I run my fingers through your hair, and I just let you bend, and I listen, and I tell you that I really, really care. But I hope tomorrow is better. Because you deserve better. And then I'll... Right. We have to make dinner. So, we both get up. And we decide what we're gonna eat together. I'm feeling... Chinese food. Oh, right. You tell me we have to cook what we have. Okay. So we go over to the kitchen. And we start prepping food together. I dice the onions because you've never learned how. That's not an indictment. That's just fact. So you peel the carrots? Yeah? Okay. And we both work side by side, together. Maybe you put some music on the Bluetooth speaker on your phone. And even though we're doing different things, and it's a chore, we just get to be together. I'm making myself sad. I just miss that. I miss being near you. I miss knowing you're in the other room, even if they're not actively with me or we're not engaging. I just feel like knowing you guys. Right. Okay. So we make dinner and then we sit down. On the couch. Because we're really bad about eating on the actual dining room table. But we sit down on the couch. With our food. And we joke together. And we laugh. About how you can't base onions. On something. And then we cuddle. When everything's done. After we've put our plates away, we lie on the couch together, and I play with your hair some more, and we pick a comfy, cozy movie to watch together, and we just get to fall and relax and enjoy each other's company. I make silly comments about the movie, and you make weirdly accurate predictions about how it'll end. And we just exist. and I wear five blankets to year one because I'm always cold and you're always hot but even though we're not under the same blankets together we have the same room we have the same bed I go to sleep And neither of us stays awake thinking about how much we want to be in the same room as them. Okay. How was that? Did it help at all? Good. It would have helped me too, even though it did actually make me kind of sad. Don't worry, sweetie. Soon, we will be able to do that again. Once I finish up here, I will move back to you, and we will get to do that every single night. I will make sure of it. I absolutely cannot wait. You are my favorite thing, and that will never change. It doesn't matter how far away I go, or how many other people I meet, or how stressed I am, or how tired. You, you are my favorite. Hearing your voice always makes me happy. Seeing your smile always calms me down. It doesn't matter where we are. You're always going to be my person. Okay? Okay. I can rest easier now, you know. But it is really like that. And I am going pretty tired as well. I love you. Okay. Just remember what he said. I miss you. So, so, so much. I love you. Okay. I'll see you soon. Bye.