I said goodbye and laid the phone on its cradle. Rosa had rolled over in the bed, and I felt the soft crush of her breasts against my back. It was still early.

I got a call from my dad one night, a Tuesday, and he told me a story about Steven. Being out of state, and pretty heavily in love with Rosa, I really hadn’t put much thought toward the people who had stayed behind.

“Where did you see Steven Metzger?” I asked.

“Well, just listen. I was about ready for bed, and was locking up the house, checking the windows, you know. I went to the back door, locked it, and then I looked out at the garage.”

“Yeah...?”

“Yeah.” He paused for emphasis. “There was a strange shape on the lawn in the back, just underneath the peach tree. It looked like a body.”

“You still getting peaches off that?” I said.

“Yes, Drew. I’ll send you some. Now listen. I opened the door and called out, ‘Is somebody there?’ After a long while, the shape says, ‘Steven Metzger, sir.’ Can you believe it? So I say, ‘Well, what are you doing laying in the grass at one in the morning, in my backyard?’”

The glow from the lamp next to our bed was drifting down onto Rosa’s body, warming her skin. I slid my palm between her sleeping shoulder blades. Just a simple touch, and I was wanting her again.

“Well, then what?” I said.

“Drew, he was just lying out there spread-eagle and staring at the sky. I asked him again what he was doing out there, and he said, ‘Just watching Rigel, and waiting for Drew.’”

I heard the sound of running water through the telephone line all the way from Michigan. “That’s pretty weird. Did he leave?”

“Well, I told him you didn’t live here anymore, that you had been living in Boulder for--”

“Dad, you didn’t tell him where I live, did you?”

“I don’t think he heard me.” The water stopped running. “Listen, I’m really sorry if I let something slip. You didn’t tell your mother or me that we weren’t supposed to--”

“It’s OK, Dad. Really.”

“--keep your whereabouts a secret. Anyway, after that he just stood up and walked out the back gate and into the field.” I heard static on the line. “What’s the matter with that kid? Does he use drugs, Drew?"

Rosa said something in her sleep. She was waking up. “Not anymore,” I said. “Far as I know.”

I said goodbye and laid the phone on its cradle. Rosa had rolled over in the bed, and I felt the soft crush of her breasts against my back. It was still early.