Jack had already wandered away, getting the woman on the line. An emergency, he stressed. Theater, he told her.

Jack held the phone away from his ear as a shrill scolding lilted from the speaker.

He pressed it to his chest, looked at Eliot, and held up a finger while she got it out of her system.

"So that's a yes, right?" Jack grinned, returning the phone to his ear. "Brunch, tomorrow, The White Sage. I love you, you know that?"

Gwen hung up.