Scott was sound asleep when the phone rang.
"Are you awake?" Jolene shouted. Scott mumbled something. How could he still be asleep, she asked. It was almost noon. He told her that he hadn't gone to sleep until 6 a.m. Jolene told him to get up, and come pick her up. They had to go to the store to return the birthday gift he had given her.
It was a tangerine plant. The leaves were curling up. It was going to die, she said. "Curling leaves means the plant is going to die?" Scott asked. Of course, she told him.
"Look, honey," he asked, "let me go back to sleep for one hour, okay? Then I'll come pick you up." Jolene wondered why he needed one hour. Was he expecting a phone call from his ex-girlfriend? No, he patiently tried to explain, he just wanted to get another hour of sleep.
But he could not sleep anymore. Once Jolene mentioned anything about Amy, he'd better get over there quickly. Scott broke up with Amy five years ago. Now they were just friends. But, Amy still loved him. That wasn't a problem for Scott, until Jolene found out about it. If Amy still loved Scott, Jolene figured that they just might get back together.
She can recognize a dying plant but not a dead love affair, Scott grumbled as he rolled out of bed.