The week had started like any other.

William was going about his usual routine when his phone buzzed. He glanced down at the screen and immediately stopped.

It was a message from Colleen.

For a moment, he simply stared at it.

He had given Colleen his number some time ago, telling her to contact him if she ever needed anything or there was an emergency. Since then, there had been nothing. She had never called. Never texted.

Until now.

The message was short.

“Hi Will, if you happen to be in my area could you please call in and see me please.”

William read it twice.

Then a third time.

It wasn’t the request itself that caught him completely off guard. It was the way she had addressed him.

Will.

Colleen had never called him that before.

He felt a sudden rush of excitement that he immediately tried to suppress. It could mean absolutely nothing. Perhaps she needed help with something. Perhaps there was a perfectly ordinary reason for asking him to call in.

But something about the message felt different.

William found himself smiling as he read it again.

For months, he had wondered whether the connection he felt with Colleen existed only in his imagination. Now, for the first time, she had reached out to him.

And she had specifically asked him to come and see her.

He slipped the phone back into his pocket, but his thoughts were already racing.

What did she want to talk about?

Why had she contacted him now?

And why had she suddenly called him Will?

William knew he had to keep his expectations under control. He didn’t want to arrive at Colleen’s place carrying assumptions that could make things awkward.

Still, as he went about the rest of his morning, one thought kept returning.

Something had changed.

He wasn’t sure what it was.