DEAR MISS MANNERS: My wife likes to text me my name and wait for a response from me before following up with whatever question she wants to ask me in another text. She likes to do this to get my attention.
I find this practice annoying, as it grabs my attention and makes me respond, only to leave me staring at my phone and waiting around for a follow-up text. I think it would be more considerate of her to just ask her question directly.
GENTLE READER: Unusual as is your wife's approach, Miss Manners agrees that it puts you in a bind. Etiquette does not require that you respond immediately to every stray text, but once you have answered, you are stuck until one party excuses themselves.
A good response might be, "I'm here but I'm about to get into the elevator. What's up?" Miss Manners realizes this exceeds the fashionable number of vowels, but perhaps you can program it in as a canned response.