Ring-ring! Ring-Ring!
“Good morning, this is Pearl.”
“Who is this?
Where are you?”
I blink at my phone.
It doesn’t help, but it doesn’t hurt.
“This is Pearl,” I say.
“And where are you?”
“Well I’m – I’m Barbara,” she says crossly. “And I’m not going to tell you where I am.”
I blink again.
There is a short silence before Barbara continues.
“Why did you call me?”
I sigh, quietly.
Perhaps this is a test of some kind…
“I believe you called me,” I say.
“Not now,” she snaps.
“This morning.”
Barbara appears to be a bit peevish.
A light bulb goes off.
“Oh,” I say. “I think I know what
you’re talking about. Is your number
similar to –“ and here I rattle off the
number I had mis-dialed earlier in the morning.
There is a silence, long enough that I begin to worry
about ol’ Babs.
“Barbara?”
“Yes,” she cranks.
“Yes, it is, and you called me at 7:04.
Who calls anyone at 7:04?”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I say. “I start work at 7:00. I’m sorry if I woke you.”
She sniffs. “I was
up at 5:00.” I am certain that this
woman is frowning. “I saw that you
called but I was out in my garden, and then you didn’t leave a number, and I’ve
been worried about it all day!”
“Oh,” I say.
There is another silence.
“It’s so nice in the morning,” she says.
I close my eyes, then shrug. Why not.
“Yes,” I say, “but I rarely get a chance to be out in it.”
Barbara cannot contain herself. “What?!” she says. “Well, you should! You should get out. Today is going to be nice at 4:00!”
This Barbara! She’s
a bit crabby, but she seems okay. I
laugh. “Why at 4:00? I don’t get off until –“
And just like that, there is a click and I am listening
to the dial tone.
Barbara has hung up on me.
It haunts me, that conversation.
What made her think it was going to be nice at 4:00?
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33 comments:
i am wondering if i should go out at 4 pm today...hoping it is not malicious you know...maybe that is when the ice cream truck comes by...if i believe that i might go out at 4 pm. what an interesting misdial...hmm...i might have to dial a random number to see what i can come up with....smiles.
I hope Barbara was right:) It is not nice at 10:) Hug B
Brian, I almost feel that something cosmic is about to happen. At 4:00.
Yes. Definitely at 4:00. :-D
Buttons, I worry about Barbara.
Hmm. 4:00. Well, now I'm going to have to go out then to see what's going on. I think Barbara should sleep in a little later. 5:00 is much too early for anyone to be up and around. I think she needs more sleep. :D
Perhaps she meant 4:20, if you get the reference.
Excuse me for saying so, but if you start work at 7:00, you surely as green apples in July should be off by 4:00.
Hari OM
...seven minutes to four of the arvo right here right now - and the sun just appeared after three days of pretending it was dead. She could be right, that Babs.
Or just getting her own back... YAM xx
Sounds like you've had a little visit from the Twilight Zone.
I think it's 4 am. I'm awake a lot at 4 am, it often seems nice.
Existential surrealism.
"What made her think it was going to be nice at 4:00?" Well, I think the bigger question here is what made her think it was acceptable to hang up on you just when you were beginning to trust that she wasn't 100% cranky? The nerve.
What an odd phone conversation... some people get worked up about unimportant things... :-/
did you call back to find out why she hung up, sugar? ;) xoxox
I was thinking of going out today at 4 but now I'm definitely going. Babs doesn't seem to realize she's been called by a friend she hasn't met yet. Some people just can't see the roses for the thorns. You are the opposite of those people.
Probably some really fast-paced new apocalyptic sect: Garden at sun-up; fall from grace before breakfast, followed by signs and portents. That would put the Rapture about mid-afternoon, after which it will be "nice" --around 4 p.m.
:-) You guys are weird. :-)
And absolutely lovely.
And we who are in Pacific Time are just wondering which 4 pm we're talking about? Should I be worried at 2 pm my time or...hmmmm.
And I want to know whether Barbara is a prophet. Was it nice at four? She is right about the beauty of the morning, so perhaps she is on a roll.
It's 4:09, Central Time.
Things still A-OK in Minneapolis!
"What made her think it was going to be nice at 4:00?" Offhand, I do not know, but I am certain the answer can be found in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
I never read it 'cause I have Douglas Adams' number in my speed dial. Unfortunately, he died in 2001.
Call her back.
Well...the only thing that happened at 4:00 here - was that I drove into my driveway. The rain had stopped and - doggone - it WAS nice! Babs knew what she was talking about.
I would have been on the edge of my seat all day. Whatever happened at 4 pm, it must have been localized to Barb. I'll have to read the papers thoroughly tomorrow!
I might think of details too much but were the two on the same time zone? Maybe the same time zone but different planets?
I feel that Barbara is held fast in the clutches of The Change.
It could be years before she makes sense. Or is nice.
Was she referring to 4 AM!?!? WAKING at 4 AM!!??? Getting up out of bed @ 4 AM???!!!
Nah, must be a prank! I am never up before 8:30 am...and nobody better call me before that!!!!!
5am on a summer morning is nice at any place on the planet, but 4pm is usually rush hour so not so nice, unless you don't have to drive.
This cracked me up as most of your post do
4:00 am? Nothing is nice at 4:00 am? Or maybe she meant pm?
With Babs, who knows?
Perhaps you should call her back -- but be sure NOT to leave a message if she doesn't answer! :)
I swear I've had this same conversation with my kid's friends on the phone. Wha? Wh? Aw, forget it.
You have to be careful around people named "Barbara"! We tend to be a little ... ummm ... erratic.
From Daisy's Barbara
Definitely a bit Twilight Zone-y! Anyone who calls me and wants to know who this is gets my standard answer: It's Jake from State Farm.
If she calls back, ask her the lottery numbers for the next drawing!
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