The Call

The Call
Short Story by Kayla Paige


Sadie placed her hand onto the small communication device. It seemed so foreign to her suddenly. Then she jerked her hand back violently as if it were a hot coal. She hesitated
once more biting her nails with indecisive movements.

Sadie coached herself mentally, 'OK SADIE, you can do this'. She picked up the phone; it felt awkward and slippery in her nervous hands. She punched in the numbers by memory but before she could press the call button a long train of doubts entered her thoughts. What if he isn't home? What if by later he meant never? What if he just pitied her? What if... She stopped herself. "This is silly," she said aloud half expecting someone to reply. Let’s just get this heartbreak over quickly, Sadie decided.

Sadie's curiosity and hope were finally overcoming her doubts. She pressed down on the eerie green call button with great difficulty and slowly let her finger up. She could see his name and number scrawled across the screen accompanied with an italic CALLING... She held her breath as she put the phone to her ear and listened to the ringing. Sadie was beginning to hope he would not pick up, she knew she wouldn't be able to talk if he did.

Each ring seemed an eternity of wait, echoing in her mind and confirming her doubtful thoughts. She sighed at the fifth ring and was in the midst of hanging up when he picked up the phone. "Hello? Sadie?" he asked. At the mention of her name Sadie found her voice, "Hello?" was Sadie's reply. It seemed as if they both had broken some unknown barrier. They were free.

At the sound of his smooth Mexican voice and careful pronunciation of Spanish in Sadie's ear the fear and doubt surrounding her heart melted away leaving it warm and content. They conversed happily, freely even with moments of understanding silence. Hours later her cell phone clicked made an odd noise and he was gone.

Sadie took the phone from her hot ear and stared blankly at it. The phone had become more and more comfortable as she talked the hours away with him. She looked for the cause of breakup and saw that her batteries were depleted. "Whoa," Sadie said aloud she was so astonished. We must have talked for hours. She thought her phone was fully charged when she began to talk with him.

She smiled for no reason and tried to imagine what he was saying right now about the breakup. She smiled again. Then she thought, dang I almost didn't call him. Thank God I did. She sighed contently and sort of pranced about the house the rest of the night dreaming of Spanish fantasies.