The phone speaks at Linda from across the room.

“Hello?”

Linda is a busy woman. Her phone draws circles on her granite counter, propelled by the vibrations of an incoming call. Linda herself is perched on a grotesque rectangular sofa, fabric and design sourced straight from her artistic sink of talent and vision. She picks at the pilling throw and considers replacing the cat. Linda is a busy woman with important matters to attend to. She answers the call.

​

“Hey Linda! How are you doing? How are little Joe and May?” A tender voice inquires. The caller speaks with the dulcet touch of endless acquaintance. Sarah from the office is a dear friend of Linda’s.

“Great, thanks! I’ve been busy dealing with James and Mary—you know how it is. They really tired me out these past few days but otherwise all good. How have you been?”

Linda responds. She reaches across the sofa to pick up her discarded copy of The Idiot from her curated bookshelf. She’s been meaning to start this one for months now but each time she spares the time some matter or another has come up. Right now, here is the perfect convenience.

Her husband is expected to arrive from the office at eight thirty, so she has the time to indulge in a couple of pages before she must move. She may even finish a chapter if he happens to encounter some traffic on the way!

​

“Right, that’s amazing to hear! I’ve been doing great as well. Business has been picking up thanks to our new marketing team on the project. I’ve heard that the merger is also coming along nicely, but I’m not allowed to talk more about it. I feel like this year is really going to be a good one! How are the little ones?” Propping the book between her ring and index finger, Linda clutters around her handbag in search of a pen. A few more pages, she thinks.

​

“Oh, it’s been raining terribly over here! I don’t know about you, but I’ve been skipping my morning runs for some yoga these past few days.  It’s simply too wet to do my usual circuit in the mornings.  How’s the weather in Cali? I’m sure you’re not drowning like us poor New York folk here.”

“Oh, they’re great!“ responds Sarah. “They’ve been putting up a fight about going to school every morning, but you know I never back down. I don’t know whom they’re picking up these bad habits from.” She tsked.

The cat jingles by Linda on its way to the door, scratching in anticipation. Her husband leans down to scratch its chin as he takes off his shoes, the little bell collar ringing in time with the scratches. The furry pest always did prefer him. Linda gestures at the phone on the counter as though he cannot hear Sarah through the speaker, shaking her peacock feathers across the phone line. “You ought to update that thing.” He whispers at her from across the room.

​

“He’s been doing great in Spanish class, so the teachers have been assigning him these extra Spanish podcasts, right? I feel like I’ve listened to so much Spanish this past week that I’VE become Spanish myself.” She tinkers out a laugh. Sarah has always been quite the delicate stem. “Anyway, have you heard about the weather? They’re expecting some terrible rain soon, so you might want to wrap up those beautiful maple chairs of yours.” The line is silent for a breath.

“Oh yes, dreadful news. I can’t believe they are even considering passing that bill. I really thought things would be better this time around.” Linda responds. A warning beep alerts the living room residents. Linda considers dog-earing her precious book for one delusional second before placing it face down on the cat. Her back twists at the sudden action, but the kitchen is a whole walk across, and she wants to be there right on time.

​

The beeping sound grows in urgency, interrupting Sarah’s response. Linda reaches the island to pick up the phone as Sarah’s voice chimes in. “By the way, what did you think of that new climate change bill?”

Linda answers, “Why did you call, by the way?”

“I can’t say I’m not disappointed, but it’s only the beginning of the term, right? I want to take a positive approach, you know. Anything is an improvement following that previous can of spray tan in the office!” Sarah lets out a light giggle. Despite the beeping, it seems as though she is insistent on singlehandedly carrying the dialogue. Perhaps I should lengthen my answer set, Linda considers. The beeping gives way to a brief dial tone, filling the silence before a crackle interrupts.

​

“Linda? I have a favor to ask. Could you—HEY, DROP THAT YOUNG MAN! Could you by any chance take care of the kids on Tuesday? Ted’s been wanting to take me out for weeks, but our schedule never matches up. You know how important fixing this relationship is for the sake of the kid-DANIEL BABY, WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT SLURPING YOUR NOODLES? BE MORE CAREFUL, PLEASE, THAT SHIRT’S PRADA! —I’m so sorry they’re normally so well behaved, I swear.” Sarah clears her throat. “So, would you be able to take them on Tuesday? I’ll love you forever.”

“No, No, No, It’s ok I can totally take them! His father bought James this new tent thing that he refuses to come out of. I’m sure Daniel will also love it. Enjoy your night out, girl! You deserve it.” Linda answers.

“Thank you so much! I owe you one. Seriously.” Sarah giggles.

“Don’t worry about it. Bye.” “Bye!”

 

Linda leaves the phone on its initial perch on her granite counter and turns back toward the couch. She slowly sinks back into her seat. Her book has tumbled onto the floor, where it’s undoubtedly been rejected by the cat. Linda straightens the roughened pages as she places them back on her lap. Thank God for the answerphone, she thinks as she turns to page eleven. Linda is a very busy woman, and this book is excellent indeed.

 

 

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