Dial Tone

“Your time is up, Mr. Kyle.”

Pursing his lips at the security guard, Jason Kyle held up one finger in a ‘one minute’ gesture as he got ready to end his phone call with his girlfriend. “They’re telling me that my time is up. I just wanted to tell you that I miss you so much, and I love you.”

Ann Marie sighed a little on the other line. “I love you too, and don’t worry about me, okay? I’m fine here.”

Jason rubbed the center of his chest gently; his heart felt like it was trying to push its way out of his ribcage. He didn’t like this at all. It hurt too much to be on the phone with the love of his life for only 5 minutes. Then to have the security guard watch over your shoulder with his watch glued to his eyeballs didn’t make it any better. These phone calls were supposed to offer some solace, but the environment did not make it so. “It just feels so good to hear your voice.”

“I know,” she replied softly. “I wish I could give you a hug right now. We’ll get through this, you know. Just think of it as a long distance thing.”

Jason looked down at his orange shirt and flicked a spec of dust off of it. “Right. Long distance.” He clutched the phone tightly.

“We’ll get through this, okay? I promise we will.”

Looking around the room, Jason blinked really fast as his eyes started to water. “Okay,” he rushed out. “Same time next week?”

“Hmm, I can try. You know Grim is becoming pretty strict on the phone calls, but I will do my very best so that we can hear each other’s voices, okay?”

Jason nodded slowly before realizing that she couldn’t see him, and he had to respond audibly. “Yes. Okay. l love you, Ann Marie.”

With a smile in her voice, she responded gently, “I love you, too, Jason.”

Jason waited until she hung up first. First he heard the gentle click and the dial tone, and he let himself listen to it a bit longer, as if she was still on the line and they were still connected that way. A bit numbly, he hung up the phone finally and turned to the security guard. Nodding, he wiped his sweaty palms onto his jeans and let the guard escort him out. As he walked down the hall to exit the facility, Jason looked at the long line of others waiting to use the phone. Others were waiting to call their loved ones and friends to hear their voices again.

Walking to the front desk, the receptionist looked up at Jason and gave a small, sympathetic smile. She was an older woman, her gray hair slicked back into a high bun. She was like an empathic grandmother who cared for the happiness of others around her. The calendar on her monitor reflected off of her blue glasses as she fixed her gaze on him. “Same time next week?”

Jason nodded. “Yes, please.” Then he cleared his throat as a burning question crossed his mind. “Is there a possibility that she wouldn’t be able to answer the phone for any reason?”

The receptionist typed on her keyboard as she made the appointment for Jason. She briefly looked up at him. “Oh. Yes, it’s possible. Grim has many tasks for them to do throughout the day, and those tasks can sometimes get in the way of their downtime.” She spoke slowly, whether it was so that she sounded empathetic and didn’t want to scare him off, or she spoke that way entirely. “Keep in mind that if she doesn’t answer when you call, you’ll have to forfeit your spot for the day and make a new appointment for another time.” 

Jason did not like the sound of that. A sinking feeling nestled within his stomach as his brain threw more questions around. “And what if she doesn’t answer ever again?” His voice cracked. He had to clear his throat.

The receptionist looked back up at him and could clearly see the torment behind Jason’s eyes as he asked that question. It was something that everyone always feared: calling their loved one and them not answering. There was the possibility of never truly saying goodbye to them and getting that closure.

She took off her glasses and looked up at him with sad eyes. “Life will have to go on, Jason,” she said gently.

Which is not what Jason wanted to hear, but unfortunately, he knew that was true. “Right,” he blurted. “Of course.”

“Oh,” she shook her head. “I’m so sorry. I know it’s hard to hear, sweetie. You’ve been coming here for almost two months now, and I know it gets more difficult each time. When I lost my husband, he only answered the first time I called. At that time, we both had a feeling that that might be the last time, so we said our goodbyes then. You have to treat every phone call like it’s your last so that you’re not disappointed when they don’t answer the next call.”

Jason nodded. Well that wasn’t really helpful. If anything, it made him feel worse. He didn’t treat this last call like it was their last.

The SpiritLink was unpredictable like that. It showed up a few years back when its CEO, Drew Slater, found a way to contact the dead through advanced technology.  It allowed people to communicate with the departed through a series of complex algorithms and neural networks, making it just as easy as making a phone call. It was also Slater’s idea to build the SpiritLink to make it look like a prison facility, accompanied with the security guards, single-file phone booths, and timers.

Makes a guy feel like they’re in prison just for wanting to talk to someone on the other side.

And don’t get him started on the long process it took just to get to this point. There were applications, and they started off with asking, ‘how did your loved one die?’ As if the cause of death would persuade them more or less to allow the applicators to call their loved ones. 

Finally nodded to the receptionist, he signed some paperwork. “I will keep that in mind. Thank you.” Turning straight ahead, he walked out of the facility.

When the same time next week rolled around, Jason looked at the calendar he had marked to go call Ann Marie through the SpiritLink. Thinking back on what the receptionist told him and what Ann Marie said before they parted, his bottom lip trembled with sadness. He wanted to call her. He wanted to cherish the intricacies of every moment and honor Ann Marie’s memory.

Jason also wanted to try and embrace life fully and live passionately, like they always dreamed together. With that in mind, he sat at his kitchen table and sipped on his coffee, a single tear drop falling from his eye.