The Phone Call

The phone rang in the story I’m reading, but then, it rings again, in my house. I get up from my chair in the sunny breakfast nook and walk toward the cabinet where the phone sits, and it rings once again. “No! It can't ring.” I think as my hand hesitates above the phone. I hesitate a bit more, almost afraid of this inanimate object, and again, it rings but the ring is followed by a click, and I think, “Yes, four rings and it'll go to the answering machine”….the answering machine I sold 6 months ago at a garage sale when I cut off the land line I no longer used.

“What the hell was that all about!” I say out loud.

I pick up the receiver, and of course, there’s no dial tone, no sound at all. It’s disconnected after all. Did I imagine it? Am I losing my mind?

I go back to my coffee and book but I keep an eye on the phone, too. After rereading the same paragraph three times, I give it up and head to the sink to do the dishes. The phone rings again, scaring the crap out of me, and I get mad! I grab the receiver and yell,

“Who are you and how are you doing this! This cannot work!”

A calm male voice asks, “Is the car you advertised still for sale?”

I sputter, “What are you talking about? What car? What ad?”

The calm voice comes back at me, “You, or someone at this number, advertised a 2011 Ford Escape for sale about six months ago. I know it's quite a while ago but I thought I would check.”

“It’s not for sale anymore. I decided to keep it. How are you able to call this number? It’ been disconnected for at least six months? You shouldn't be able to call this number! “ I am sputtering again, but can’t seem to stop.

“Well, that's alright then. It's a beautiful day for a drive. You should plan a road trip, maybe go see your daughter,” he says, calm as can be, and the phone goes dead.

I stare at the damn thing, tap the receiver against the counter top, and listen for a dial tone, but, there’s nothing, and I seriously wonder at my sanity!

I throw on my jacket and running shoes, open the door and escape into the sunshine. I need to clear my head and talk to someone, someone I can see. Most of my neighbours are at work, but, I head towards the post office knowing that I'll run into someone sooner or later. On the front steps I finally find someone to talk to, Andy Carmichael. 

“Andy!”, I cry, “How are you?”

“Well, I am doing just fine! Isn’t it a glorious day? I was thinking it would be great to drive down to the lake and see if the ice is out. You wouldn't want to join me, by any chance?” Andy smiled his big goofy smile, making the whole world seem fine and dandy.

“Why, Andy,” I reply, “that sounds like a perfectly wonderful thing to do today. Let me grab my mail and stop by the house to grab my camera. You never know what we’ll see at the lake!”

“Perfect! My truck is at the drugstore. My prescription should be ready by now. I'll swing by your place in about 10 minutes, 15 tops.”

I grab my mail and head back to the house, hesitating at the door, but I chide myself for being silly. I rifle through the mail and find a bill and a lot of advertisements, which I recycle. I hear Andy’s truck drive up so I grab the camera and my purse. As I reach for the door handle, the phone rings. I look at it, thinking “not again” and open the door, step out and lock it. “I'm going to the lake with Andy” I say in defiance, “I did not hear that phone ring!!!”

“How’s your day going, Jan?” Andy asks as I hop into the passenger seat.

“Well, Andy it’s a glorious day, but I've had the strangest phone call this morning. It was rather unsettling and made me think I was losing my mind!”

“What kind of phone call would disturb you? You're one of the most calm, rational persons I know.” Andy enquires, as he drives carefully down the muddy track that leads down to the lake’s boat launch.

“After Dan died, it took me a long time to deal with a lot of things, but about six months ago I had an epiphany and everything sort of fell into place. I got rid of most of his clothes, cleared out the garage, advertised his car for sale, and got rid of the phone land line. I sold Dan’s business, so I didn’t need all the extras.” I hesitate to continue, “Well, this morning, some guy calls me on the land line, asking if the car was still for sale?”

“Which car were you selling? Dan’s little Ford? Wow! Six months is a long time to wait to call about a car for sale!”

“Yes, but he called on the land line! It’s been disconnected for six months. I don’t understand how he could do that.”

“Well, I have no explanation for that, Jan. But, look! The ice is barely receding and the swans are here already.”

And, the swans are there. I pull my camera out and forget all about the phone call as I snap pictures of the birds and walk along the shore with Andy chatting at my side. The birds fly off, but we continue walking until Andy’s tummy rumbles and we realize it’s passed lunch time. 

“Andy, let me buy you lunch for such a wonderful morning. Della’s has a great soup and sandwich special, and their coffee is really good, too.”

“You twisted my rubber arm, Jan. I’d love to have lunch with you.”

Andy and I have been friends most of our lives. We raised our families just around the block from each other, and we both lost our spouses two years ago – his Annie to cancer, and my Dan to a heart attack. We got chatting again, so it’s almost 3:00pm before he drives up to my door. All at once, the phone call comes back to mind.

“Andy, I feel a little silly asking this, but, could you come in and check my phone? Just to make sure it isn’t somehow reconnected. I didn’t hear a dial tone or anything after that phone call ended, but it would ease my mind if you checked it for me.” 

“Well, sure. I can do that for you Jan, and if you need anything else done around the house, just give me a call.”

As I open the door, the phone starts ringing. I slowly pick up the receiver, and it’s that same male voice.

“Your daughter needs you. She may not have much time left. You should go for a drive. Another drive. Today.” 

Andy is standing beside me holding the end of the phone cord up in the air. A confused look on his face that turns to concern as he notices my shaking hands that hang up the receiver.

“He said Raine needs me, that she doesn’t have much time left, that I need to go for a drive, today! Another drive!”

I stumble to a chair and collapse into it. 

“Jan. Call Raine. Let’s make sure she’s okay before we get too worried about whatever this is. Where’s your cellphone?”

“Here, “ I say and reach into my purse. I find Raine’s number and tap it. It rings…and rings…and then I get the message about your customer may be out of range or something along that line. I’m worried and look up at Andy. 

“I’m going to call the office.” But, before I can find their number my cellphone rings, and it’s her office. I flick the phone into speaker mode so Andy can hear.

“Hi, Mrs. Callum. This is John from PetraCom’s office. Is Raine there? Or, have you heard from her today?”

“Hi, John…I was just going to call and ask you the same thing! I’ve tried calling her but the message says she’s unavailable, or out of cellphone coverage area, something like that. How come you don’t know where she is?”

“She went out on a service call yesterday. She went out alone because it was just a routine reboot of their system. We know she left the job site around 4:00pm. She should have been back at the office before six. But, no one’s seen or heard from her, which is totally out of character. She always calls if she’s going to be late.”

“Have you looked for her? Where was the call out? What road would she have taken?”

“We’ve had people out since 6:00am. She went out to a Pen-Dene site on the Branden Road. We’re looking for her. We’ll find her.”

“Please call me as soon as you find her, or hear anything. Please! I’m very worried about her.” I hang up and look up at Andy.

“Andy?”

“Jan, I know that road. It’s mostly unpaved and this time of year it tends to be slick as ice when the frost comes out. We’ll take my truck, it’s four-wheel drive. Why don’t you make a thermos of coffee, and pack something to eat. I’m going to run back to my place and get a rope and a few tools. I’ll be back in 15 minutes. We’ll go find her!”

As Andy heads out the door, my mind swings into gear. I put a pot of coffee on and head to the bedroom for a couple of thick blankets. She could be hurt, too. If she wasn’t hurt, she would have walked out to where people could see her. I grab the First Aid kit from the closet. I don’t remember the whole road, but I do remember some steep ditches near Crooked Creek. I fill a thermos with the coffee and as I’m tucking muffins into a container, Andy drives up. I grab the coffee and muffins, and First Aid kit and meet him at the door. 

“I brought some rope and chain, a shovel and my chainsaw. Do you have a flashlight, Jan? I couldn’t find mine.” Andy reaches out to grab the items from my arms.

“I’ll get my flashlight from the garage. Take those two blankets, too.” 

Andy is standing in the doorway waiting for me as I come in from the garage.

“Can you think of anything else we might need, Andy?” My forehead creases in worry and I stutter, “Do you think… Andy, you’ll think I’m crazy, but I’m going to bring that phone.”

Andy’s grim face sums it up, “It can’t hurt. Maybe “he” will let us know where she is.”

I tuck the phone into a bag, grab my purse and we head off toward the Branden Road. Andy tunes in a country station, turns it down low, low enough so we can talk, but neither one of us says a word until we reach the turn off for Branden Road. 

“I haven’t been down this road in years, Andy, but I do remember some really steep areas near the creek. Do you think she could have lost control and went off the road there?”

“Near the creek, maybe, or by the crossroad for the Dugan Road, or maybe just one of those switchbacks at the forks. We’ll stop wherever there’s a chance she went off the road. Let me know if you see anything that’s out of the ordinary. Don’t worry Jan. We’ll find her.”

We head down the road. The first four or five kilometres are paved and we fly down to where the gravel starts. There are trucks stopped at the pull out. We slow to watch tanker truckers putting on chains, service truck drivers doing a walk-around, and two trucks from PetraCom, the drivers, windows down, talking from one vehicle to another.

“Pull in, Andy. I want to talk to those men.” We pull in close to the trucks and I hop out to see if they have any information. After a few minutes, I return.

“Nobody’s seen her truck or heard anything from her.” I struggle to keep my tears in check, “Search and Rescue won’t come in until tomorrow morning. It’s getting too dark for them to see anything with the fog starting to creep into the valleys. It’s roughly sixty kilometres to the site she went to and they’ve been up and down the road at least a dozen times, checking everywhere for her.” Andy hands me a box of tissues and I wipe my tears away, blow my nose, and sigh deeply.

“Where do we even start, Andy?”

“We start right here, right now, and we’re not giving up!”

Andy puts the truck in four-wheel drive and we head down the road. The road is sloppy with mud and clay. I’m thankful that there’s been no snow or rain in the last week. There are still some snow banks in the ditches when we pass through dips and the valley at the creek. Nothing stands out. Kilometre after kilometre we don’t see any tracks heading into the ditch, we don’t see any tracks veering off the road. I’m beginning to think this is just a wild goose chase, when suddenly the phone rings…THE phone that’s sitting in a bag under the seat. Andy swerves to the side of the road and stops as I lunge for the phone.

“Hello? Hello!” I’m practically screaming into the receiver.

“Your daughter is near. She’s waiting for you. Don’t leave without her.” And he hangs up.

“Andy, he said she’s near and she’s waiting for me. And, he said don’t leave without her. I’m getting out and walking. Go up a ways in case she’s just ahead. I might be able to hear something if you’re up a bit.”

“Take the flashlight, Jan. Flash it at me if you see anything. There’s no cell service here. I won’t go far. I think there’s a curve just up ahead. I’ll wait there or come back for you. Be careful.” 

I pull my zipper up. The air has gotten much cooler as the sun settles into the tree line. It’ll be impossible to see anything soon. Where is she? I head down the road calling for Raine as I walk, stopping to scan the ditch and what lies beyond. Is that…what is that near the trees across the ditch? 

“Raine? Are you there, Raine?” I’m shouting as loud as I can, then stop to listen. There’s a noise coming from that mound near the trees. I flash the flashlight – on, off, on, off, on off. I see the brake lights of Andy’s truck come on and I dive into the ditch. 

“I’m coming Raine! Hang on honey, I’m coming!” I struggle through the squelching mud and tangled weeds in the ditch and I’m just getting up the other side when Andy shouts.

“Where is she, Jan? I don’t see a vehicle.”

“See that mound by the trees? There’s a noise coming from over there, a tapping noise. Bring the shovel! Hurry, Andy!” I’m trying to rush but every branch and rock jumps in the way of my feet. I’m down on my knees, I’m flat on the ground, and then I’m on my feet again, calling out to Raine to hang on. Suddenly, as I trip once again, Andy is there to catch me. 

“Breathe, Jan. We’re almost there. I can hear the tapping too.” 

The mound turns out to be the underside of Raine’s truck, so caked in mud that it’s unrecognizable as a vehicle. A tree has fallen across the back, hiding the tailgate and taillights. The whole vehicle is covered in so much mud. I’m screaming Raine’s name and wiping at the driver’s window, trying to see her. Suddenly, I see her, covered in blood, tears streaming down her face, but she’s got a wobbly smile on. Time stands still as Andy breaks the windshield so we can get inside the truck. Raine is trapped under the steering wheel but somehow we get her free. Finally, she’s in my arms and we gently check for broken bones. Her mouth is swollen from the impact of hitting the steering wheel. I wrap my coat around her, and, as carefully as we can, Andy and I carry her to the road. The ride back to town is a blur of holding her close, and listening to her raspy breathing. Andy manages to call ahead to the hospital, so they’ll be ready for us when we get there. I wait until they take her to X-ray before I call her boss. I give him Andy’s phone number so he can tell them where the truck is. I fall asleep with my head on her mattress, holding her hand. In the middle of the night, I awake to her whispering to me,

“How did you know, Mom? How did you know where to find me?”

“Well, it’s the strangest thing, sweetheart. I got a phone call.” And I tell her about it but she’s fallen asleep halfway through and probably won’t remember, but I’ll never forget.

A month later, Raine is still in a leg cast but she’s back at work, in the office though, no field work yet. Andy and I meet for coffee every other day, and we go for a drive once in a while. Life is back to normal. I’m having my second cup of coffee in the breakfast nook, book in hand, when the phone rings. I walk over and pick up the receiver,

“Is the car you advertised still for sale?”