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“Yes,” the representative said. She heard him beginning to type. It
was a long time before he spoke again. He told her the extra
charge would show up on the next bill, which would be sent out
next week, but that it would still reflect the full monthly amount,
even though she activated the service today. She told him it was
fine. He took some more information and then told her it was
done and that she would be able to use the service right away. She
hung up and glanced at the clock. The whole transaction had
taken eighteen minutes.
Kevin called from the precinct three minutes later.
As soon as she got off the phone with Kevin, she called Super
Shuttle, a van service that transported people to the airport and
bus station. She made a reservation for the following day. Then,
after retrieving the cell phone, she finally activated it. She called a
local movie theater, one that had a recording, to make sure it
worked. Next, she activated the landline’s call-forwarding service,
sending incoming calls to the number of the movie theater. As a
test, she dialed the home number from her cell phone. Her heart
was pounding as the landline rang. On the second ring, the ring
cut off and she heard the recording from the movie theater.
Something broke free inside her and her hands were shaking as
she powered off the cell phone and replaced it in the box of SOS
pads. She reset the landline.
Kevin called again forty minutes later.
She spent the rest of the afternoon in a daze, working steadily to
keep from worrying. She ironed two of his shirts and brought the
suit bag and suitcase in from the garage. She set out clean socks
and she polished his other pair of black shoes. She ran the lint
brush over his suit, the black one he wore to court, and laid out
three ties. She scrubbed the bathroom until the floor was shiny,
and scrubbed the baseboards with vinegar. She dusted every item
in the china cabinet and then started preparing the lasagna. She
boiled the pasta and made a meat sauce and layered all of it with