The Phone Call
She walked briskly down the sidewalk, heading to her home. Shifting the grocery bag to her other arm, she glanced at her watch, making sure she had enough time. Walking through the neighborhood, she waved at her neighbors, some she had known for so many years, and others she was just getting to know. She stopped, had a few conversations, realized the time and hurried on home.
Once inside, she put her few groceries up. Looking again at her watch, she realized she still had a little bit of time and decided to tidy up. In the den, she dusted and straightened, looking longingly at treasures of her past; a past full of love and hope, pain and loneliness, pride and fear.
Upstairs, she opened the door of the room that truly held her heart. Walking in, she looked lovingly around. Tears filled her eyes as she felt the presence of the little one who had lived in this world of comic books, baseballs, and rocks from the beach. How she wished she could bring back that time of innocence and happiness, but life's cruel twists and turns stopped that from happening. Looking at her watch again, she turned and left, leaving the tales of a childhood lost to whisper amongst the walls.
She hurried to the kitchen, her plan to fix a cup of tea, and then to sit and wait. This was a most special time for her and she didn't want to miss it. In the kitchen, she put water on to boil, prepared her tea, and gazed out the window. Grateful that, even as the world grew and expanded, her small corner was still quiet and peaceful.
Then, there it was! With a smile that reached into her kind, blue eyes, she hurredly moved toward the sound that was music to her ears. She picked up the phone and heard the booming voice of the one she loved most, the one who truly held her heart in his tender hand.
"Hey Ma, how are ya!" boomed her David's charming voice from next door - three thousand miles away. "Hutch and me are headin' out the door in a little bit , got a few bad guys to catch. But, it's Friday and I wanted to call ya right quick. Oh hey, Hutch sends his love. Ma, you are not gonna believe what happened this week! See, there were these guys pretending to be us and tryin' to make it look like we were bad cops. Ma, they even had a car like mine, but it won't as good lookin' as mine!" She could see him walking around his den, talking with hands waving in the air, a ball of energy waiting to explode.
In the background, a muffled voice could be heard. "Yeah, well Blintz, it was better than that four wheel thing you call a car – that's for sure. Oh, sorry Ma didn't mean to yell in ya ear, it's just that Hutch is pickin' on my car… again. I really think he's really jealous ya know."
Then, another noise and she heard her David dropping the phone. "Hey, you, watch what you're doin'! Ya about knocked me over with that pillow!" he yelled lovingly at his friend. "Ma, Hutch is throwin' a pillow at me! Geez, I just don't understand him at times. Well, anyways, about these guys I was telling you about – before I was so rudely interrupted…"
Rachel Starsky just sat on the couch, teacup in hand, and listened and laughed and loved.