"Wrong number," says a familiar voice.
Brutal words that struck him cold. The sentence sent a canal between him and the woman on the other end. An ocean of guilt and fear stirred within his belly. Waves of loneliness crashed against his lungs. He was a lost boy. He'd always been a lost boy. He'd always be a lost boy. Torrents of negativity and strife drowned his breath. Of course those words came proverbially.
He was safe. He was dry. The only wetness came as tears. "No, Emma," he rasped. The coward within tried to convince him to put the phone back on the receiver. Bravery won this time. Even still his hands shook.
"Neal?" she squawked. "What are you doing? You have no right! It's been…."
"Ten years. Yeah, I know," Neal interrupted. A long exhalation followed those words. What now? What next? An apology seemed meaningless after a decade. The words would sound hollow. It wasn't enough. Neal knew what he did; there was no denying it nor could he ever make up for it.
"Tell me why? Why did you leave? Why did you call the cops? I went to jail…" Emma demanded. The last sentence trailed off. Those words came with a quiver. It seemed there was more hurt than anger.
"Call the cops?" Neal shouted. His words dripped fury. "I didn't call the cops!" Pacing the room, Neal twisted the coil line until it looped into tight circles. "I…"
"Why should I believe you?" Emma interrupted. Anger blew the words out with certain ferocity (enough for Neal to remove the receiver from his ear). "I loved you, Neal, and you broke my heart."
"I know. I regret leaving you every second of every day. There isn't a time I don't think about you. Leaving was the worst mistake of my life," he whispered in earnest.
"Okay," she said in just as quiet of a tone as Neal. The answer drove the anger away. She now sounded tired. "At least you know."
"Yeah, I know. I'd heard you could get your family back. Didn't know if it was real or not, but I couldn't mess that up for you," Neal remarked, looking at the postcard lying on the counter.
"It was real. I have my family back. Thank you," Emma whispered with a bit of gratitude. There was a pregnant pause. The silence seemed deafening. "I got to go. Supper's ready…."
"Okay. It's good to hear you. You sound good," Neal said. He was about to hang up, but paused. "Can I come see you?"He waited. He held his breath as he did so.
"Yeah. You can come. Guess you weren't a wrong number after all," Emma replied, offering up her address before hanging up.