She put down the phone, "Damn it!" She hit the table, hard. All sorts of things were running through her head. Who was Tash on the phone to? A new girlfriend, or was she in trouble? She was about to pick up the phone and call her back when she nearly jumped out of her seat. The phone was ringing.
"Hello?" she said cautiously.
"Welcome to BT Callminder. You've one new message. Press 1 to listen."
She hit the button to be greeted by a very familiar voice, "Hi Kirstie, I hope I've got the right number. Anyway, you're busy. I'll try again later."
She put down the phone, feeling a little shell-shocked. Then she picked the phone up and listened to the message again. She sat for a while in complete disbelief. Then she started to laugh, and laugh, and laugh. She had realised what happened.
* * * * * * * *
Tash sat down on her bed. She'd gone upstairs to check whether she got Kirstie's number right. She had. From what she remembered Kirstie had hated using her phone. She would never answer if she didn't know who was calling. But that was 7 years ago.
Oh well, she could only wait now. She walked down the stairs to see her answer machine flashing. She hadn't missed the phone had she? She pressed play.
"Message received 10:14, Wednesday August 14th. Hey, it's um Kirstie. You're busy I'll leave you to it. Hope to hear from you soon."
Typical Kirstie, short and sweet. Tash fell back to stairs and sat on the bottom step. How could she have missed that?
"Oh!" she finally twigged. She shook her head and began to laugh.
* * * * * * * *
Kirstie got her mobile out again. She hated the damn thing and all it's radiation. She scrolled through the menu until she got to 'Write Message'.
Slowly and purposefully she typed in a message and sent it to Tash. Feeling happy for the first time in weeks she skipped up the stairs and ran herself a bath. She made sure to leave her mobile within reach. Just in case.
Relaxing back she thought about the future. It no longer looked black, it was shining now.
Laughing to herself about an advert she'd seen earlier she told the sponge; "I've seen the future, it is bright, but it's not orange!"
With that she slid her head under the water and began to properly relax and wash out all the day's impurities. She was going to look good for Tash, whenever the time may come.
* * * * * * * *
Tash lay down on the sofa. She needed a good night's sleep but she was too happy to sleep. Heaven knows she'd tried. In bed she'd kept tossing and turning, couldn't get comfortable. Every time she closed her eyes all she could see was Kirstie. She didn't know what to do, should she ring back? Wait for Kirstie to ring back?
She'd finally settled into a comfortable position on her soft leather sofa when she nearly fell off again. Why would anyone send me a message at this time of night? More to the point who had her number to send a message at this time of night?
Pressing the read button she grinned to herself. She knew just who it was. After reading it she put the phone back into her bag and settled back onto the sofa to watch Graham Norton. Maybe she would just sleep easy tonight after all. No more worries about what to do next. Those few short words had sealed her fate.
* * * * * * * *
Kirstie woke up bright and early for her shift. 9 am she started but 6 am she always got up. Habit she'd had since working with Tash. Just another of those little reminders she'd kept doing, just to keep the memory alive. Nowadays she'd got into going to the gym for a good hour before work. It woke her up and got her ready for the day.
Today was different though. She was ready for anything today. No amount of working out could give you the feeling she woke up with. She knew everything was going to be all right from now on. The message had made sure of that. What was worrying is that Tash hadn't replied yet.
Maybe it's the wrong number? Maybe she hasn't got it yet? Maybe she doesn't want to respond? No she put the last one right out of her head. Tash had rung her, she must still think about her.
Laying in bed she began to think about things. Would she invite Tash up for the weekend? What would she cook, what would she wear, where would she sleep? She closed her eyes and dreamed about the day they were reunited, it wasn't too far away now. She could feel it.
* * * * * * * *
Tash walked into work. Kath followed her in and watched her playing with her mobile phone. She couldn't figure out why people bought them. They're expensive, unreliable, annoying. Anyway whatever Tash was doing it was making her grin like a schoolgirl.
She leaned against the side of the lift. She was reading the message for the fifth time that morning. She looked up to see Kath staring at her, a bemused look on her face.
"Is everything ok Tash?" she asked.
"Yes, thank you Kath, it most certainly is." Tash replied with a grin that could've challenged the Cheshire cat.
Kirstie had signed the message as usual. KC. When they were at medical school they used to leave each other notes under tables in lecture halls, in their room, everywhere they knew the other would be. Kirstie would always sign them KC and Tash would sign them TB. Kirstie found it funny that her initials were part of the name of a successful band, whereas Tash's were the initials of a disease, tuberculosis. Every time Tash had told her to blame the parents.
She read the message one last time; she had to keep checking she hadn't imagined it. She hadn't. As they stepped onto the ward Tash put the phone into her bag and got ready for a fabulous day on the ward. Nothing could dampen her mood.
* * * * * * * *
Kirstie stepped out of the house. She hadn't gone to the gym, she didn't need the wake up call or the high working out gave her. She was on a natural high. Those four words she sent to Tash last night gave her that. She re-read the message and set off on the short walk to the hospital.
'I love you, KC x'
How could just four short words make such a difference to two people's lives?