Arrietty gulped. "How did you know I was here?"
The operator chuckled. She had a kind, grandmotherly voice. "I have lights and a beeper on my switchboard. It tells me when someone picks up their phone. Or when they forget to put it back on the hook," she added wryly.
Arrietty gulped again. Sho had said there were something like six billion Human Beans, back when she'd been able to count on one hand the Borrowers she knew of. Actually... she still needed only two hands. "Anywhere in the world?"
The operator chuckled again. "No, sweetie, just on the party line. Are you visiting? I don't recognize your voice."
"Yes... yes." Arrietty sighed, and nodded, though the woman couldn't see her. This was truer than she liked to think about; Borrowers were always visiting, and never knew how long they'd be able to stay. "Just... visiting. I don't know anyone's number."
"Well, aren't you lucky! I know them all by heart. Just give me a name."
Arrietty thought the plastic might buckle under her fingers. "A name? S.. Sh..."
She couldn't get the name out. She wasn't supposed to talk about him. She had to. "Sho!"
"I'm so sorry, honey." The operator sounded genuinely regretful. "There's no Sho on this party line."
"Wait!" Arrietty jumped up, launching the bucket backward. It rolled into the wall, taking the blanket with it. "Sadako! His aunt Sadako - he's staying with his great-aunt Sadako."
"Sadako Yamanichi? That family's been in this county for ages. She's not on this party line, but I can look up her number. Just a moment." A pause. Arrietty heard a series of clicks. "There you go. Nice talking to you!"
"You too," Arrietty squeaked. But the phone was already ringing.
She sank absently to the floor and crossed her legs. Her fingers were trembling. Talking to Human Beans was forbidden, and she was pretty sure that talking on telephones was too, only no Borrower had ever been in a position to do it before so no one had yet thought to spell out the restriction. That was two rules she'd broken already, and she was about to do it again.
And the phone was still ringing. And ringing. And ringing. She squeezed her eyes shut, on the edge of a cliff, not knowing if in the next second -
"Yamanichi residence."
Her heart stopped. It was the housekeeper.