The phone rings. It's tone raw and ragged, tearing at your ears and soul. Ring…rinngg. It stops. Thank god, it stops. You hate that damned phone. You can't get away. No matter where you go or what you do you can't get away. There it goes again. Oh damn, it scares you and you jump a mile. You have to answer it. You can't stop. It might be IMPORTANT, or an EMERGENCY.
It's that voice again. You knew it would be. You don't even get a chance to say "Hello" before it starts. "You've got to do something about this kid before I kill him. He's horrible. I can't take it anymore!" Shrill; nails-on-a-chalkboard shrill. The voice drones on and on. It gets louder and starts to whine. "I'm going to kill him. He won't listen. He bothers the others. His instructor..yak yak yak yak yak yak yak yak yak yak yak yak...!"
The VOICE!
You can hear it constantly. It drones on when you're at home...in the bath....in the car. It's especially bad in the car - there you're trapped.
Even in you're dreams you can't get away. You dream of Paradise and God sounds like The Voice. But at least the phone has one thing going for it. You can hang up.
You don't say good-bye, shalom, or shit.
You just HANG UP.
It rings again. Loud, demanding for you to fulfill it's challenge..."...pick me up. ...pick me up.". You want to rip it out of the wall. But you don't. You answer it. "What's the matter? Didn't you hear me? I said I'm goin' crazy! I can't take it anymore. All you do is go to work and sit in your little office and read the paper and drink your coffee and talk with you're friends. I have to yak yak yak yak yak yak and take him here and there and yak yak yak yak yak.." You put down the phone and walk away. It's time to go get that coffee...go find those friends...and YAK.
It's been a quiet day and suddenly you know why. You forgot to hang up the phone this morning and now its afternoon. You pick up the phone, a little afraid to put it to your ear. Afraid The Voice will still be there, still moaning and groaning and whining and crying. So you don't. You hang it up.
Five o'clock, time to get the hell out of the office and go home. You head for the door but before you can get through it, that sound again. Pealing and screeching. You've had it. The last straw. This time you're going to do it. You're going to tell that person just exactly how you feel and that she'd damn well better listen.
You grab the phone, not saying a word. It's the Voice: "When are you coming home. It's late and I wanted to go out to the Girls club. I'm going to be late if you don't get you're ass home now. Yak Yak Yak Yak."
You hold you're breath. You have to, you're scared and can't breathe. It's hard, but you know you have to do it.
So you do.
"HOLD IT YOU STUPID SHIT! I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE, BUT I'M SINGLE AND DON'T HAVE ANY KIDS! YOU'VE CALLED ME EVERYDAY FOR A WEEK AND YOU'VE GOT TO STOP! YOU HAVE A WRONG NUMBER AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE! "
Blessed silence.
Silence . . .
Silence . . . .
Silence . . . . .
Silence . . . . . .
Damn . . . how you wished that phone would ring.
R - I - I - N - N - G - G.
It can’t be her. Not Anymore. You pick it up.
"I don’t care who you are…you listen better than that stupid ass of a husband - I'm going to keep calling when I'm frustrated…got that!?! Now listen here…"
