the phone call

She doesn’t have long to live, she knows that. The doctors gave her six months, but she doesn’t trust them. She trusts her instincts, now, as much as ever, and she always had good instincts. So, she needs to act, she thinks. She’s made a list of things she wants to do and at the top is calling him. She will call him and tell him that she always loved him, always wanted to be with him, that her life always seemed empty without him. He will be devastated, she thinks, but she has no choice. She needs to say it; he needs to know. She will do it this weekend, when her husband is out of town with the kids – a hockey tournament in Erie. She’s not sure, yet, of exactly what she will say, but she will say something. Then she will say goodbye and hang up. Just like that. Her name is not important, but you probably know her.