The Night Telephone by Greta Gorsuch

Author:Greta Gorsuch [Gorsuch, Greta]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gemma Open Door
Published: 2021-06-07T15:14:38+00:00

Chapter Nine

Tarak was a few minutes late to the morning session at Doctor’s Choice Telemedicine. This morning he walked to Thirty-Fourth Street from his apartment. He had seen a coffee shop the day before, when he showed Rick the phone booth. He walked there this morning. Tarak almost never drank coffee. But this morning, he wanted some. He wasn’t so tired. That surprised him, after talking with his ex-wife on a mysterious pay telephone at two in the morning. Today, he felt like looking around his new town, during the day. Going for coffee was one way to do that.

The coffee shop was small. Through the big glass windows, he could see two workers and a few customers. He put on his mask and went inside. He bought two coffees to go, one for him and one for Rick. He talked for a few minutes with a young man sitting at a table. The young man was studying to pass a test to become an elementary school teacher. He learned Tarak was going to a training session at an office fifteen minutes away. He offered to call a taxi for Tarak. “I’d take you myself, but I’m on my bicycle today,” he said. He also pointed out a nearby cell phone dealer on Thirty-Fourth Street. He had bought a cell phone there just a few months ago. “They’re good guys,” the young man said.

Tarak’s taxi arrived. The driver saw Tarak’s mask when he got into the back of the taxi. She reached over and put her own mask on. On their way to Doctor’s Choice Telemedicine, they passed the dry cleaner and laundry service. Tarak saw it out of the corner of his eye. He chose not to look up. He did not want to see the place in the daytime. Would he see an empty phone booth with broken glass and dirt and trash heaped inside? Or would he see the night telephone, black, new, clean, and ready to use? He did not want to know. Not just yet. He could not explain anything he had seen.

He got to Doctor’s Choice Telemedicine and went into the main room. He saw Rick and handed him his coffee.

Rick opened his eyes wide. He said, “Oh wow, thanks man. Just what I needed.” He wiped off the cup with a small cleaning wipe. He slipped off his mask and took a sip of coffee.

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