"Hello...?"
"Hello. Is Jackie there?"
"No, I'm sorry, she isn't."
"Oh. Do you know where she is?"
"I'm afraid not."
"Oh. Can I leave a message?"
"Sure."
"Tell her Ira called? She...she should have my number."
"Okay."
"Thanks. Goodbye."
"Bye."
Two weeks later, it occurred to me that Jackie hadn't returned my call. We had always been on friendly terms, and I couldn't imagine she was intentionally ignoring me. Secure in the knowledge that my message simply hadn't been delivered, I tried again.
There was no answer.
There was no answer the second time I tried, either. The third time I must have been lucky: "Hello...?" a woman, not Jackie, eventually answered.
"Hi. Is Jackie there?"
"No, she isn't."
"Oh. Do you know where she is?"
"No, I don't. Would you care to leave a message?"
I certainly wasn't going to be fooled again. "Do you know when she will be back?" I asked.
"Not for a couple of days. She's out of town...I think she's back home for a long weekend."
"Oh," I said, deflated. Jackie's home was Temiscaming. "Well, could you tell her I called when she gets back?"
"Does she have your number?"
I was sure that she did, but I gave it to the woman anyway.
A week passed.
The next time I tried to talk to Jackie, the phone was answered with a noisy clatter. "Hello," the woman breathlessly said.
"Hi. Is Jackie there?"
"No," the woman, obviously disappointed, replied. "She's at work. Is this Ira?"
"Umm, yes..."
"Hi. How are you doing?"
"Not bad..."
"I'm Elise. I spoke to you the last time you called."
"Oh. That's nice. How are you?"
"Pretty good. Shall I tell Jackie you called?"
"Umm, what time does she get off work?"
"Three o'clock."
"I'll call back then, thanks."
"Suit yourself."
The line was busy all that night.
Now, most people would probably have given up at this point, but I had always been fond of Jackie, and I really wanted to talk to her. The next time when I called, when Elise told me that she was sleeping and not to be disturbed, I shrugged and engaged Elise in conversation instead.
I was a little shaken the next time I called; apparently, the line had been disconnected. I had a lengthy, fruitless argument with an operator who refused to give me the new number. Three weeks later, I got Jackie's number by chance through a mutual friend.
Once again, there was no reply.
It came as a surprise, then, when the call came for me a few days later. "Hello?" I said into the receiver.
"Hello. Is Ira there?"
"Speaking. Who is this?"
"Jackie."
"Jackie who?"
"You know. Jackie. You haven't forgotten me already, have you?"
"Jacqueline! Of course, I haven't! How are you?"
"Pretty good. Listen - how come you haven't kept in touch?"
Who was it who said that your best friends are only a phone call away?
