Just Another Day...

Once in a while when my brain fizzles out this happens...

Just Another Day

The filtered light at the bedroom window promised another grey day. Turning towards the soft snoring beside her she smirked at the black ball of fur curled up on the pillow. Stretching a leg she found another one at the foot of the bed. Mentally thanking God for the best sleep in days she lazily wondered what day it was. There were no sounds in the house and as her senses came alive she decided it must be Friday.

Feeling her stirring, one tail thumping dog raised its head off the pillow to greet her with a loud yawn. The other one jumped off the bed landing into a perfect butt-raised stretch. She threw on her flannel pants and made her way downstairs to let them out. Peeking inside her son’s room she was surprised to find he had already left for school. “He could have said goodbye,” she said to the dogs who were now barking at the squirrels on the deck.

She straightened up the house a bit as the dogs settled in for a morning nap. She turned on the computer and tried logging into the internet. She was greeted with a new user screen shot requesting a customer id number. Not feeling up to fighting with the internet company today she decided to follow up on her mom’s medical referrals. Call after call looped in endless voicemail system prompts, she zeroed out of the system praying for a live person on the other end. When one finally answered, the call was filled with static and it was quickly apparent that the operator could not hear her and hung up. Wanting to scream at this point she took a deep breath and redialed. After a couple of hours, a recording confirmed that a referral had been approved…for March 2011.  She stared at the phone in disbelief…and started laughing. “Ok, this cannot be happening! It’s 2013!”

Feeling that she needed a break she decided to drive into town and drop off the mail. She waved to the man entering town hall as she pulled up to the mailbox. He ignored her and walked inside. She turned on the radio but quickly switched to cd when she heard the familiar weak static. As she passed a neighbor’s house she saw him pulling his garbage can so she waved. Surprised that he hadn’t seen her she wondered if he was ok. The dogs’ enthusiastic greeting momentarily interrupted her reverie. Feeling a need for human contact she called her Mom but there was no answer. She tried her sisters and her husband and everyone seemed to be out doing something.

She looked out the window and nobody was around. She tried logging online again and received the same new user prompt. She tried calling the insurance and again found herself stuck in voicemail. Feeling an odd sense of isolation she turned on the tv. Something felt off…she felt that she needed to speak with someone live. She sent her sisters a text message asking for them to call. There was no response. Wondering who to call she tried the local library knowing that a live person would answer. With relief she heard the joyful voice on the other end but again static blocked her voice and the person hung up. A creepy feeling started invading her thoughts. Wondering when she had last talked to someone live. Amused she told the dogs, “Hey, you’d tell me if I was dead right?” Then laughing at her own silliness added, “well of course you wouldn’t know because dogs can see the dead.”

She decided to busy herself with the brainless task of washing dishes. She went into the living room to pick up the coffee cup her husband always left in front of the tv. As she lifted the cup her eyes fell upon the open church bulletin. Specifically the article that read “Memorial Mass to be held today for local parishioner who perished two years ago when her car slid off the road into the icy river water.” Uneasy now, she scanned the article knowing what she would find. There, at the end, she learned that she and her two beloved dogs had drowned in 2011. The coffee cup crashed to the floor as she turned to see the dogs jump happily towards her.    

~ ~ ~

As I ignored the internet's prompt and tried to keep cool with the insurance company

my brain fizzled out and for a moment I wondered

and I sent my sister a text

'you'd tell me if I was dead right?'

she replied 'yes'