Back to Our Feature

Harry had just switched over phone services and was now buying internet, phone and cable from the cable t.v. company. Mostly it was because he wanted a high speed internet connection so that he could work from home when he wanted to. Ultimately, as managing editor, having to be on the floor all the time, his working from home days limited themselves to Saturdays and Sundays.

One of the added benefits of packaging all three services into one bill was the accessories package offered him. He got five more cable stations. He had three separate email addresses. He got call waiting.

Not that really mattered. He was excited about the channels and hadn't figured out how to set up multiple accounts and nobody really called all that often.

So when the phone beeped at him, he had no idea what to do.

"You still there?" Chris asked. Her question had stunned him. Her voice on the phone, even more so. It had been close to a year.

"Uh. Yeah. " The phone beeped again.

"Do you want to get that?" She asked.

"What?"

"The call you have on the other line."

"Oh, is that what that is."

"You didn't know you had call waiting?"

"I guess not. How do you use it?"

"Harry. You keep maps of Paris Streets in your head. You remember the day of the first Atomic bomb drop. You can order the right wine in three languages but you don't know how to use call waiting." It was a statement, not a question. "Click the receiver button down quickly, whoever is on the other line will be there."

"Where will you be?" he asked.

"Right here. Waiting."

He felt better having heard that. He clicked. "Hello."

"Harry, you are home."

"Hi Kathy."

"Who you on the phone with."

"Just a friend." Wrong thing to say to her. Kathy was insanely jealous and with little reason. She was also smart. If he had lied and said "Jim" or "Dave" she would have made some cutting remark and told him to get off the line or call her right back. She was demanding that way too and it kept Harry off balance and after three months it was starting to irritate him. He liked dating her and they had fun together. He just didn't like the games she was starting to play more and more.

"You're asking some girl out on a date." Her voice was both a little sing song but also had an edge to it.

"No. I'm not." Harry said "Let me call you right back."

"Sure. Whenever. If you're not all tapped out. Bye."

She hung up. He was in deep shit again with her. But right now he didn't care. At all. He clicked the receiver. "Chris?"

"Right here. Like I promised."

Harry exhaled deeply.

"Where do you want to meet?"