1 a.m. and the phone rings
I’m thinking it’s probably a friend wanting bail money
I pick it up and it’s one of those calls that has an odd sound to it
the person speaks and it sounds like they’re on Jupiter or Saturn
you talk and you hear an echo
a female voice on the other end asks for Rebecca
no, there’s no rebecca here I say in sweet time delay
I ask her where she’s calling from
she says it’s Frances from Australia like that would ring a bell with me
she asks if this used to be Rebecca’s number
I say ‘What, do I work for the phone company? How do I know?”
in a cheerful voice of course
she laughs and apologizes and says she hopes she didn’t wake me up
I laugh and say no, I was just doing some painting
turns out she’s a artist too and we chat a bit about painting
I tell her the call must be expensive so I’ll let her go
this was before the cheap internet/wifi type calls
she says, “That’s alright” and wishes me a good night
and I say good night or day or whatever it is down there
a phone call from a stranger in a strange land
and I enjoyed it
and I tell her if I run into Rebecca, I’ll tell her you said “Hello”
