Mind the Time
Copyright© 2014 by Old Man with a Pen
Chapter 16
"Might I speak to the Access Commissioner, Gary Zalewski, please?"
"Whom shall I say is calling?"
"Vee."
"Oh, my God ... it's the Princess!"
If you want to discombobulate a secretary, there is absolutely nothing like a call from a real live princess. In a weird sort of way, it was cute ... tiresome ... but cute. Naturally, the secretary connected Vee to the commissioner ... she pushed all the right buttons except the one that kept Vee connected to the commissioner's secretary. That button, she disconnected.
So Vee didn't get to hear Commissioner Zalewski say Hello half a dozen times. Nor did she hear Gary say Princess five of those six times.
Because she was trying to call back and Gary was trying to call Vee, neither of them understood the dead air time until Vee and Gary said Hello at the precisely same instant.
"Get off the line, I'm trying to make an important call," they both said ... and disconnected.
In milliseconds, they both realized what had happened and tried again. No rings ... dead air ... a tentative Hello and a return Hello, also tentative.
"Vee?" asked the Commissioner.
"Commissioner?" asked Vee.
There was just enough space between inquiries for them to be satisfied.
"Princess?" sighed Mr. Zalewski. "How may I help you?"
"Don't fire your secretary," Vee said. "I imagine I panicked her."
"You did that ... for sure," Gary said. "She's in tears ... I can hear her sobbing through my office door and it's soundproof. Let me go calm her and I'll call you back."
He disconnected. Vee fiddled with her fingers and pencil. Even though she knew it was coming, the ringtone scared her and her pad spent a little time near the ceiling.
She caught it.
"Commissioner?"
"Why would the Commissioner call you?"
"Mother ... I have an important call coming. Get off the pad."
"There's no reason to be rude about it. This will just take a minute."
Fifteen minutes of completely inconsequential yack yack later, Four disconnected and Vee tried the Commissioner ... again.
"Your pad has been busy," the Commissioner said.
"Mother," Vee said.
Gary, being a son, understood. Such interruptions of his very busy life continued to this very day. Mothers want to KNOW and work or job be damned, they want to know now.
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