Sorry, Wrong Number

Returning home from my walk with Duke yesterday, I noticed a message on the home line voice mail. Usually it takes me days to realize I have a home line voice mail message, but I'm expecting a call from the lawn mower repair guy so I checked the message quickly. This was the message:

Emma, this is Mary. I wanted to let you know that Bill passed away last night in case you haven't heard. I'll talk to you later.

This is the second call I've received for Emma in the past month. I debated about ignoring the message, figuring it would all work out, but then I felt badly for Mary who might wonder why Emma never returned her call and didn't care that Bill was gone. (Does anyone else play out these scenarios in her head?) The called ID had recorded Mary's phone number so I called her back.

"Mary, my name is Sandy C. I received your message for Emma on my telephone and wanted to let you know you got the wrong number and Emma didn't receive your message. It sounded like an important message so I wanted you to know."

Mary thanked me, asked if I knew her brother, Bill S., who had passed away. I told her the name sounded familiar but we don't know too many people in town since we live in the country. We then talked for another four or five minutes. Mary told me she was the oldest of four siblings and the only girl. Bill was her last living brother and now that he's gone she will never again hear anyone call her "sis". Mary will be 89 next month; Bill was 80 but had lost an arm years ago and had been in a nursing home for several years since his wife died. By now, I was in tears at this sweet, improbable, only-happen-in-a-very-small-town moment. Emma is Mary's sister-in-law, the widow of another of Mary's brothers. I later looked up Emma's phone number. Our numbers are the same except the last digit: ours is 6 and hers is 8. Also, I remembered other members of the family I know and realized they are members of the Catholic Church in the village where we traditionally attend Christmas Eve mass.

When I was a kid our phone number ended in 5129. There was a large discount store in our town named "Shopper's Fair". Their number ended in 5120. We used to get calls for them a lot. My dad loves to tell how I would answer the phone when I was only five or six and when they asked for Shopper's Fair I would say, "no, you've got the wrong number. Shoppers Fair is 429-5120."

I'm so glad I called Mary back. Our conversation was the highlight of my day.

Blessings,

Sandy