That evening, Arlene poured herself a small glass of wine and wrote a note on a Post-it:
“Of course not,” Arlene sighed.
For the rest of the afternoon, it did not ring. Not once. Arlene finished her soup. She and Maya watched the end of a Columbo episode. At 4:32 p.m., the phone remained quiet—not the ominous quiet of waiting, but the peaceful quiet of a door finally locked.
Her daughter, Maya, came over Sunday afternoon for soup and commiseration. Maya was twenty-seven and had never owned a landline. She looked at the chunky cordless handset on the counter as if it were a rotary phone from 1942.
Wednesday, twice. Thursday, four times. Friday morning at 6:47 a.m., the phone blared again. This time, a number appeared: 1-800-555-0127. She answered on the third ring, heart rabbiting.
She stuck it to the side of the phone base.
The phone sat silent on the counter.
Block numbers online → Xfinity app → Voice → Call Screening.