day 3

With a cold phone held against my ear, I drop in a few quarters and wait for an answer. It’s dark, but a nearby street light illuminates my every breath. I hold it in and then release the warm moist air with a hollow blow. It reminds me of a dragon blowing smoke. I continue to wait as the phone rings on the other end. Still no answer. The previous days’ storm no longer masks the night sky. Instead, a moonless night reveals a pristine mosaic of stars in the sky. I know I’ve seen them before, but I don’t remember there being so many. I can see the big dipper. Follow it’s face to the north star. The little dipper. Orion with his belt and dogs. Some swan. Lines connecting the stars seem to appear out of nowhere bringing the constellations to life. A shooting star shoots across the sky from Leo the lion, through my own astrological Gemini, to Taurus the bull.

My parents don’t answer on the other end, so I hang up. I don’t blame them. How long has it been since we have talked? At least a few years. It’s not that we fought or possessed any hard feelings against each other. They just didn’t understand me. They couldn’t. I didn’t understand myself.

The phone rings. Do I dare answer it? They must have caller id or did a star-sixty-nine. Hello? Mom? Her voice warms me all over. God, I have missed it. Yeah, it’s me. I… I just wanted to tell you that I loved you. We talk for an hour and catch up on all that we have missed. I don’t tell her the news. She doesn’t need to know.