Twelve

 

Chandra held the torn napkin in her hand. It had gotten stuck under her feet while she was driving. Most of the numbers on it were smudged and unreadable. She held it up to the light, but that didn't help her. She thought she could make out a five or possibly a three and an eight but that was it. Chandra fell back into the pillows on her bed still clasping the napkin in her hand. She recounted the evening's events in her mind hoping that she'd be able to recall the number. She held the napkin to her head as if that would somehow help her remember.

"Unbelievable," she said to herself. She folded the napkin and placed it in her nightstand drawer. She decided to get some sleep and see if she could remember it in the morning. She really didn't want to go to the club again with Renee. That's why she had sneaked off by herself. She decided to get some rest and try to figure out what Zade's phone number was in the morning.

She sank down into bed and pulled her crisp white sheet over her. The ceiling fan buzzed as it sliced the air, blocking out the other noises in the house. Her room was a cocoon of sound. She closed her eyes and instantly started to dream.

In this dream, Chandra was an old woman. She didn't feel old, but she knew she was old by the look of her hands, which were covered in loose skin dotted with dark brown spots. Her hair hung in front of her face in gray wisps. She wore a long red dress made from a rough fabric. In the dream, she was standing in a field full of white, fluffy flowers. She could hear birds chirping, but couldn't see them. Suddenly, a deep rumbling like thunder rolled over her. The noise was constant. It filled her head and made her feel as if her eardrums would burst. She fell to the ground in pain, clasping her hands over her ears.

 

**

 

Chandra awoke before the alarm clock went off. The red block numbers read 5:58. She reached over and turned off the alarm. She stretched, sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes with her palms.

Chandra could perfectly recount her dreams as if they'd happened. Her head ached just behind her eyes. She swung her feet over the side of the bed. Her toes grazed the shaggy multicolored throw rug that she'd bought the previous year at a crafts fair. Switching on the dim nightstand lamp, she opened the drawer and pulled out the napkin. She still couldn't make out the numbers, sleep and dreaming hadn't changed that. Not knowing exactly why, Chandra picked up her cell phone and looked at the keypad. She tentatively pressed a number, then another and another. She looked at the seven digits on the display. They looked right to her. She closed her eyes and pressed the green talk button. It took a few seconds for the phone to connect; she could hear it ringing even though she hadn't put the receiver to her ear. She considered hanging up; it was six in the morning. "It's way too early to call any ..."

Before she could finish her sentence, a voice said, "Hello?"

Shocked, she held the receiver to her ear. "Hello. Zade?"

"Who is this?" the voice was gruff.

"Sorry, I must have the wrong number."

"This is Zade. Who is this?" he asked again. His voice softened.

Embarrassed, she answered, "This is Chandra. I met you at the club last week. I came back last night. We talked, you gave me your number." She was always afraid that people wouldn't remember her.

She was just getting ready to describe what she looked like when Zade said, "Of course, I know who you are. How could I forget?"

"Sorry I called you so early. I wasn't thinking. I had lost your number ... well not exactly lost it, but it's unreadable, and I was trying to figure out what it was, and I accidentally called you. Sorry."

"That's okay. I only just went to bed."

"Oh. So you'll sleep all day?"

"As long as I can. I have to work at a demolition this afternoon."

"A demolition?"

"Yeah, they're tearing down a bank. They're trying to make it some kind of event by having a band there."

"Strange."

"I've seen stranger, that's for sure." Zade laughed.

Chandra laughed too. "I should let you sleep, and I have to get ready for work."

"Yeah. I really should sleep. Is this your cell?"

"Yeah."

"I'll call you when I get up."

"I'll be at work until 5:30," Chandra said.

"Okay. I'll call you after 5:30."

"Okay. Get some sleep. Good night." They were both silent, waiting to hear the other hang up. It was like the phone was glued to Chandra's ear. Finally she said, "Good-bye. Sleep well." She hung up her phone and immediately saved his number.

 

**

 

Renee poked her head into Chandra's cubicle around lunchtime. She'd gotten a haircut. It was shoulder length now and looked much fuller. "Hey."

Chandra spun around in her chair to face her. "Yeah?"

"I've given you half the day to comment and you haven't said anything."

"About what?"

Renee put the palm of her hand to the end of her hair and fluffed it a bit.

"You cut your hair!" Chandra was embarrassed that she didn't notice earlier in the day. The haircut was so obvious, but all she could think about was her phone call with Zade. She had floated through her morning so far, barely remembering what she had done.

"You don't like it." Renee stepped into the cubicle completely. "It looks awful."

"No. It's nice. It makes you look younger."

"So, I looked old before?" Renee pouted.

"No. I just mean you look younger than you are."

"Thanks." She tossed her head. "I hope Craig likes it. Are you going to Prescott's tonight?"

Chandra hadn't planned on going anywhere but home. She was looking forward to her after work call from Zade, but the idea of seeing him was even better. "Yeah," she found herself saying. "I'll meet you there after dinner."

"I thought we could eat out again."

"I should go home and eat with my dad. I'll meet you there at ... I don't know ... eight thirty."

"Sounds good. You want to go out for lunch?"

"No. I brought lunch. I was just going to eat at my desk."

"You're such a hard worker."

Chandra laughed, "Yeah, right."

"See you later. I'm starving." Renee waved over her shoulder as she walked away.

 

**

 

Chandra paused in front of the tinted glass doors of the office building to dig through her purse. She was looking for her cell phone. She wanted to have it in her hand so she could answer it quickly when Zade called.

A black bellowing cloud hung in the sky over the office building. Chandra had parked at the far end of the parking lot again. Before she stepped off the sidewalk into the parking lot, Barney pulled up in front of her in his golf cart. His black security ball cap was smudged with gray dirt. "Need a lift?" He smiled and tipped up his cap.

"No, I'm good." Chandra walked around the front of his cart.

"I'd say you are." He pulled his cap down snug again.

Chandra gripped her phone and started across the parking lot.

"You've been dressing different these days." Barney pulled the cart up along side her. "You got a boyfriend or something?"

"Maybe."

"So you're probably going to meet him after work."

"Maybe." She didn't turn to look at him. Even though she'd been trying to change, some things didn't need changing. She felt that her treatment of Barney was one of those things.

"Cause I was thinking ..."

"Were you?" She smirked.

"Yeah, I was thinking that I'm not busy, and if you weren't busy maybe we could ... I mean maybe you wouldn't mind going out for dinner or something."

"I can't, I'm busy." A giant raindrop landed directly in the middle of her head. Chandra reached up and rubbed the spot where the drop fell.

Barney looked at her puzzled. "You got a headache or something?"

"I think it's starting to rain." Just as she finished her sentence giant drops started thundering down. Chandra took off running. Her hard soled sandals clicked across the blacktop.

"Get in. I'll drive you." Barney was still driving next to her.

Chandra ignored him and continued to run. She wasn't very far from her car, but she was drenched already. As she neared her car, Chandra tried to stop, but her feet slipped out from under her. She landed on her butt in her new white slacks. Her cell phone flew out of her hand and broke into two pieces as it hit the blacktop.

"Are you okay?" Barney was off his cart and by her side within seconds.

Chandra sat on the ground. Her tailbone throbbed. "I'm fine." She looked over at her broken phone sitting in a puddle of water.

Barney picked it up for her. "Time to buy a new phone." He gave her the pieces and then held out his hand to help her up.

They were both drenched. Chandra thanked Barney quickly and got into her car. He was still standing in the rain when she pulled off. He waved at her, before lumbering back to his golf cart.

The broken phone lay on the passenger seat. "I can't believe it!" Chandra hit the steering wheel. The old her would've seen all of these events as a sign that she and Zade weren't meant for each other: the unreadable number, the broken phone. The new Chandra saw it as an invitation to try harder. Chandra, she thought, you can't expect everything to be handed to you. Sometimes you need to work for it.