I heard my phone go off and my fingers automatically began to hit pretend keys in the air to "Fur Elise," one of my favorite songs to play on the keyboard. I walked over to the phone and hit the button to see who text me. I smiled when I saw it was from Thomas, a long time, long distance friend. We had spoken to each other for at least five years. I had taken about a two year sabbatical on talking over the Internet but had recently returned. Upon my return, Thomas had given me his cell number and I had started texting him instead of e-mailing. This was a good thing. It was easier to text then to jump on the net to check in boxes. I read the text, "what's up, baby? How are you?"
I smiled as I typed my response, "not much. It's summer time. Don't have anything to do, no classes, no work. It kinda sux! Other than that, I'm good. How r u doing?"
I brought the phone with me as I sat back down on the couch and hit play on the remote. I am a graduate student so during the semester I do not get much time to watch television. I had entire seasons of my favorite shows to watch and currently I was into watching "Ghost Hunters."
The phone went back off and I looked down at it, "I'm good. Can I ask you to do me a favor?"
My eyebrow went up but I didn't think much of it. He had asked for these things before: do me a favor, call me, let me hear your voice; do me a favor also meant, sometimes, that we were about to start one of our extremely hot fuck-talk sessions. I replied back, "yeah if I can. What is it?"
I fast forwarded through the commercials and by the time the show came back on my phone was going off again, "will you give me your address?"
My head went back with a look of shock. Why did he want my address? In the years that we had been talking he had never asked for anything like that. I probably wouldn't have ever given it to him, but I thought it was strange. I replied, "Y do u want my addy?"
The response was quick, "cuz I want to send u sumthin."
"What do u want to send me?"
"Y do u ask so many questions?"
I took a deep breath, let it out, and replied, "This makes me a little nervous."
"There's no need to be nervous. Do u think I'd do anything bad?"
"Do I really know the real u?"
"Jessi. C'mon it'll be fine. I promise. It's just a little sumthin to say thnx for all the years."
"Lemme have ur addy."
"What? Y?"
"Y do u want mine?"
"I'll give it to u."
"How will I know if it is really ur addy?"
"How do I know if u give me urs that it'll really be where u live?"
"You can chk mine. There's this thing called the Internet."
"U could chk mine too."
"Well, Thomas, u gonna give it to me or what?"
He replied with an address. I replied back, "This is ur real addy? If I looked it up, I would be satisfied?"
"Yes, Jessi, it seriously is my real addy. I promise to God. Now give me urs."
"U know there are certain sins that u can't just go and confess to and getting an address from someone that u might be wanting to rape and kill is one of those sins. Don't promise to God if ur lying to me."
"I'm not lying to u. Nor do I want to rape and kill u."
I finally gave in and gave him my address.
"Thnx, baby. Watch the mail."
"Y? R u sending a bomb or sumthin?"
"Dammit, girl! Stop that."
I waited anxiously all week. I watched for the mailman and made him hand me each envelope. He looked at me weird but didn't say anything to me. Finally, there was an envelope with Thomas' return address on it. I looked at it but wouldn't touch it.
"Open that."
"What?"
"Open that letter for me."
"Why? I can't do that. I'd get fired."
"I'm not going to tell."
"Seriously, I can't do it."
"Seriously, you will do it."
It never took people long to succumb to what I wanted them to do and he opened the letter for me. He showed it to me, "see." He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me. It was a little note that said, "see you soon." Inside the envelope was a plane ticket.
"What did you think it was?"
"I didn't know."
He looked at me weirdly again, shook his head and went off to finish his route. I held the ticket in my hand. The departure date was for this coming Friday. I noticed it wasn't a round trip ticket. I went in the house and text Thomas.
"Hey, what's this plane ticket for?"
"It's for you to come see me."
"I don't fly."
"You can cash it in. Then you could use the money to buy the gas it takes to get down here."
"Y'd u do this?"
"I think that we have waited long enough to see each other. I knew you wouldn't make the first move. I can't leave here to come up there so I did the only thing I could think of."
"R u serious?"
"If I wasn't I wouldn't have spent the money on the ticket."
"It's not a round trip ticket."
"Thought myb u'd like it down here enough to stay."
"U know I can't stay. I have school and a life and everything else up here."
"Wishful thinking. When u get tired of being here I'll buy u a plane ticket home."
"No u won't. Ur going to kidnap me and keep me there."
"That's very wishful thinking."
"OMG!"
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You know me. You know I couldn't do that."
"How do I know? How do I really know? You could have been lying to me all these years."
"U have major trust issues don't you?"
"We rnt psycho-analyzing me."
"Jessi, seriously, I just want to see you in real life. You could stay the weekend, then I'll buy you a ticket home or you could buy yrslf one doesn't matter really."
"Alright, whatever. Thnx for the ticket."
"I'm going to be at the airport to pick you up. If ur not there....."
I knew that was coming. I really had no choice now. He knew where I lived. It wouldn't be too hard for him to take a short trip up to Kansas City.
Friday morning rolled around. I got up early and drove to the cathedral. I walked into the chapel and got on my knees. I prayed until I heard a noise. I turned around and saw my Father walking through.
"Father Matt?"