Week 33 [Home Game]: The Call That Never Came
[Intersection with ecosopher! :) Her entry is located here.]
“Good morning, AdventCo. This is Mary-”
“Are you a supervisor?” the man on the other end of the phone demanded.
One of the difficult customers wanted to cross her desk with twenty minutes to lunch? Could this day get any worse? “Yes,” Mary said. She swiveled her chair toward her computer once again to view the man’s file. “How may I help-”
“You people have called me three times this week yammering about a call to adventure,” the man said. “I’ve told you I don’t want an adventure! But you don’t listen!”
“Sir, I apologize for any inconvenience,” Mary said as she read the succinct version of the file that popped up on her screen. She was speaking to Robert Parker, age twenty-two (but sounded thirty-two), who was about to graduate from the most prestigious university in the country and embark upon a career in investment banking. “The Call to Adventure-”
“How many people do I need to talk to before I get you to take me off your call list?” Robert asked.
According to the file, Mr. Parker would barely stop to purchase two new suits before embarking upon a career in investment banking. He had never had an adventure in his life. That was about to change. For a moment, Mary hated this man for more than his telephone call coming in twenty minutes before her lunch break. She ignored it. Hatred had no use.
“Mr. Parker, the Call is for your benefit,” Mary explained. Now, the screen showed a new call coming in from Fred Stratton.
“Not when you’re pestering me, it’s not.”
Where had she heard that name before? Of course! They had gone to school together. But aside from the occasional photograph that made it onto her news feed, Mary hadn’t heard from Freddie in years. When they parted ways, Freddie had been about to embark upon the perfect life. Mary had thought that she was on the verge of the perfect life, too.
“Hello? Are you even listening to me?”
Yes, yes, of course she was. Mary switched to the argument that usually worked on men whose egos were bigger than their souls for adventure: “Mr. Parker, you could be a hero if you listened to the Call.” She paused for dramatic effect.
The customer took the bait: “Really?”
“Really. Haven’t you ever dreamed of making the world a better place? More importantly, haven’t you dreamed of everyone recognizing you for it? Keep ignoring the Call, and you’ll be stuck behind your desk for the next thirty to forty years wondering where your life went. Listen to it, and you’ll know. Most importantly, everyone else will know, too.”
“Huh.” Mary could hear Robert’s ego expanding as he spoke that one word. “I’ll have to think about that.”
“Thank you for calling AdventCo. We look forward to helping you achieve a more adventurous tomorrow,” Mary intoned. Two more calls had popped up on her screen. She pushed the button to take Freddie’s call.
The greeting script should have leapt out of her mouth, but Mary’s hopes were up that this would be a more friendly call, so she tried to issue a more familiar greeting: “Freddie.” She sounded like death warmed over. She should have stuck with the chirpy greeting script.
“I prefer Fred, now.”
Right. The file said Fred. Mary rubbed her eyes and took another look at the computer screen to find more information about her old friend. Her eyes didn’t deceive her: the file was blank. It should have contained the customer’s biography, the reason for the Call to Adventure, and a history of previous attempts to make Calls in the case of difficult customers. Why was he calling?
“What is it?” she asked, confused. She tried to sound like this was an ordinary conversation. This conversation was probably being recorded for training purposes. “We have a lot of Calls to make today, and we’re short-staffed. I’ve been on phones all morning.”
“Well, that’s basically the reason I’m calling.” Fred paused.
Mary could not read his mind, and he had no file for her to read. He would just have to tell her why he needed to reach her here. “What is it?”
“I never got a Call to Adventure.”
How could that be possible? Well, the lack of a Call explained the blank file, but Mary had always assumed that Fred got a Call. “I thought you did,” she said.
“No. I never got it.”
“But you spent that year traveling around Europe. You even went skydiving that one time. I thought you must have gotten the Call.” Why did Mary press on in her belief, even with the evidence before her eyes and ears that Fred had never received a Call?
“I spent a year in Europe because everyone else at our school went, Mary. I went skydiving because my brother talked me into it and I didn’t want him to die alone. I did everything I was supposed to. I never thought about what I wanted. And now-” Fred stopped talking, then tried again. “I’m probably too old to ever get the Call. It’s never going to come unless I make it come.”
On a certain level, Mary felt for him. He sounded so sad. Sometimes she felt jealous of the customers because they were about to embark upon adventures that she could never have. She had missed the Call three years ago and almost given up hope that it would ever come back. But what could she do about it? “I can’t just call someone who isn’t on the list.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t make the lists,” Mary explained as if she was talking to an ordinary customer.
“But what makes me that different from the people who are on the lists?” Fred asked. “I know I’m supposed to be settling down. I’ve done what I’m supposed to do my whole life.”
Mary tried to formulate an answer, but failed. The words should be on the tip of her tongue. She tried again. At that moment, she realized that she had spent so many years convincing people to welcome the Call into their lives that she could not adequately explain why the Call had to be limited to those on the lists her employer gave her.
“I’m tired, Mary,” Fred confessed.
What had happened to the Freddie she knew? He had always seemed so energetic while they were in school together. Parties had no life to them if Freddie wasn’t there. Something awful must have happened to him during the years that had intervened between now and then.
“It’s not…” Mary’s attempt to comfort Fred had sounded better in her head. “If you don’t get the Call…” So had that one. How could she fill the emptiness in his heart when she couldn’t fix her own? She wanted the Call to come back and take her away so badly. What could Mary do if it came, though? She supported both of her parents on her income from this job. If the Call had come at a better time, then she could have done whatever she wanted. It was too late for her now.
“It’s fine, Mary.” Fred sounded like he was trying to convince himself. “Really, it is. I guess I was expecting to get the Call, but maybe it’s not coming for me. You’re right. I can’t make it come.”
Mary wished that she could be wrong. “I’m-” she started apologizing.
“It’s okay, Mary. I’m not sure I want to wait any longer for someone else to tell me when the adventure should begin.”
“I’m sorry, Fred. I’d help you if I could-”
“Thanks, Mary. I’ll catch up with you later.” The call ended.
Mary dropped her head onto her desk, then craned it upward to check the clock. She had five minutes left until lunch. Maybe the next call would be quick and she could have some time away from the lucky ducks who received their Calls. Mary took a deep breath before speaking and tried to sound happy.
“Good morning, AdventCo. This is Mary.”
“Good morning, AdventCo. This is Mary-”
“Are you a supervisor?” the man on the other end of the phone demanded.
One of the difficult customers wanted to cross her desk with twenty minutes to lunch? Could this day get any worse? “Yes,” Mary said. She swiveled her chair toward her computer once again to view the man’s file. “How may I help-”
“You people have called me three times this week yammering about a call to adventure,” the man said. “I’ve told you I don’t want an adventure! But you don’t listen!”
“Sir, I apologize for any inconvenience,” Mary said as she read the succinct version of the file that popped up on her screen. She was speaking to Robert Parker, age twenty-two (but sounded thirty-two), who was about to graduate from the most prestigious university in the country and embark upon a career in investment banking. “The Call to Adventure-”
“How many people do I need to talk to before I get you to take me off your call list?” Robert asked.
According to the file, Mr. Parker would barely stop to purchase two new suits before embarking upon a career in investment banking. He had never had an adventure in his life. That was about to change. For a moment, Mary hated this man for more than his telephone call coming in twenty minutes before her lunch break. She ignored it. Hatred had no use.
“Mr. Parker, the Call is for your benefit,” Mary explained. Now, the screen showed a new call coming in from Fred Stratton.
“Not when you’re pestering me, it’s not.”
Where had she heard that name before? Of course! They had gone to school together. But aside from the occasional photograph that made it onto her news feed, Mary hadn’t heard from Freddie in years. When they parted ways, Freddie had been about to embark upon the perfect life. Mary had thought that she was on the verge of the perfect life, too.
“Hello? Are you even listening to me?”
Yes, yes, of course she was. Mary switched to the argument that usually worked on men whose egos were bigger than their souls for adventure: “Mr. Parker, you could be a hero if you listened to the Call.” She paused for dramatic effect.
The customer took the bait: “Really?”
“Really. Haven’t you ever dreamed of making the world a better place? More importantly, haven’t you dreamed of everyone recognizing you for it? Keep ignoring the Call, and you’ll be stuck behind your desk for the next thirty to forty years wondering where your life went. Listen to it, and you’ll know. Most importantly, everyone else will know, too.”
“Huh.” Mary could hear Robert’s ego expanding as he spoke that one word. “I’ll have to think about that.”
“Thank you for calling AdventCo. We look forward to helping you achieve a more adventurous tomorrow,” Mary intoned. Two more calls had popped up on her screen. She pushed the button to take Freddie’s call.
The greeting script should have leapt out of her mouth, but Mary’s hopes were up that this would be a more friendly call, so she tried to issue a more familiar greeting: “Freddie.” She sounded like death warmed over. She should have stuck with the chirpy greeting script.
“I prefer Fred, now.”
Right. The file said Fred. Mary rubbed her eyes and took another look at the computer screen to find more information about her old friend. Her eyes didn’t deceive her: the file was blank. It should have contained the customer’s biography, the reason for the Call to Adventure, and a history of previous attempts to make Calls in the case of difficult customers. Why was he calling?
“What is it?” she asked, confused. She tried to sound like this was an ordinary conversation. This conversation was probably being recorded for training purposes. “We have a lot of Calls to make today, and we’re short-staffed. I’ve been on phones all morning.”
“Well, that’s basically the reason I’m calling.” Fred paused.
Mary could not read his mind, and he had no file for her to read. He would just have to tell her why he needed to reach her here. “What is it?”
“I never got a Call to Adventure.”
How could that be possible? Well, the lack of a Call explained the blank file, but Mary had always assumed that Fred got a Call. “I thought you did,” she said.
“No. I never got it.”
“But you spent that year traveling around Europe. You even went skydiving that one time. I thought you must have gotten the Call.” Why did Mary press on in her belief, even with the evidence before her eyes and ears that Fred had never received a Call?
“I spent a year in Europe because everyone else at our school went, Mary. I went skydiving because my brother talked me into it and I didn’t want him to die alone. I did everything I was supposed to. I never thought about what I wanted. And now-” Fred stopped talking, then tried again. “I’m probably too old to ever get the Call. It’s never going to come unless I make it come.”
On a certain level, Mary felt for him. He sounded so sad. Sometimes she felt jealous of the customers because they were about to embark upon adventures that she could never have. She had missed the Call three years ago and almost given up hope that it would ever come back. But what could she do about it? “I can’t just call someone who isn’t on the list.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t make the lists,” Mary explained as if she was talking to an ordinary customer.
“But what makes me that different from the people who are on the lists?” Fred asked. “I know I’m supposed to be settling down. I’ve done what I’m supposed to do my whole life.”
Mary tried to formulate an answer, but failed. The words should be on the tip of her tongue. She tried again. At that moment, she realized that she had spent so many years convincing people to welcome the Call into their lives that she could not adequately explain why the Call had to be limited to those on the lists her employer gave her.
“I’m tired, Mary,” Fred confessed.
What had happened to the Freddie she knew? He had always seemed so energetic while they were in school together. Parties had no life to them if Freddie wasn’t there. Something awful must have happened to him during the years that had intervened between now and then.
“It’s not…” Mary’s attempt to comfort Fred had sounded better in her head. “If you don’t get the Call…” So had that one. How could she fill the emptiness in his heart when she couldn’t fix her own? She wanted the Call to come back and take her away so badly. What could Mary do if it came, though? She supported both of her parents on her income from this job. If the Call had come at a better time, then she could have done whatever she wanted. It was too late for her now.
“It’s fine, Mary.” Fred sounded like he was trying to convince himself. “Really, it is. I guess I was expecting to get the Call, but maybe it’s not coming for me. You’re right. I can’t make it come.”
Mary wished that she could be wrong. “I’m-” she started apologizing.
“It’s okay, Mary. I’m not sure I want to wait any longer for someone else to tell me when the adventure should begin.”
“I’m sorry, Fred. I’d help you if I could-”
“Thanks, Mary. I’ll catch up with you later.” The call ended.
Mary dropped her head onto her desk, then craned it upward to check the clock. She had five minutes left until lunch. Maybe the next call would be quick and she could have some time away from the lucky ducks who received their Calls. Mary took a deep breath before speaking and tried to sound happy.
“Good morning, AdventCo. This is Mary.”