through the fog or good luck jenny
Somewhere through the fogginess came the sound of music. Angels? No. It was disco music. I lifted my head off the pillow and squinted Popeye-style at the my clock radio trying to figure out what the heck was going on. It wasn't the alarm, and I noticed that I'd forgotten to set it. Yesterday I managed to set my alarm clock ahead two hours in my sleep causing me to have a slight heart attack at what I thought was the curent time of 9:28 a.m. Finally as the song died in mid-play, I realized it was joshwaylon's ring on my mobile. I laid my head back down not really caring why he was calling. (NOTE: Obviously don't just call me once in the middle of the night during an emergency. If you're in jail, then you probably shouldn't be calling me anyway) He called back and I got up to answer it.
"Hello?" My voice was deeper and thicker than it normally is.
Standing in front of the television feeling the water pipes to see if the heat was on Josh said, "GOOD MORNING!" He was, in fact, speaking in all caps. When last I left Josh he was sleeping quite fitfully in his recliner.
"Hi. What's up?"
"YOU WANT TO GO GET SOME BREAKFAST BEFORE WORK??"
"How long have you been up?"
"MMMMM...ABOUT AN HOUR"
I'm sure at this point I sighed and tried to think quickly which is difficult when you're not a morning person. Normally my early morning thinking revolves around if I really need to shave. We finally agreed on Steak-n-Shake because, "THEY ONLY SERVE BREAKFAST DURING BREAKFAST HOURS," Josh informs me.
"Okay, I'll call you when I'm getting ready to walk out the door and we'll meet at the one on Vernon," I say and then go to get ready. Then I remember that I need to get gas this morning, so I call Josh and detour to the closest Shell station. There's no answer on his phone. Now, he's got this very clever message on his phone right now. It's all festive with him singing, "Outside the snow if falling and you are calling my phone." There's more to the little song, but I can't remember the rest of the words. It's to the tune of "Winter Wonderland" and I"m always amused when I get it. It was extra festive today hearing that song, because snow was actually falling. I told him I was on my way and to call me back.
I pulled into the gas station and got out to pump my gas. Thank God for pay at the pump because who forgot to get his wallet out of his jeans? Yup. Me. So, I now run back to my apartment to get my wallet. I've now called Josh at least 4 times and the song isn't as cute and the snow isn't as enjoyable. I stop leaving messages.
At this point, there's no closure in the story. I end up getting McDonald's for breakfast and heading to work very early. I sit in my car and listen to NPR. Here's what I imagine happened over in Josh's apartment on the north-side of Normal: Josh who's been awake a lot this week was full of energy for about an hour. He sat down waiting for me to call -- he was probably ready to go right then when he called me. He called me as a last resort, because Gabe didn't want to go. I'm the last resort, because I won't have a lot of time before work. Anyway, he sits down to watch some Fox News. He might even be sitting on his bed with the remote control in his hand, and he begins to nod off. The remote control slips onto the floor and Josh falls back asleep. That hard deep sleep that comes on you after you've woken up early and been energetic. His phone rings in his coat pocket and he never hears it. His breathing steadies and lengthens. It's 8:07 a.m.
"Hello?" My voice was deeper and thicker than it normally is.
Standing in front of the television feeling the water pipes to see if the heat was on Josh said, "GOOD MORNING!" He was, in fact, speaking in all caps. When last I left Josh he was sleeping quite fitfully in his recliner.
"Hi. What's up?"
"YOU WANT TO GO GET SOME BREAKFAST BEFORE WORK??"
"How long have you been up?"
"MMMMM...ABOUT AN HOUR"
I'm sure at this point I sighed and tried to think quickly which is difficult when you're not a morning person. Normally my early morning thinking revolves around if I really need to shave. We finally agreed on Steak-n-Shake because, "THEY ONLY SERVE BREAKFAST DURING BREAKFAST HOURS," Josh informs me.
"Okay, I'll call you when I'm getting ready to walk out the door and we'll meet at the one on Vernon," I say and then go to get ready. Then I remember that I need to get gas this morning, so I call Josh and detour to the closest Shell station. There's no answer on his phone. Now, he's got this very clever message on his phone right now. It's all festive with him singing, "Outside the snow if falling and you are calling my phone." There's more to the little song, but I can't remember the rest of the words. It's to the tune of "Winter Wonderland" and I"m always amused when I get it. It was extra festive today hearing that song, because snow was actually falling. I told him I was on my way and to call me back.
I pulled into the gas station and got out to pump my gas. Thank God for pay at the pump because who forgot to get his wallet out of his jeans? Yup. Me. So, I now run back to my apartment to get my wallet. I've now called Josh at least 4 times and the song isn't as cute and the snow isn't as enjoyable. I stop leaving messages.
At this point, there's no closure in the story. I end up getting McDonald's for breakfast and heading to work very early. I sit in my car and listen to NPR. Here's what I imagine happened over in Josh's apartment on the north-side of Normal: Josh who's been awake a lot this week was full of energy for about an hour. He sat down waiting for me to call -- he was probably ready to go right then when he called me. He called me as a last resort, because Gabe didn't want to go. I'm the last resort, because I won't have a lot of time before work. Anyway, he sits down to watch some Fox News. He might even be sitting on his bed with the remote control in his hand, and he begins to nod off. The remote control slips onto the floor and Josh falls back asleep. That hard deep sleep that comes on you after you've woken up early and been energetic. His phone rings in his coat pocket and he never hears it. His breathing steadies and lengthens. It's 8:07 a.m.