Rod and Debbie continued...

Debbie looked at her watch.   Four seventeen.   Less than forty-five minutes before her shift was over.   Still, time was moving like a fat man up a steep hill, each second a slow, deliberate step.   She knew it would feel like an eternity.   Just like it did yesterday.   And the day before.   Just like it had felt every day for the past week.   Each day, around four o'clock,she found herself checking the time, sensing that the work day was almost over.   Once the first check was made, she would be constantly looking at her watch, never letting more than five minutes slip by without a peek.

It was just a week ago that she had stumbled upon Rod in Facebook.   Judging from his picture, he hadn't changed much.   He was still the same old Rod.   Making the friend request had felt a little odd after so many years with no contact.   Still, Debbie was desperate to connect with Rod.   He'd left so suddenly and without telling anyone where he was going.   Over the years, Debbie had picked up bits and pieces.   He was somewhere in the southwest.   He worked with animals.   Now, thanks to Facebook, she had found him living in Phoenix.

After her shift, Debbie raced home.   This was her routine these days.   Race home, check her Facebook account, hope that Rod had accepted her request.   Each day it was the same.   No Rod.   She knew her friends thought she was being foolish.   They thought she had moved on, but there she was, letting Rod control her life again.   But they didn't understand.   They couldn't.   Debbie hadn't shared everything with them.   No, there was no way they could understand why Debbie needed so badly to see Rod.

Debbie tried not to think about why Rod had not yet accepted her request.   To her, it didn't really matter.   She would find him whether or not he wanted her to.   She decided to take the scraps of information she had and try some Google searches.   She'd tried this in the past, but not since she'd learned the Phoenix information.   Now she had a name, a city and part of a job description.   Maybe if she was lucky....

The online white pages yielded nothing.   That would have been too much to ask for, Debbie thought.   Google had returned a page of entries but none of them seemed relevant.   Mostly, the results referred to automotive garages.   That's funny, Debbie thought.   Rod always liked cars.

Then Debbie saw it.   On the third page of results there was an article from the Arizona Department of Transportation.   It was some sort of employee newsletter.   Apparently, Rod had celebrated his five-year anniversary with the department.   The newsletter also included a telephone number for the main office.   Debbie jotted down the number, took a deep breath and picked up her phone.

Her was call was answered by an automated service on the first ring.   The office was closed for the day.   She could call back tomorrow, or if she knew the name or extension of the person she wanted to speak to, she could leave a message in their voice mailbox.   Debbie began to enter the letters of Rod's last name - P, I, S.   The automated voice interrupted her.

"You have selected the mailbox for "

There was a brief pause, then Rod's voice said "Rod Piston."

The automated voice was back "If this is correct, press one now, otherwise press star to return to the previous menu."

Debbie cleared her throat and pressed one.

"Hey Rod," Debbie tried to sound cheerful and nonchalant, "This is Debbie, from Minnesota?   Anyway, I sent you a friend request on Facebook but I haven't heard back.   Maybe, you don't even use your account anymore, I don't know.   Anyway Rod, I really need to talk to you.   It's really important.   Please call me."

Debbie hung up and went to the kitchen to fix dinner.   She was just opening the Rice-A-Roni box when she realized she had forgotten to leave her number.   She decided she'd better leave another message - "The San Francisco Treat" would have to wait.   She was just reaching for the telephone when it rang.   Debbie jumped a little bit, laughed at herself and picked up the phone.   It was probably her friend Donna.   Donna had been trying to get her to go out for a night on the town all week.

"Hi Donna" Debbie said with a laugh.

"Um, sorry...I was trying to reach Debbie, not Donna." a voice replied.

Debbie recognized the voice immediately. "Rod? Is that you?"

"Hi Debbie" said Rod.

Debbie felt her knees shaking and she quickly sat down. "Rod," she said. "I just left you a message."

"I know" Rod replied. "I had to stop by my office and I saw the light blinking."

"But, I forgot to leave my number." Debbie said.

"The magic of caller ID" Rod quipped.

Rod and Debbie exchanged some idle surface conversation.   Debbie mentioned how good Rod looked in his Facebook picture.   Rod thanked her and privately thanked himself for having the foresight to use that old picture from when he had first moved to Phoenix.   Debbie asked about his job.   She had heard it had something to do with animals but apparently that information was wrong.   Actually, Rod informed her, he did sort of work with animals.   He was a member of a roadkill cleanup crew.   Rod then went into a twenty minute dissertation about how much the roadkill in Arizona differed from that in Minnesota.   It felt good to talk.   There was no one in Arizona that wanted to listen to Rod talk.   Not the way that Debbie did anyway.   And so the conversation went.   Debbie asking questions, fawning over his answers.   Rod providing opinions, explanations, minutiae.   Never once did Rod stop and ask Debbie anything about herself.   He always preferred when the conversation was about him and Debbie seemed okay with that as well.   Finally though, Debbie ran out of questions and Rod ran out of answers.   After a brief pause, Rod asked the only question he had.

"Debbie," he said. "You said it was really important that you talk to me.   Why?"

Debbie took a deep breath.   She'd been dreaming of this moment for years.

"Rod," she began, "Remember that night when you left?   It was so cold and you left so quickly."

"Yes, Debbie." Rod replied, "I remember it now.   What about it?"

"Well," said Debbie, struggling to find the words, "You left so quickly.   I didn't even realize it until a week later.   By then, you were gone and I had no way to contact you."

Rod could feel a pit growing in his stomach.   He wanted to just hang up the phone and go back to his life, but he couldn't.   He had to know.

"What is it you realized?" Rod asked quietly.

"Oh Rod!" Debbie was sobbing now. "When I moved the couch, I realized you left your Neil Sedaka Timeless CD behind!"

Debbie went from sobbing to a full bawl now.   Rod felt the blood drain from his body.   He slumped in his office chair.   He thought about the hours he had spent searching for that CD when he unpacked in Phoenix.   He'd suffered for two entire months without that angelic voice before he found another copy of the CD in the discount bin at WalMart.

Debbie was recovering now.   Rod hadn't spoken anything since she'd told him about the CD.

"Rod, are you still there?" she asked, hesitantly.

Rod sighed, "Yeah, Debbie. I'm still here."

"So," Debbie began slowly, "should I ship it to you?"

Rod took a moment to consider this.   It would be neat to have his original CD back.   And it might be handy to have a spare.   On the other hand, he didn't really need two copies of the same CD and if Debbie shipped it, he would have to tell her his address.   Oh, what to do?

"Rod?" Debbie asked, "Do you want the CD?"

"Sure, Debbie" Rod finally replied, "You can ship it to my office here at work."