The Answering Machine

Lee was an elderly man whose eccentricities were exceeded only by his congenial disposition. The wrinkles on his face were deeply creviced at the corner of his eyes, which sparkled in the direction of anyone lucky enough to cross his path. He lived in a small apartment just above a diner, the owner of which was named Henry. Lee called him Hank.

Hank was a large man whose large protruding gut falsely advertised a jolliness that one would think to find in his character. He was far from a curmudgeon but his demeanor was stern. Always cordial to his customers, however, Hank was never without a customer. His personality was doubtlessly molded by his family and years of service to the military. Hank’s trust was not easily earned, but is a valuable commodity as this story will illustrate.

“Hank!” Lee yelled as he busted through the front doors of the diner. “Here it is!”

The old man ran from the door to the end of the counter carrying a small answering machine under his arm, the wire dragging behind him. He reeled in the cord and leaned his whole body over the counter plugging it clumsily into some hidden outlet. There was only one other customer in the diner; a young man in a modest suit making a miserable attempt to mind his own business over soup and a cup of coffee. Henry noticed and smiled to himself.

“All right, Hank,” Lee answered, “I hate to tell you I told you so.”

“I never said I didn’t believe you, Lee,” Henry commented, “I just don’t want you getting all worked up over a silly message. It’s not good for the heart at our age.”

“You didn’t have to say you didn’t believe me,” Lee fumbled around with the buttons for a few moments. With one swift click, the machine played.

“You have one message,” the machine said coldly, “Sent today.”

“You see. This one was today; just like I said, Hank.”

“Okay, Lee, I’m listening.”

There was a second or two of magnetic buzzing, and then, faintly, a voice emanated from the machine.

“Hey, Lee, it’s me, Christy. I’ll call back later… If you’re there… I hope you pick up. There’s something I want to talk to you about… Bye.”

“That was, Christy!” Lee shouted with a smile on his face. Henry smirked at his old friend, his eyebrows furrowed as if confused by something.

“Well, it certainly sounded like her. Why are you down here? She might be calling right now.”

“She already called again, Hank,” Lee answered.

“Christy left you three years ago, Lee. What are you talking about?”

“I know, but she said it’s time for us to be together again. I’ve waited so long for this.” Lee smiled and Henry responded in kind and his eyes began to glisten.

“Lee, this is crazy. You can’t be serious.”

“I couldn’t be any more serious. That’s her voice. And you know that that’s her voice.”

“I don’t want you to do anything stupid.”

“I’m not going to do anything stupid, Hank. You knew this would happen sooner or later.”

“Well, tell her I said hello. I’m going to miss you, Lee.”

“I’ll definitely tell her, old friend. It’s been great knowing you.”

Henry walked to the other side of the counter and threw his large arms around Lee. Their calloused hands patted the other on the back. Lee walked out of the door and waved one last time to his friend through the window. The young man in the modest suit finished his coffee and approached Henry with the check.

“I know you were listening. It’s no big deal,” Henry chuckled.

“So you guys are pretty close?” they young man asked.

“We’re practically brothers. My wife introduced him to his wife. They would have been married 40 years next month.”

“That’s sweet, but did you not like this Christy woman?”

“What? No, I loved her like a sister.”

“Then, what’s with the entire objection to those two getting back together?”

“Because, son, she passed away three years ago.” And with that, Henry shut the register and walked the young man in the modest suit out.