Wrong Number

 

Leon Zeldis

 

I truly don't remember what number I dialed. I was driving down Roosevelt Boulevard, Sunday afternoon, few cars around, and I wanted to call Sarah, just say hello and, according to her answer, see whether I could drop in for a cup of coffee.

Against my habit, I did not stop the car to make the call.  I was distracted, you known, and didn't pay much attention. So I made the call, the phone rang a couple of times, and then a male voice answered:

"Yes my son?"

I was surprised. The voice did not belong to Jack, Sarah's long-time partner in life. Wedding? Never mention it.

"Who is that?" I asked.

"God, my son"

A joker! I was tempted to hang up at once, but something made me to continue the charade.

"My God, you sound so American. How come you speak English so well?"

"I speak all languages. In fact – I could see the smile on his face – I don't speak at all. I just make some connections in your brain, and you think that you heard a voice. Synapses, that's the game."

I was stuck. That was a reasonable answer, after all. I had to make a gambit.

"OK, if you are God, you know what I am doing."

"Of course; you are driving your 2008 Chevy, color red, knowing not what to do. It depends."

"Depends on what?"

"Whether or not your daughter Sarah will invite you to come."

That was too much. I pulled over and thought for a moment.

What if that was really the Supreme Being?

The thought was mind boggling.

"Listen, Your Holiness… I mean, what do I call you? This is too much…"

"Tranquilo. Take a deep breath. Just call me God."

"Where are you... God?"

"Everywhere and nowhere. When I created time and space I didn't pick a special location for my presence." He stopped for a brief moment. "No, I actually used to have one in the twin Salems city but that was a temporary arrangement. It did not succeed, if you know what I mean."

I didn't know what he was talking about, so I asked something else.

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Of course."

"You know, next week…" I was afraid to put my question into words, afraid of what the answer would be.

He did not wait for me to complete the sentence.

"Do not worry, my son, but the final outcome is still not decided. It depends on some factors."

My heart skipped a beat.

"What factors?"

"I cannot tell you. It would affect the result. Like Heisenberg's… oh well, forget it. The point is, I gave you free will, so not everything depends on me. I have so much to do."

I insisted: "But you know, the results next week, I…"

"Sorry, I have to leave now. Thank you for calling."

There was a click and the line went dead.

I tried to make redial but it didn't work. I waited a few moments, and then pulled off the curb.

You know there is a blind spot when you move to the left. I didn’t see her at all, just heard the cry and felt a bump. I stopped at once, and then I saw the bicycle, and the girl lying on the pavement, crying.

I turned on the emergency lights and rushed out to help her. Nothing was broken, as far as I could see, but a nasty gash on the leg was bleeding profusely. I took out a handkerchief and improvised a tourniquet, helped her to climb onto the front seat, threw the bicycle on the back seat and drove straight to the emergency room.

The doctors took care of the wound. The x-ray showed no bone damage. The girl confessed she was driving too fast and tried to overtake my car just as I was pulling off. Her parents arrived, saw she was OK, and when they were told that only my quick reaction making the tourniquet and taking her to the hospital at once saved her from serious complications, they were deeply grateful and with tears in their eyes told me I was a good man.

I felt relieved that the incident had ended as it did.

The days passed quickly, and I returned to the hospital; this time, to have the CT and to confirm the diagnostic.

I stripped and put my clothes in the locker; as I was closing the door I heard the phone ring. I opened it and saw a written message.

"You did the right thing."

The results of the CT were amazing. I was totally clean. The doctors looked at the scans, consulted with each other and could not believe their own eyes.

"How could this happen?" wondered Professor Stein.

"I did the right thing," I said.

That was cryptic, but what else could I tell them?