My friend gave me her old microwave when she received a brand-new one from her mother for Christmas. Later, my friend asked to switch the microwaves because she really preferred the older model. I told her, “thank you but I should really reimburse you for some of the cost of the new microwave.”
“Really, Joleynn, it is not necessary, I didn’t even pay for it, it was a gift.”
“Alright Sara, but you’ll have to let me take you out to lunch.”
“Okay,” Sara replied.
We switched the microwaves that Saturday, I remember this well because we also went to lunch that day. Through a thunder and lightning storm, we ate pizza and drank hot coffee. When I came back home, I re-set the clock on the microwave, and laid down for a power nap.
I answered the phone that evening as I sat down to dinner, on the third ring, Sara asked, “Where have you been, I was so worried about you?”
“Sara,” I replied, “I just took a power nap.”
“Really Joleynn, I haven’t heard from you in three weeks.”
“That’s not funny Sara, I just had lunch with you today.” Other things didn’t seem quite right either for instance the milk that I had just bought was sour, fresh cookies that I had just placed in the cookie jar were hard as rocks, and I went to my mailbox that was overstuffed with items.
“I’ll call you right back,” I hung up the phone, finally I noticed the date on the newspaper that I had just bought. This has really given “Oh, how time flies,” a new meaning. The last thing I remember before I laid down was fixing the clock on the microwave. My phone beeped, the yellow envelop that signaled that I had a new text message came up onto the lower part of the screen. It read: “Thk u 4 all the help ths 3 wks, hpy to let u no mom is betr” It was from my cousin Sam.
I quickly called Sara back, when she answered I said “I went to visit my cousin and aunt in New York.”
Sara asked, “You’ve been there all this time?”
“Yes, Sara, I was looking after my aunt. She was very sick and my cousin Sam needed some time to get caught up on her work demands.” In my heart, I knew most of this was a make believe fabrication of what really happened, I couldn’t remember anything after laying down for a nap that afternoon three weeks ago.
This only happened to me one more time, when they turned off the electric throughout the whole building. I re-set the clock on the microwave and went out for a drive in my car. Sara called the minute I returned and insisted that I had not been in touch with her for more than six weeks. I quickly unplugged the microwave, boxed it up, and gave it to a new occupant in the building. I met her in the hallway soon after Sara called, she so loved her apartment but didn’t have a microwave yet. Sara never asked what happened to the microwave, when she stopped by for tea after work one night last week. I wonder why?
I spoke to the manager the other day. He complained of a tenant that just moved out of the building, she stayed just three months, and all she left was the microwave. “Joleynn, you don’t have a microwave do you? You can have this one if you want it.”
“No thank you,” I replied as I headed down the hall and out of the building.