A Telephone Day

Barry calls to ask for money
He calls at about four am
Before Viv can even open her eyes
Or estimate how much she can loan him

She hangs up the phone
And wishes for an extra five minutes' sleep
Before she has to get up
And scramble eggs

There's something demeaning about scrambling eggs
Depressing, really
Just depressing

She gets the phone call from Dana
Sometime around nine
After the kids are in school

Tony didn't come home again last night
And Dana wants to go look for him
In case he's dead
Even though he's not dead
And Dana knows it

Will Viv go look for Tony with Dana?
No
Should Dana go look for Tony?
No
Should they still come over on Sunday?
Sure

They hung up
Dana bereaved
Viv relieved
Both with days to go
Ahead of them

Barry called again
And asked if it was the first of the month
Viv had to remind him that it wasn't
That the month was almost over
But not quite yet

Barry sneezed
Was he getting a cold?
Should she go over?

She was NOT going over
That was it
She was staying put

If Barry wanted to make it a telephone day
It could be a telephone day
But she was not going over

Her Dad called at noon
To ask about the boys
And was he still taking them fishing
Next weekend?

She told him yes
She begged him with dead air
Could he please--

'Heard from Barry?'
'Yup.'
'How's he doing?'
'Call him and find out.'
'Don't be that way, Viv.'
'He called a little while ago. He sounds bad.'
'That's him, Viv. That's Barry.'
'Yeah.'
'You know, Barry.'
'Yup.'
'Just how he is. Can't change him.'
'Nope.'
'You busy?'
'Yeah, Dad. I'm swamped. Phone's ringing off the hook.'

She had bills
Bill collectors
Calling at all hours

So she wasn't lying
When she said she was swamped
But she wasn't honest either
Because the truth was
She was an instant away
From telling her father
To go fuck himself

Barry called again
To see if Viv thought
The sun was brighter today
Than usual

She had to tell him no
The sun wasn't brighter
The sink wasn't bluer
The sound in his ears
Wasn't a soft melody
Or a dissonant drumming

It was all just Barry
And you couldn't change him
You just had to answer
When he called

Dana called again to say that Tony had called
He'd broken down on the side of the road
And slept in his car
But today it had magically started

...Again

Dana was relieved
Viv didn't care
They'd see each other Sunday
And could Dana pick up Barry?

'Oh, Viv, I...the kids get so...you know?'
'Never mind. I'll get him.'

Her kids didn't mind Barry
As long as she didn't belabor the point
That they were related
That he was their uncle
That there was a connection
Other than their mother's kindness

The phone rang again

It was Barry

She was tempted to let the machine get it
But she picked quicker instead
To dissolve her hesitation

'Yes, Barry, I'm still home.'

She wouldn't go over
She didn't need to
He had to learn to be alone

'Yes, Barry, I'll be home all day'

He could learn
It would be hard
But he could learn

And today would be a telephone day
And that was okay
That was fine

It was okay
To let the phone ring
And ring
And ring