Sounds of Tomorrow

“Barry! I’m serious!” she said, and stormed into the house leaving Barry alone on the porch.  He slinked in after her. “I’ve been trying to reach you all morning and you haven’t been anywhere. Most of all, you haven’t answered your phone!”

“I’ve been somewhere,” he replied, “just not where you looked. Why were you trying to get a hold of me?”

“Because it’s after nine o’clock and you’re late!” Erin hollered.

“Only a few minutes,” he said.

Erin whirled around and stared at him. “A few minutes? A few minutes? A FEW MINUTES? You were supposed to be here at seven this morning!”

Barry looked confused. He looked at the floor, then back at Erin, then to the floor again. “No,” he said thinking hard, “I’m pretty sure you said to be here at nine. And here I am.”

Erin turned and walked across the room, then turned back again to face Barry.

“Why haven’t you been answering your phone?”

“If it had rung, I would have answered it, but it hasn’t made a sound all morning.”

“That’s funny,” Erin said, “cause I’ve been trying to call it all morning.”

Barry reached into his packet and took out his phone. Without even looking at it, he handed it to Erin. She looked at the screen and pressed the button on the top of the phone. The screen lit up momentarily and with a message and then went dark. Erin shook her head and handed the phone back to Barry.

“You’re such a dork!” she said to him. “The battery’s dead. When did you charge it last?”

“Well, I thought I plugged it in last night when I got home, but apparently, I missed. I hate it when that happens. Oh well, I can charge it in the car today. But that explains why it’s been so quiet.” He walked over to Erin. “I’m sorry, honey. I really thought I wasn’t supposed to be here until nine. And if I had known the battery was dead, I would have found another way to call you.”

The more Barry spoke, the more Erin’s anger melted. She gave him a slight smile. “Dork.” She said to him.