Phone calls you don't want to get

[cleolinda]

I pick up the landline in the den when I see my mother's cell number on the caller ID. "I've been trying to call you," my mother says.

"I was outside with the dogs," I say. I actually still have their leashes in my hand, and a paper towel underfoot from trying to soak up another one of Meko's accidents.

"I've been trying to call you for an hour," my mother says. She sounds kind of tired-angry. "Your phone must be dead."

"Yeah, it ran all the way down while Sister Girl had my charger--she gave it back to me last night, though, so it's recharging now."

"She's with me. She wants to tell you something."

This might sound kind of ominous to you, but she does this all the time. "No, give me the phone, I want to tell her." That kind of thing.

"Hey," Sister Girl says. "I'm in the emergency room."

"What?"

"I got hit by a car."

"Ohhhhh my God. Were you in a car?"

"Yeah, yeah." Sister Girl just sounds plain tired. I can't hear what she says because the connection keeps fuzzing in and out, but I can tell that she's laughing. "I know I'm laughing, you [fizz fizz] I'm crazy, that's just how I [fizz fizz] with things." I dunno, I might understand that better than you think. "This seventy-eight-year-old guy with an expired [fizz fizz]--"

"Ohhhhh my God--"

"--was going to the doctor--you can imagine, he shouldn't have been [fizz fizz] in the first place--decided he just wanted to make a left turn all of a sudden [fizz fizz] left side of my car is gone."

"Ohhhhh my God."

"I hit my head--not hard, but you know, the buttons [fizz fizz] cap--" She was driving home from her 5 am-1 pm shift at Panera, I assume, and she has these little buttons they make her wear on her uniform cap to show that she's, like, instrument-rated for paninis or fully trained in the arts of salad or whatever. "I'm pretty sure they've taken his license away [fizz fizz fizzzzzzz fizz]--"

"I can't hear you at all now--"

"I [fizz fizz], we're going to be here for a while. Did you know that Mom works for the police now?"

"Yeah, I did." Sister Girl's got such an I'm a Pastry Chef and I'm Okay schedule (she learns all night and she works all day) that I guess she hasn't been around to hear Mom's many, many stories of the university police department and its benefits-related escapades. (You think I'm being facetious, but I'm really, really not. I can't really get into it because it's not even my confidence to violate, but... "they finally found him in New Orleans" was uttered at one point.) I can't tell what Sister Girl's saying now at all, but if I had to guess, I'd say that it involves how Mom's police connections are going to... something. I don't know. It's pretty clearly Mr. Magoo's fault for making a random (and illegal? I'm not sure of the exact details) left turn and annihilating what sounds like the driver's side of my sister's car. I don't know that we need superelite connections to establish that. I'm more concerned about the insurance and fixing and/or replacing the car and, you know, the possible damage to my sister's brain.

"So what I'm saying is," she concludes, "I'm not gonna be home for a while. You can go lock the door back."



ETA: I should add, she seemed to indicate that the man was driving himself because there wasn't anyone else to take him to the doctor. Also, she said something about "traveler's insurance." I actually feel really bad for the guy--I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt anyone, and he probably feels terrible now. Also, she says she's not bleeding or anything.

Comments

[allthelivesofme.livejournal.com]

Oh man! :-( Will be sending good thoughts her way.

[wendywoowho.livejournal.com]

Oh, my GOD!

I'm so glad she's (relatively) okay.

[clodia-risa.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

I'm glad she's at least mostly okay. She'll probably not be able to move tomorrow (at least I couldn't after my wreck). Wow.

Wow. I'm glad she's okay.

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

Good God. Glad she's relatively unharmed. Tell her the Internets wish her well and hope that she gets plenty of rest and pain-numbing medication (we must cash in on these opportunities when we can).

[skyblade.livejournal.com]

Wow, I hope she ends up alright.

[hulamoth.livejournal.com]

Hate to be obvious, but oh my God I hope she's okay.

[alliancesjr.livejournal.com]

I hope she recovers quickly. It doesn't sound like she was hurt too badly, thankfully.

[laerwen.livejournal.com]

Jeebus Christmas, Cleo. I'm glad she's all right, other than having some scrambled brains for breakfast. x.x

[koritsimou.livejournal.com]

Fucking hell, honey.

I'm not going to even enter into the driving tests for elders rant I could get into. Just best wishes for Sister Girl, okay?

[svz-insanity.livejournal.com]

Sorry for stating the obvious. Oh my god. *hugs* I'm glad she's all right.

I hope she recovers soon.

[madam-rptr.livejournal.com]

OH, jeez. I hope she's okay. I'll keep her in my thoughts.

[claddagh812.livejournal.com]

More best wishes headed her way.

[redmapletree.livejournal.com]

Oh, Cleo, that's horrible. I hope she's okay.

[bigeyedrabbit.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad your sister is (relatively) safe and sound after her accident. Sending many good thoughts for the bump on the head not to turn into any concussion-type thing.

[qualinesti.livejournal.com]

I'm glad she's okay enough to be laughing about it. I'll be keeping y'all in my thoughts!

[meredith-mae.livejournal.com]

I saw an accident almost exactly like that this morning! But it sounds like your sister's was worse, since no one went to the hospital. I was about the 4th car back, going straight at a red light. Somehow, a Ford SUV was turning, lost control, and slid into the driver's side of the BMW that was waiting to turn left at the light. It was... really bright and sunny out, and 8am, so I have no idea how or why he skidded like that. But damn. I had to replace a bumper on a BMW I once hit and that was the opposite of fun and cheap.

[majormeg7.livejournal.com]

Oh geez. My sister was in an accident just last week (NOT her fault) and I'm still tweaky about letting her drive...

[evilsimon.livejournal.com]

Oh jeez. Best wishes for all of you, seriously.

[ninepointfivemm.livejournal.com]

Well, it's a good thing Sister Girl is ok. No concussion, coma, or anything, at least. Or, I hope there's no concussion.

*Shakes head* Elderly people who shouldn't be driving. I mean, I guess if he had to go to the doctor and couldn't get anyone to take him, it's one thing, but it's still not excusable. Bah.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

That's exactly what she said, though--again, I couldn't hear too well so I'm not sure how she found this out, but apparently he *couldn't* get anyone else to take him. Which, you know: call a cab.

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

I hope she's okay.
*sends good thoughts*

[valkyrie79.livejournal.com]

I'm glad Leslie is okay. I don't understand why a multi-state sting to find the guy is necessary if they already know where he was going though. Did he stop when it happened?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Multi-state sting? They've got him and have taken his license away; it sounds like he stopped, because she knows things about his insurance and why he was driving himself. That's why I don't understand why she was talking about "police connections," because I don't see how the police are going to help us get money from him that he probably doesn't have anyway. But then, I figured I'd let her tell me the rest of it when she got home.

[wtfbrain.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I'll be keeping her (and you and your mom) in my thoughts. Hope everything turns out all right.

[bluekermit.livejournal.com]

You two... she's worried about you locking the door... Many many hugs!

[narcissa-malfoy.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry. I hope she will be all right.

[shoiryu.livejournal.com]

Holyyyyy shit. Glad she's okay, man!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Seriously. I literally just kept saying "Ohhhhhh my God" because I couldn't think of anything else to say.