I wasn’t sure how long I lay on the floor, curled in a way to most would’ve looked broken. My cheek became hot and itchy as it rested against the rough loops of carpet. With my knees bent toward my chest, my back ached. I didn’t want to move. My earlier jagged sobs had subsided to slow and even waves of breath. Concentrating on the rhythm of the quiet house, I welcomed the monotony of sounds. The tick of the clock in the kitchen and the tap of the ceiling fan chain as it swayed around in a circle.
The phone chirped and ripped me from my silent trance. I held my breath and squeezed my knees prisoner against my body. I couldn’t lose it again. It had taken me over an hour to calm down. I counted down the rings with hope the machine’s volume was low enough to allow me the little peace I had found. Three…two…one…
After a long beep, my voice, sounding happily medicated, filled the room.
“You’ve reached Josie and Kevin. Please leave a message and we’ll get back to you.”
I closed my eyes, squeezing out more tears. I made it sound so easy. Josie and Kevin.
“Jojo? You there? Jojo? I need to talk to you and I don’t have a number for you to call back. Pick up, pick up, pick up!”
Typical Anna. For a split second, my arms tightened their hold but the earworm in my head from Anna’s pleading gave me a tingle in my chest. What if this was the one time I didn’t answer and she really needed me? The thought of my sister being in trouble caused me to release my knees and peel my face away from the carpet. I crawled toward the phone. My back finally getting relief, I took a deep breath before pressing the talk button.
“I’m here Anna. What’s wrong now?”
I hadn’t seen Anna since I said goodbye to her at the airport after our grandma’s funeral six months before. When I heard her frantic voice on the phone, all I wanted to do was hang up.
“He dumped me, Jojo. Packed my bags and threw me out on the street. I have nowhere to go and no way to get there.”
She started to cry and I heard only bits and pieces of her voice. I stayed quiet and closed my eyes. The choked sobs played like a theme song as I opened my eyes and stared at the front door that hadn’t latched from the hasty slam earlier. Her story—although similar to mine, made me think selfishly.
I can’t deal with another Anna “emergency” right not—take a number.
“Can you come get me? I don’t have any money. Can I stay with you for a while?”
As I listened to her, my mind exploded with my own question. Where was my rescuer who would come and get me?
Luke Skywalker?
Indiana Jones?
Anyone?
The futility of a rescue was apparent as I looked around the quiet and still house. I had never needed rescuing before. I was the one who rescued people. I was Miss Fix-it, the spin-doctor, a superhero. Whether it was a colleague forgetting a deadline, a client leaving their morals in the toilet, or Anna needing a bill paid because a manicure was more important, I was the one they called.
