The Swan 2: Taking Flight

Chapter 2: Memories

I sighed and tapped my fingers against my leg. I didn't normally lie but I would be stuck here forever. "I have an aunt I can get in touch with," I said.

"You do?" The woman asked, looking up and covering the speakerphone. "What's her name?"

Name. Think of a name. "Elizabeth."

"Do you have her number?" She asked.

"I do," I nodded.

"All right," she said in an uncertain tone before speaking into the phone again. "We may have a solution, I'll call you back," she said before hanging up the phone then offering it to me. "What's the number? I'll dial it for you."

"It's 555-832-9281," I said, bringing the phone to my ear. It was my old school. I still remembered the number but they wouldn't be open now, it was the middle of the night over there. I remembered their automated system would drone on for a long time. Long enough to fake a conversation. The woman dialed the number and leaned back in her chair, watching me carefully. The phone started ringing and I waited until what felt like an appropriate amount of time to speak up. "Hi Aunt Elizabeth," I said into the phone. "I've finished school early and I'm hoping to come back to America. Is there still room for me at your house?" I waited and nodded to try to sell it as the woman was still watching me. "Well I haven't made flight arrangements yet but I'll let you know when I do. You'll be able to pick me up?" I waited again and nodded. "All right. I'll call you when I've made the arrangements but-" I paused and thought about it. If my father gave them extra money then they would reimburse him, but they couldn't if they couldn't get ahold of him. I covered the speaker of the phone and looked over at the woman across the desk. "She's asking if I have money for the flight, do you know if my parents ever paid for my plane ticket home?"

"They didn't but..." she paused and glanced over at her computer screen. "But we can cover the costs with the leftover tuition money."

"Wonderful," I said, giving her a smile before talking into the phone again as the automated system droned on about their hours of operation. "I have what I need to get my ticket. I'll call you when it's all done." I paused and nodded again. "All right. I'll see you soon," I said, setting the phone down on the receiver. "Can you help me book the ticket?" I asked the woman.

"Certainly," she nodded and smiled. "Come on over here, you can look over my shoulder."

"Thank you," I nodded, circling around the desk and taking a deep breath.

I was almost out of there.

Two weeks later I stood in front of what used to be one of my father's ranches but the name was different. He'd sold them all, apparently. I didn't know where to find either one of them or where to go. I did the only thing I could think of and went to a diner my mother used to like. No one was there but there was a phone with a phonebook. A phonebook. I could look her up. She wouldn't hate me as much now if I could actually hold a conversation with her, would she?

I went back to the phone and was thankful I still had a little money left from that reimbursement. I opened up the phonebook and went in search of her name. There were three Helen Sanders listed. I picked the first one and stuck the change in from the pizza I had earlier, bringing the phone to my ear. It rang a couple times but the voice that answered wasn't familiar so I hung up. I put in more change and tried the next one, tapping my fingers against the phone booth while it rang.

"Hello?"

It was her. I could still recognize her voice.

"Mother?" I said. My voice wasn't supposed to come out that shaky.