Dedicated to @lafeldman1 for continuously supporting me on all of my works no matter how rough they might start out.
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"Thanks for calling us here at AskAway! What can I do for you today?" Everything about the introduction for the hotline is different from the first word, the vernacular, the voice, everything.
"Um . . . I think that . . ." he falters, the words he wants to say lingering on the tip of his tongue because the circumstances are wrong.
"You think what, sweet cakes?"
"I think I'll just call back another time."
The connection cuts off before any other words can be exchanged.
"What was that, Cynthia?" she asks as she walks back into the office with a fresh cup of iced coffee in her hand.
"That was the strangest call I've ever had," Cynthia says, "I answered and he told me he would call us back later. And do you know what he did next?"
"What?"
"He just hung up on me. Who does that?"
"I don't know. Maybe he just called the wrong number."
Maybe he's just afraid of confronting his relationship problems and speaking to another human being through a phone line makes the situation all the more real.