Lisa held the borrowed cell phone to her ear, holding her breath.
One ring... Two rings...
Jennie wasn't going to answer. Lisa knew it. This was what she always did. Straight to voicemail. Lisa wondered if she should leave a message. Maybe she should fill up her mailbox again. Couldn't hurt. That's what got Jennie to come back the last time she ran away.
Lisa began to rehearse inside her head the first message she should leave. "Jennie," she would say. "I know you're upset. Can we please be rational adults and have a conversation about this..."
No, no. That might make it worse. Never call a woman irrational. Even if she was being completely batshit crazy. She was, wasn't she? Or was Lisa the crazy one?
Three rings... Four rings...
Always best just to apologise. No matter who was right and who was wrong, always apologise. Just say, "Jennie, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so, so, so sorry..."
"Hello?"
Lisa stood in silence, temporarily stunned by the sound of Jennie's voice on the other end of the line.
"Hello?"
Jennie answered. She actually answered. Lisa's mouth wasn't working.
"Hello?" Jennie said for a third time.
Lisa could hear her voice trailing off at the end of the word. Jennie must have pulled the phone away from her face - probably about three seconds away from hanging up.
Speak, Lisa screamed at herself inside her head. "Don't hang up!" she managed to shout at last.
"Hello? Is somebody there?"
"Jennie! Don't hang up!"
Lisa heard nothing but dead air on the other end of the call. Was she too slow? She looked down at the screen to see if the call had dropped. No, it was still connected...
There. That was Jennie's voice again. Lisa put the phone back up to her ear.
"... this conversation...." Jennie was saying. "Don't you think?"
"What? Don't I think what?"
"Lisa, where are you?"
"I'm here!"
"You are?"
"Just..." Lisa broke off, trying to collect herself. Her mind was racing. She still couldn't believe Jennie picked up the phone. Now she just needed to convince Jennie to let her talk to her before she got on a plane.
Lisa needed to be calm. Calm and soothing.
"Listen," Lisa began again. "I know you're upset. Just tell me where you are, ok? Please?"
"I'm here," Jennie said.
Lisa closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe slowly. In and out. In and out. Calm and soothing. "Could you possibly be more specific?"
"Where are you Lisa?"
"I'm in the big main hall thingie."
"You mean the lobby?"
"Yeah." Lisa said. "You know, where the people line up at the counters."
"The check-in desk?"
"Right."
"Lisa, why are you down there..."
Lisa missed the end of Jennie's sentence, as an announcement came booming over the PA, "THIS IS THE FINAL BOARDING CALL FOR US AIRWAYS FLIGHT 361 WITH SERVICE TO..."
Lisa put her hand over her ear to hear better. "What?" she shouted into the phone.
"What was that?" Jennie said. "Are you at the airport?"
"Yes!"
"Why? Where are you going?"
