Stay: The sequel to Lost

Part 48

Marian loved the Lake House. She loved laying in the sun on a lounge chair. And it was nearly April and almost warm enough to be outside for more than a few minutes without freezing to death. She was laying in the sunshine, taking a picture of her huge belly, thinking about her baby boy, when her phone rang. The screen said "Best Friend Thief." She laughed, forgetting she'd named him that. Then she jumped. It was LIAM.

She slide open her phone and croaked out "Hello?"

"Oh, thank god, Marian! You answered!" Liam sighed.

"Well, of course I answered, you big idiot. My entire family has been trying to call you for months and you never answer!"

Liam was confused. "No, you haven't. Nobody has called me."

"Cricket texts you every day, Liam."

"No, she doesn't. Her number goes to someone in another state. He asked me to stop calling and blocked me." Liam was in a panic. What was going on? He looked at his phone contacts. "Her number was 982..."

"No, it's not. Stop, Liam. It's 989. All of us are 989. You know that! It's the area code for all of upper Michigan. Every time you have to call anywhere last year you dialed 989. Duh?" Marian was angry. She was tired of seeing her friend upset.

"What? What?" Liam said. He hung up and looked at his phone contacts. Marian was a 989. Penny and her entire family were variations on that. 987, 985, 898. Someone had changed their numbers. Jamie. Again. He changed Penny's number back and waited. His phone started to ding and vibrate. He had hundreds of messages from her. Hundreds. He watched as they flashed by. Most said 'Please call me' in some form or another. He ran through them, stopping on a black and white photo. He stared at it, seeing an outline of a baby. It was an ultrasound picture. It was her baby. Their baby. The text it came with said, "Our baby." He was going to be a dad.