It was early morning when the knock came at my door.
Roger. It had to be Roger. It was always Roger.
I sighed as I pulled on my soft blue robe. "Coming! Just a minute..." I called from the top of the stairs. The knocking grew louder and faster. Roger must have been in a great panic.
"Roger," I said, forcing a smile. "What a surprise."
"L-l-lydia...," he gasped. His face was bright red and his hair was matted with sweat.
"Slow down. Here," I opened the door wider, "Come in. Have a seat. I'll make us some coffee.
Though we had long decided to end our romantic relationship, Roger and I agreed we'd still be friends. To Roger, friends were people who you could call at 3 am to tell them you've lost your car keys and wouldn't be able to make it to work in the next few hours and you'd need them to bring you. Friends were people who would complain to the bakery when your birthday cake "had the wrong color candles." Friends never showed up late to your home for movie nights because "there's no way you can miss the previews." Yes, those were Roger's friends. How lucky I was to be one of them.
He'd calmed down a bit when I returned with two steaming mugs.
"Now, what's this about?"
He swallowed the coffee remaining in his mouth. "I can't find my cell phone! You know I can't go to work without my cell phone? What if Kate calls? She might need me to pick her up from somewhere--she doesn't have a car, you know--,"
Kate was Roger's new roommate. She took the vacant room I abandoned when Roger and I split. From the dinner I "just had to attend," I discovered that Kate was a bartender at a local club. She was a 23-year-old part-time student that moved to New York from Newark. I liked Kate. Though, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. After all, there was a reason that room was empty. I couldn't stay there.
"Roger," I said after a sigh of relief, "I'm sure it's in your car or somewhere back the apartment." This was the third time Roger had lost his phone. Last time, it was in the cup holder of his car. The time before that, it was under a couch pillow back at his apartment. The first time Roger found himself in a crisis like this, we found his phone in the mailbox. "Let's think back," I said slowly, "Where did you last have your phone?"
He looked into the clouds hovering above the rim of his mug and remained silent, as if the dark liquid would have a crystal ball effect. "I...I think I had it last night..." he said quietly, still staring into the coffee.
I nodded. "That's a start. Think, Roger, what did you do last night?"
"Kate invited me to the bar she worked at for Happy Hour. She--,"
"But, Roger, you don't drink." In the two years I had known Roger, I never once witnessed him drinking. I never bothered to ask him why as I figured the alcohol would have a negative effect on his prescriptions. I figured he must be on prescriptions. People like Roger were always on several drugs. Or needed to be.
He looked surprised that I had remembered and a smile spread across his face. He began to speak very fast now. "Oh, I didn't. Kate wanted me to come down to the bar because she had a friend visiting from out of town. Kate said she would like me. So I went. Oh, Lydia, you should've seen it! The lights--the music--it was all so amazing! Really, I wish you were there."
Because he didn't drink, Roger never visited bars or dance clubs. I begged him to take me dancing one night and my request was answered by an hour long discussion with Roger muttering something about Sodom and Gomorra. I tended to channel out of Roger's rantings often as he always repeated himself at least three times.
"Anyway," he continued, "Kate's friend never showed up. There was a problem with traffic or something she said. I spent the whole evening watching her fix drinks for the other people."
"Roger, that doesn't answer the question. Where did you have your phone?" It wasn't hard for a person like Roger to get off-track easily. In fact, he did it quite often. If I wanted him out of my house anytime soon, I'd need to keep him on track.
"Right, my phone...uhm...well...I took it out so Kate could call her friend. She said her's was in her purse in the back. So, I let her use mine."
"Okay, now we're getting somewhere. So, Kate has your phone. Did you ask her about it before you left to come here?"
"Oh, gosh, no! That would disturb her. That would be rude. Besides, she gave right back. Oh, Lydia, it could be anywhere."
I simply rolled my eyes. "Roger, it's nearly four o'clock in the morning. We can't very well go...gallivanting through the streets of New York looking for your phone. How about-,"
"Oh! That's a wonderful idea! Would you do that? You'd really do that for me, Muffin?"
"Ro-ger," I groaned.
"Oh, right. Terribly sorry about that. But would you, please? You know I can't go out by myself. Not at this time. Do you know what could happen to me out there?"
Not only did I know, I prayed for it. Perhaps some desperate mugger would prey on Roger only to find he had no money on him. Then, the mugger would probably stab him or something along those lines and Roger would be left bleeding in some back alley--Silent. "Of course I'll go with you, Roger. What kind of a friend do you think I am?"
A broad smile spread across him face. "Thank you so much Lydia."
I rose from my seat beside him and walked toward the door. "Stay here and enjoy your coffee. I'll go get changed."
He continued sipping his drink as I left the room. I changed into something more practical than my blue robe and put on my running shoes. A gal never could be too safe in this city. "Are you ready?"
Roger had beaten me to the door.
_____________________
We searched Roger's car first. Then, all the practical places after that: my doorstep, my street, Roger's apartment and Roger's mailbox. Nothing. I began thinking this maybe wasn't so bad. If Roger didn't have his cell phone, he'd have to call me from his apartment phone. No more calls in the middle of the day to see if I can do lunch (I never could anyway). No more messages from my secretary saying ' A guy called. Said it was an emergency. Left no number.' Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise; God finally realizing a person like Roger didn't need a phone.
The New York skyline stood only as a dark facade against the city lights. The tall steel contraptions reminded me of medieval towers set in Camelot. New York had become my Camelot. The corporations served as modern-day monarchies with kings, queens and CEOs. I admired the city in this light as I had never witnessed it at such a peaceful state before. I forgot about Roger's phone or even that he was standing next to me. Then, I felt a rough tug on my sleeve.
"Did you find anything?"
"No," I shrugged. "I'm sorry, Roger. I think you may need to get a new phone."
He sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that. Could you call Kate for me? I want her to know. So she doesn't call me and get some stranger."
I rummaged through my pocket and found my phone and began to dial Kate's number. Roger graciously programmed it in for me in some time ago. To my surprise, she answered.
"Kate."
"Hello, Kate. It's Lydia; Roger's friend."
"Yes, I remember you. What can I do for you, Lydia?"
"Sorry to wake you but--"
"Wake me?" she laughed. "Oh, no, you didn't wake me. I couldn't get any sleep. Roger's phone keeps going off every fifteen minutes. I don't know who's calling him since you're there."
"Thank you, Kate." I hung up the phone and turned to Roger. "Do you have money?"
He looked confused. "Yes, I have a few dollars. Why?"
"Take a cab."