Phone Calls From God

by Stephen Cote

Father Jay, Tabitha, dressed in jeans and a white blouse, burst through the front door. "Mom!”

  "Honey, where are your manners? Father Jay is here."

  "Hi, Father Jay," Tabitha said. "Mom, you wouldn't believe what happened at the autoshop."

  Christine returned from the kitchen and handed Father Jay his water. "Is that Craig of yours okay?"

  "Yes, thank God. When he started to leave the hydraulic jack broke and a BMW crashed down right where he had been working. Luckily no one was hurt. But, if Craig had not left at five -” Mist collected around her eyes.

  Father Jay offered Tabitha a comforting hug. "The Lord works in mysterious ways, Tabby."

  Christine asked, "Where is that Craig of yours now?"

  Tabitha pointed outside. "Still in the car. He is pretty shaken up. I'll be right back, I want to see if he is alright."

  Tabitha left and Christine told Father Jay, "Earlier today, that stranger called and told me not to let Craig work past five." She held the wine glass in both hands.

  Father Jay moved to the couch and beckoned Christine over to join him. "Some people say that modern technology makes it harder for God to work miracles. But I wonder-"

  Christine laughed and shook her head. "No." She frowned. "No!" She set the wine glass down. "Father," she shook her head again, "Someone is coming dangerously close to murder. These practical jokes are going too far. "

  Father Jay raised an eyebrow. "Christine -" He paused, and then nodded.

  Tabitha returned, leading Craig through the front door by his hand. Craig greeted Christine and Father Jay, and Tabitha and he joined them in the front room.

  "Oh, Tabby, I left an envelope for you in the stand near the door." Christine didn't need to tell her daughter the contents.

  "How have you been, Craig?" Father Jay crossed his legs in a feminine fashion and folded his hands together, interlacing his fingers.

  "Fine, thank you sir." Craig scratched his head.

  "Any plans for the future, or are you content with the autoshop? " Father Jay asked.

  Craig cocked his head. "I'm taking the physical for the Police Academy next Saturday. I don't think I’ll qualify on all the requirements, though, since I don’t have a college degree."

  Father Jay nodded and offered a soft smile. "It's nice to see that you are pursuing what you are interested in. By the way you two," he looked at both Craig and Tabitha, "we should sit down sometime start making arrangements for your wedding."

  Tabitha giggled. "We haven't planned that far yet, Father."

  "So Craig," Christine said. "Tabby said you bough some new equipment. Would it be something you'd need to be a jail guard?"

  Craig smiled. "No, ma'am. The Woodinville Police auctioned off some old computer parts. I bid on a see-mid. It’s really outdated, but it was a good buy since the cities aren’t supposed to sell those to the public."

  Father Jay remained quiet, and Tabitha stared at Craig.

  Christine, glancing at her daughter, asked, "What use is a 'see-mid'? What is it?" She reached over to Craig and touched his shoulder, "It sounds expensive. I don't want you and Tabby to buy yourselves into a financial problem."

  Craig spoke in tongues, at least to Christine. "See-mid is an acronym for CMID. It means County Municipal Identification Device. It used to require a police radio, but any scanner nowadays will work. You can type in a name or a license plate number and it returns everything the county has on the vehicle or person. You can’t request any details without a valid code, and it doesn't let you change anything. And, it's really slow."

  Tabitha and Christine stared at Craig, while Father Jay narrowed his eyes. Christine asked, "Curiosity is killing me, Craig. Why do you need such an appliance? It seems like a needless waste of money."

  Tabitha cringed and Craig sat upright. He looked directly at Christine. "Respectfully, if I'd known tonight was an excuse to church me up, or rib me on my expenses, I'd rather have stayed at home."

  Christine sighed and looked at Father Jay, who simply glanced away.

  Tabitha hooked her arm around Craig's. "What's for dinner, mom?"

  Christine stood up and smiled as if nothing had happened. "Why don't we go to the dining room?"

  Father Jay escorted Christine to the dining room. Tabitha and Craig waited and spoke quietly with each other.

  Christine watched Tabitha prod Craig’s shoulder, and heard her say, “What was that? She always does this to you. If you make it hard for her with Father Jay here, she is going to make it harder for you anytime you come over here from now on."

  Craig put both arms around Tabitha's tiny frame, "I fell in love with you, Tabby, not your mother. But -"

  "But what?" Tabby placed her head on his shoulder. "Craig, we've had this talk before. You're not living by yourself anymore. We need to watch our money until the both of us get better jobs."

  Craig stepped away from Tabby. "Today has been really strange, that's all. It will be better tomorrow."

  Tabitha looked towards the dining room. "I hope so. It sounds as if mom had a strange day, too. Listen to her going on in there."

  Christine stepped away from the doorframe and pressed her lips together. Did Tabitha know she had eavesdropped? The phone rang. “I’ll get it.”

  Although she called out she would answer it, Tabitha picked up the phone. Christine watched Tabitha nod and bite her lip, then turn and stare for a long moment at her mother. She asked, "Well, who was it?"

  Tabitha walked to the dining room and shook her head. "Nobody." She sat at the table and gazed at Craig, her eyes misted over.

  Christine served dinner: quickly prepared chicken, salad and garlic bread. No one spoke until everyone finished. Craig helped clear away the dishes.

  Craig opened his mouth, began to speak, and then the telephone rang again. He reached to pick up the receiver, and Christine asked him to put it on the speaker.

  "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." The phone line went dead.

  "My God," Christine whispered.

  "Revelations again," Father Jay said. "Two, four to six."

  Tabitha asked, "Who the heck was that, mom?"

  Craig read off the number from the caller ID display.

  "The church again?" Christine asked.

  Father Jay shook his head. "I -"

  The front door opened, and a new voice said, “The sanitarium.”

  Everyone turned. Blood rushed from Christine’s face. "Alexis," she whispered. "When did they -" She gazed at the sickly girl in the doorway, her gaunt eyes peering tangled brown hair. Her elder daughter bore a vague resemblance to Tabitha, and her recent trials were not kindly worn.

  Father Jay swallowed and looked into his water glass.

  Christine stood, and though she intended to approach her daughter, she could not. Something repelled her, polarized her from her daughter; Alexis reeked of evil and wickedness.

  Tabitha placed both hands on the table. "Something happened today, and it is very, very wrong."

  Alexis told Father Jay and Christine, "And, what happened years ago was worse.”

  Tabitha's lips twitched. "Go on, Alexis." She took Craig's hand and held it tightly.

  "You," Alexis said to neither in particular. "You left me to that hospital."

  Christine closed her eyes and said, "What you did was wrong. A sin. You were so young. And you were so sick. A child could have killed you."

  Alexis withdrew a wad of paper from her pocket and tossed it on the table. "When they released me, they gave me a copy of my file, including my birth certificate. My real birth certificate.”

  "Child," Father Jay said softly. "This hostility is not necessary. Please,
be at peace."

  She touched the wad of paper and flicked it across the table towards Christine. “This says my father is J. John Archer.”

  Christine touched the wad of paper. “Honey, are you sure that’s right? That’s my uncle John. He died in the war, years before you were born.”

  “Strange, isn’t it?” She added a second wad of paper. “Being wrongfully committed, the hospital lawyers were thorough. They even paid for a DNA profile. Guess who,” she unwadded the paper, spread it open on the table cloth, “They found.” Reading along with her finger, she said, “Judas John Archibald.”

  Father Jay leaned over the table and glanced at the crinkled paper. He sat back and said, "Alexis, don't do this to yourself. There is no relation between the name Archer and Archibald."

  Christine said, "Please, honey, sit down. Does the hospital know you’re gone?" To Tabitha she asked, "Tabby, did you have anything to do with this? Did Alexis make those phone calls?"

  Tabitha nodded and then shook her head, "I only knew about her being released. But, she’s not prank-calling you.”

  Alexis opened a neatly folded document and set it atop the once wadded paper. “Misdiagnosed. For eight years, mother!”

  "Please, sit,” Father Jay said. He put his arm around Christine’s shoulder. “Help us understand what you’re trying to prove.”

  "Prove?” She pushed tangled hair from her face. “My biological father kept me locked up in an asylum, probably killed my dad, and, from what Tabby told me, I think he is planning on hurting you for murdering his unborn son."

  Christine opened her mouth, tears rolling down her cheeks. But she found no words to