Chapter 21:
In Which Mandy Calls Jeremiah and they talk about unimportant things (like daffodils and butternut squash)

Jeremiah stares at the colourless ball at the bottom of his garbage can until the phone rings.
BRING BRING! Jeremiah is startled. He had half forgotten that he had a phone, as no one ever called him on it. He tried to find it. He looked under the bed and over the window and all the places a phone would never find fit to habitat. Jeremiah looked on his desk. His phone was there. BRING BRING. He picked it up.
“hello?” he asked the wireless machine with no brain.
“Hello?” it asked him back through the voice of Mandy.
“Mandy?”
“Jeremiah?”
“Yes!”
“Yes.”
“How are you?”
“I’m okay. I had some starburst.”
“Me too!”
“how was yours?”
“Uneventful, yours?”
“I nearly choked.”
“Oh.”
“Yes.”
“Did you make it back on time?”
“I got back for lunch.”
“Anything good?”
“Tuna casserole. How about you?”
“I had some toast.”
“Good?”
“It was alright, smelt kind of burnt”
“Maybe you had a stroke.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh. Um. Nothing. It just happens a lot here.”
“I’m not seventy years old, Jeremiah.”
“Strokes can happen to young people too.”
“I didn’t have a stroke.”
“That’s good. I was worried.”
“You were worried?”
“It happens a lot here.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. You didn’t have a stroke.”
“I know.”
“And that’s good. It makes me happy.”
“Thanks, Jeremiah.”
“You’re welcome.”
There was an awkward silence passing back and forth on the telephone. At the moment it was situated closer to Mandy, but it was edging towards the middle.
“So. Is anything new?” Jeremiah fished for something more intresting to say, but he wasn’t very good bait.
“Not really.”
“Oh.”
“Yup.”
“So, why did you call?”
“I just wanted to talk.”
“Oh.”
“Yup.”
“This is fun!”
“Yup.”
“Talking.”
“Yup.”
“I like talking to you.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem”
“Yeah.”
“So.”
“I took a public speaking class in college.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Never would have guessed.”
“I got top marks.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I delivered a fascinating presentation on the fermentation of algae.”
“I have to go.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Me too. Really sorry to say that.”
“Right.”
“Well, it’s been great. Bye Jeremiah.”
“Bye. Oh wait. Mandy?”
“Yes?” Mandy’s voice got a little higher and a bit more joyful.
“I’m seeing you soon, right?”
“Whenever you want to.”
“Really soon.”
“Great.”
“Yeah.”
“When?”
“What are you doing…” Jeremiah thought for a moment. “Right now?”
“No plans. I’m wide open.”
“Perfect. I’ll pick you up in ten minutes.”
“You don’t have a car.”
“I still have yours.”
“Do you know how to drive?”
“It doesn’t look that hard.”
“Be careful.”
“Okay.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”