Sarah Murrell looked at the clock on the dashboard of her Honda. Late again. It never failed, but every Monday morning, she was always late getting out of the garage and on her way to work. It was always the same time, too - 6:20 AM. Twenty minutes. She'd tried everything she could think of: going to bed earlier, setting the alarm earlier, making her lunch the night before, even showering the night before, and nothing seemed to work. Every other day of the week, she was early. Never on Monday.
As she backed the car out of the driveway, she cursed under her breath. Mondays were the worst, too. Inventories were due. After a long weekend of part-time shift-workers, the factory stores had to all be accounted for, and it fell to her to make sure the numbers all worked out. Not a bad job if you were counting boxes of paperclips, but counting rods of steel, brass, and other metals left a lot to be desired. It would be worse iff the part-timers didn't put everything back where it belonged.
The honda lurched to a stop at the intersection, and Sarah felt her thoughts straying back to last night night, her comfy bed, and the weekend. For a second, she searched the center console, finding the napkin with a hastily scrawled phone number on it. She debated about calling all weekend, but chickened out. "It was just a guy at the bar," she said aloud. "Probably looking to get lucky." She tossed the napkin absent-mindedly onto the passanger seat. "He probably wouldn't answer if I called."
She flicked the radio on, and her favorite station began pumping music through the speakers. It wasn't long before the DJ came on the air with a caller.
"Yeah, this WXFM, whatcha got for me, Caller?"
"Hi, How are you this morning?"
"Not too bad for a Monday, what can I play for you?"
"Well, I was out at the bar Friday night, and I met someone..."
"Good for you - did you take her home?"
Sarah laughed. Another jerk trying to brag about the weekend conquests.
"No man, it wasn't like that - this girl was really cool, and while I would have liked to, that's just not safe these days!"
"I hear you! So you met this girl - what happened?"
"Well, we talked a little, and shared a few drinks, danced a couple times - it was just a nice night, you know?"
"So you were a gentleman? I mean, that kinda sounds like how I would treat my sister-in-law when she comes into town!"
The caller laughed. "Yeah, I've made my mistakes and had some fun in the past, but I'm not trying to do that stuff anymore."
"Well, good for you, man. So you were a nice guy. Nobody came and stole her away?"
"No way - she was out with some friends, and they tried to get her to follow them out to another bar, but she stayed there with me and we just talked and had a nice time."
"I don't know man," said the DJ, "Sunds like it might have been kinda lame for a Friday night!"
"Somehow, I didn't care!"
"Well, I'm glad for you - so, did you get her phone number?"
"Nope - I didn't even ask for it, but I gave her mine."
THe DJ snickered. "I have to tell you, that's never really worked out well for anyone I've ever known!)
"Well, I figured that I'd give her the option. Anyway, I know she listens to this station, and I know her favorite song, so I was hoping that you could play it for me, and if she's listening maybe she'll call that number?"
"I'll certainly the song for you, but I can't make any promises about her - what's the song?"
"Can you play "Remind Me?""
"The new one from Brad Paisley?"
"That's the one - she said it was her favorite song."
"Can I have a name for this request?"
"Yeah, can you send it out to Sarah?"
"I can do that - what's your name?"
"I'm Paul."
"OK I'll get on that, you have a good day, and what's your favorite radio station?"
"WXFM Country!"
Sarah sat there, stunned for a moment as she heard the caller hang up.
"That's right folks, we love to do this stuff, and Sarah, if you're listening out there, this guy seems like he might be the genuine article. You have his number - the next move is up to you!"
The song came on the radio and Sarah sighed. She'd told him that this was her favorite song. She glanced at the number again on the seat next to her. It was crazy, she knew, but she really wanted to call. This couldn't be real, could it? This kind of thing never happened to her! She picked up her phone anyway and blocked the number. Well, she should at least be safe about this. She dialed quickly.
"Hello?"
"Hi Paul?"
"Yes?"
"This is Sarah. I...I just wanted to say thanks for playing that song on the radio."
Today's fiction came from watching a girl in her car on her way to work this morning. It's a bit sappy, and maybe a bit unrealistic, but hey, it's fiction!!!
Thanks for reading.
THe Fat Kid.
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