My husband, Alan, and I were watching television when my cellphone rang. I rushed to retrieve it from the kitchen window ledge and looked to see who was calling. It was a Florida number, possibly an old friend from our years living there. I answered it. “Who is this?” an unfamiliar voice said. “Who were you calling?” I asked. “I got a call from this number,” the voice said. “There must be a mistake. I rarely use this phone and never make calls from it.” I hung up, put the phone back on the ledge and returned to the couch. It rang again. I ran to answer it. It was from the same number. “Does this have anything to do with Jason?” the caller said. “I love him. I just love him.” I hung up. My husband examined my phone and determined how to block calls. He blocked her number. The phone rang from another Florida number. I swiped right-to-left to dismiss the call. Alan added that phone number to the blocked callers list. It rang again. This time the incoming call showed as “unknown.” Alan added that to the blocked callers list.

We sat back and relaxed until I noticed 10 new text messages. I opened one of them and the caller referred to me as a liar and worse. This was outrageous! Alan ran to his computer to research how to block texts. I sat there pondering what to do. Should we call our lawyer friend in Vero Beach, Fla., and get a restraining order? I decided to try one more time to tell the caller she had made a mistake. I opened her text and read her message, in which she called me a fat pig. How dare she! I wanted to call her names but took a deep breath and texted back: “We are an elderly couple who live in Washington state. There is no one living here under 70 years old. I think you must be drunk. Leave us alone.” I sent the text and deleted all of hers. Alan returned and said, “I need a text in order to block them.” It was too late. I had already deleted them, so we waited until another text popped up. It said: “That’s too funny. Bye.” I felt compelled to write back: “There is nothing funny about this.” Then the phone was quiet. Every time I pass my phone sitting on the window ledge in the kitchen, I think about Jason and hope he has the good sense not to get involved with the woman who called me. Everybody Has a Story welcomes nonfiction contributions, 1,000 words maximum, and relevant photographs. Send to: neighbors@columbian.com or P.O. Box 180, Vancouver WA, 98666. Call “Everybody Has an Editor” Scott Hewitt, 360-735-4525, with questions.

Share: Tags   life Receive latest stories and local news in your email: GO By signing up you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.