Chapter 18

Greg was groggy when he heard the phone ring. He got out of bed, and walked to the living room. Intrusively, the phone sat on an end table ringing. He was naked. His t-shirt and shorts were on the floor in the kitchenette and the dirty breakfast dishes were in the sink. He saw that it was three in the afternoon.

“Hello, he said as he picked up the phone.

“Greg?”

The voice was distraught and troubled.

“Dana?”

“Greg, I need help.”

“Dana, what’s going on?”

“I had a fight with my Dad. It was ugly. I want to come home, but I don’t know how I am going to get there. Mom is at work until eleven. Please help me.”

“Can’t you apologize to your father? I don’t know how you are going to get home. “I am never going back.”

“Sometimes fights seem worse than they are. Maybe you will both feel better in the morning.”

“He hit me.”

Greg felt anger rise inside of him. He wanted to go and kill the bastard that would hurt Dana. He also knew that he had to put his feelings aside for now. He had to work on making Dana feel safe.

“Where are you?”

“I am in Chicago.”

“What part of Chicago?”

“Greg, I don’t know. I am near my Dad’s place, Dana sobbed.

“Calm down, Dana. I’ll get you home. I need you to be strong right now, and get me some information. First, let’s take a deep breath.”

Greg inhaled deeply, coaxing Dana into taking a breath. They both exhaled.

“Okay, sweetie. Are you on a corner?”

“Yes.”

“What do the street signs say?”

“It says Chicago in big letters. Below that it says 800 N.”

“Good. Now, can you tell me what the other sign says?”

“On the top it says Orleans, and on the bottom it says 350 W. What do those numbers mean?”

“They’re block numbers. You are eight blocks north and three and a half blocks west of where the numbering starts.”

“Where does the numbering start?”

“I don’t know for sure. I visited Chicago a couple of years ago. I think I still have some maps. Can you hold on a second while I grab them?”

“Greg, please hurry!”

Greg ran to his room. He looked in the closet and found a shirt box. Inside the box he found maps of various cities. One was marked Chicago and Vicinity”. He snatched it, and ran back to the phone.

“Dana, I have a map.”

“Please deposit thirty-five cents to continue this call, the recorded voice rang out.

“Greg, I don’t have any money!”

The recorded voice answered, This call will be disconnected in ten seconds.”

“Dana, is there a number on the pay phone?”

“No, it was torn out.”

“What?”

The line went dead. Greg stood in the living room, holding the receiver next to his ear, hoping he would hear Dana’s voice. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice.

“If you’d like to make a call, please hang up and try again, the recording said. Greg hung up the phone. A second later, the door flew open. Kristy walked through the door. Returning from the salon, her hair was blonder and more feathered. She stopped and stared at Greg.

“Why are you walking around naked? Are you ready for round two?”

Greg grabbed a cushion off the couch and covered up his crotch.

“I, uh, I was about to, uh, take a shower, and the phone rang, Greg stammered.

“Well, as sexy as you look, you should put some clothes on. What if Mom came home early? Would you want her to see you naked?”

Greg retreated to the bathroom, and put on his robe. He was tying the belt, when the phone rang again. Kristy answered it.

“Hello.”

After a second, Kristy hung up. Greg heard her muttering.

“Why would we accept charges for a collect call?”

Greg raced out of the bathroom.

“Kristy!”

“What is it, Greg?”

“Did someone just call collect?”

“Yes.”

“Who was it?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I hung up on them. I heard that prisoners make collect calls from jail, asking people for money.”

“You didn’t hear who it was from?”

“No, Greg. What is so hard to understand about that?”

“You just hung up on Dana. She’s in Chicago, she is lost, and she has no money. Now you just hung up on her.”

“Is that why you were naked? Were you going to have phone sex with her?”

“Kristy, try to focus.”

“Greg, I am sure she’ll call back. Don’t worry.”

“Let me answer the phone for the rest of the night, okay?”

“Okay, Greg. Relax. I don’t want to fight with you. Especially, since we had such a nice morning together. Kristy kissed him on the cheek, as she walked past him on her way to the bedroom.

Greg started to take action. He called Western Union to find all their locations near the intersection of Chicago and Orleans. He called Amtrak to find out the next train from Chicago to Thomas Mill. He was just waiting to get the information to Dana.