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"The phone doesn't seem to work. Is there something wrong with it?"

She pressed her lips together and walked to the kitchen. I hobbled behind her and watched her lift the receiver and listen after she had dialed the operator, too. Then she cradled it and shook her head.

"It be dead again. Out of order," she recited. "Thunderstorm last night probably do it down."

"Well. when will it be fixed?""

"Soon, maybe. Maybe not so soon," she replied. She started back to the living room.

"Well, is there any place else nearby with a phone that would work?'

"The grocery store on the corner has a phone," she said. "Pay phone."

"Okay."

I took a deep breath and started for the front door. "You need rest," she advised.

"As soon as I do this," I said. "Merci."

She shook her head and returned to her work. I opened the door and went out. The sky was quite overcast now. The break in the clouds that we had earlier had completely disappeared and there was a stronger breeze. I could almost feel the rain coming. It was a typical summer thunderstorm day where it would rain in isolated areas for a while and then move on to another area. I might get caught in it. I thought. but I have to call Mommy. I can't let her worry another minute.

I moved as quickly as I could while still keeping off my left foot. If I did put it down too hard, my ankle immediately complained. Thankfully, it wasn't that far to the grocery store. I could see the pay phone on the outside wall near the door. The moment I lifted the receiver and dialed for the operator. I knew this phone was out of order. too. My heart sank. I had to get in touch with my parents. I had to.

I entered the grocery store. There was only a short fat man sitting behind the deli counter. He had a round, pockmarked face with thinning light brown hair, but thick sideburns. He looked up at me through thick-lensed glasses, which made his eyes look like they bulged, resembling fish eyes.

"Can I help you?" he asked with a face of curiosity. After all, how many strangers on a crutch came into his store? I thought,

"I need to make an important phone call and the phone in the house I'm in doesn't work and your pay phone doesn't work," I explained.

He smirked.

"Oh. Well, we had a bad electric storm early this morning and the lines are dead."

"When will they be fixed?"

"I don't know. Sometimes it takes hours and hours.' "There isn't a phone here that works?"

"I don't know," he said. "Probably not," he added. "Where are you staying?"

"At Mr. Victor's house," I replied.

"Oh," he said. Then he grimaced and added. "Maybe he just didn't pay his phone bill again. I'm tired of taking calls for him. You can tell him Stuart said so."

"If your phone's dead, too, then his isn't dead because he didn't pay his bill," I pointed out.

"Maybe," he said. "know long has it been dead?"

"Well, it was working a few days ago. I know that." I said feeling a pain through my temples. Why was I standing here arguing with him? There was something so irritating about his tone of voice that his arrogant manner made me want to defeat him.

"You said it yourself. A few days ago. Between then and now, they might have turned off his phone. Once, he had his electric turned off. too. What are you, a relative?" he asked, turning the corner of his mouth down with disgust.

"I'm a friend of a relative." I said.

"Lucky for you," he quipped and looked down at whatever he was reading. From what I could see of it, it looked like either Playboy or something close to it.

"Thanks. Sorry to have interrupted you," I said and left to the sound of his grunt.

When I stepped out, I felt some raindrops and hurried back toward the house. I got caught in a sprinkle just as I was turning down the walk. However, the sprinkle turned into a regular cloudburst before I reached the steps. I gasped and cried out, swinging my crutch ahead of me. One of the stones was already slick and the bottom of the crutch slipped off, causing me to lose my balance when it shot out. I fell into the bushes and then sat hard on my rear. The rain got even heavier.