the production of the first film inspired by one of his
novels, their parents had become much too intrusive.
“I haven’t received
your message, sorry.” He could be an actor himself.
“Say what?” she
repeated. “I’ve also called you, but you haven’t answered!”
“I haven’t heard the
phone ringing.” It looked like he really believed his words, while
he checked his jacket pockets searching for his mobile.
“ Look,” he said, showing her the display. “There’s
no missed call. There must be some connection problem in here.” It
was an Academy Awards performance.
“Because you rejected
it!” his mother insisted, who didn’t seem particularly hurt by her
son’s action.
Kirsten’s gaze
shouted: you’re in trouble now, Bro.
“I’m afraid your cell
phone is faulty, my darling. It’s already the second time it’s
happened.”
‘ She really believes that!’ He was feeling a bit guilty
about making a fool of his mother this way. Or was it the
opposite?
“But, where have you
left Dad?” his sister stepped in, with the evident intention of
changing the subject.
“Seriously, I said I
called you. Check it out!”
Reluctantly Jan tapped
the call history icon. He had to please her and admit she was
right; otherwise she wouldn’t drop the subject.
“So, where is Dad?”
Kirsten insisted.
“He’s parking.”
According to her tone she deemed it irrelevant.
“What would you like?”
the waiter asked, hesitating.
Latest received calls.
A long list of names appeared on the screen, beside each a small
photograph. His mother was at the top.
“Don’t you see I was
right?”
But Jan’s gaze had
been attracted to the last photograph, a part of which appeared at
the bottom of the screen. He became breathless when he saw it.
Immediately he scrolled up and tapped the image, which enlarged.
Anna’s smile, the one on the day they met for the first time,
welcomed his incredulous look. Beside it, her name, her telephone
number, her user id, the date and time of her call, and a check
indicating it was answered.
“What the …?” he
muttered.
Kirsten rushed to his
side. She grasped his wrist to get a better view of the screen.
“When did she call you?”
“She didn’t,” Jan
protested.
“I told you that cell
phone is faulty,” his mother commented. She turned to the waiter;
“An Orval, thank you.”
“It isn’t faulty
…”
Then Jan connected the
date and time with the weird sensation he’d had after the quarrel
with Milja. It couldn’t have been she who answered the call, could
it?
“Jan, call her.” His
sister seemed to have regained her composure after her initial
surprise. “Now.” She clasped his shoulder, forcing him to listen to
her. “Perhaps it isn’t too late.”
At first he didn’t
understand what she meant. Anna had left for Mars. She couldn’t
answer his call.
“She’ll think I didn’t
want to talk to her … Will she have recognised her voice?”
“The launch is
today.”
Kirsten’s voice struck
home. A sensation of warmth and an urgency to do something. Without
pondering, he tapped the calling icon and put his mobile phone to
his ear.
Silence. Then a female
voice with a strong American accent; “The user you have called
isn’t currently reachable. Please try again later.”
Then he saw the TV
image that occupied most of the wall at the bottom of the room. The
caption read: ‘Live from Cape Canaveral’. He felt a sudden rush of
cold blood. He let the phone slip to the table and approached the
appliance like a zombie. He barely felt his sister stopping beside
him and squeezing his hand. On the screen an enormous rocket had
just lifted off and started to gather speed. The cameras followed
it as it dived into the blue sky, becoming smaller and smaller.
Only now did he
realise why the pub seemed half empty. Most of the customers were
crowded in front of the TV set.
“Have a good journey,
guys, and say hello to the little green men!” The