A Physical Phone Call

Ronnie called. He said, Curt, did you fall off the face of the earth? I said, Why? He said, I haven't seen you in what seems like a million years! I shrugged my shoulders, but he couldn't see that I shrugged my shoulders because we were on the phone. Ha! Ha! Then, I realized that he couldn't see what I was doing at all, so I said, What's up? And I balanced myself on one leg and stuck out my tongue and I thought, Hmph! I bet Ronnie thinks I'm just sitting around, looking dumb, waiting for an answer, like everyone else! He said, I was looking for a chess partner. I said, I don't know if I'm up for chess today, and I stuck my arm out straight, as straight as it could go, and then I bent it at the elbow so that my forearm was perpendicular with the rest of my arm and I let it dangle just so, and with my other hand, I hit it so that it moved back and forth like a pendulum. And I watched it move. And Ronnie said, Well, want to come over for lunch? And I said, Sure, I would like that very much, and before I knew it, I was on the floor, looking up at the ceiling and saying, I'll see you in a bit to Ronnie. And I hung up and just looked up at the ceiling.

And I saw Ronnie hanging up the phone and moving from one room to another. I saw him opening his refrigerator and then inspecting his bread. I saw him clearing the counters and then kissing his wife on her forehead. And his kiss smelled like the coffee he'd finished right before he called me.