Read Online Still the Same Man by Jon Bilbao - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jon Bilbao
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we’ll just have to sit and wait.”
There was a pause, after which he added, “I have to find out how he is.”
“Of course,” muttered Joanes. “You say you tried to call from the bus; so you have a telephone, then.”
“I had one. But I lost it. There was . . . how can I put it? There was a ruckus when they threw us off the bus, and I lost my phone. It must have fallen out of my pocket. I only realized after the bus had already driven off.”
“Seems like it’s been a rough day for you two.”
The professor agreed wordlessly.
“And it will continue to be for as long as we don’t know what’s happened to our son.”
“Perhaps someone could lend you a phone.”
The professor shook his head.
“I’ve asked several people. They say the electricity is cut and that if their battery runs out, they’ll have no way of recharging it. And no one knows how long it’ll take for the electricity supply to return, so everyone’s keeping their phones to themselves.”
“Perhaps with a little financial incentive . . .”
“I’ve tried, but it’s no use. And the hotel doesn’t have a land line.”
“You could offer more.”
“They’ve told me not to ask again.”
And lowering his voice, the professor added, “Some of them got a bit aggressive. They say that the system’s overloaded and that even if I tried, I wouldn’t be able to get through and I’d just be wasting their battery.”
There was a pause before he added, “I don’t think these people have taken much of a shine to me. It’s a good thing we’re with you. Although it’s a shame your phone is no use.”
He said all this looking hard at Joanes, who averted his gaze and began staring at the weeds growing beyond the yard. The professor knew that expression well, it was the same one his students pulled when he threatened them with a question—a mixture of fear and shame.
“It’s a pity you didn’t ask to borrow my phone earlier, when you could have used it.”
“Yes, a pity. But I prefer to work my own problems out wherever possible.”
“Maybe the lines will come back later and someone will lend you their phone. My advice to you is to keep asking,” said Joanes.
“Yes, maybe,” was the professor’s laconic response.
“And now, if it’s all right with you, I’d like to go up to the room and get a little rest.”
“Of course. It’s your room, too. Give me a minute or two to see how my wife is. Then come up whenever you like.”
Joanes needed a minute to go over what had just happened. He unzipped his backpack and checked the phone battery again. It was nighttime in Spain. There was almost no chance he’d receive the call he was waiting for in the next several hours. But it could well come tomorrow. He had to save his battery.
As for the professor, he could use any old phone so long as it could make international calls. And there had to be a load of them in the hotel. As long as he used a bit of tact, someone would likely end up lending him one. If there was one thing Joanes was sure of, it was the professor’s powers of persuasion.
What’s more, he wasn’t absolutely convinced that it was an emergency. The professor knew only that his son had been in an accident. Not whether or not he was seriously injured. And in any case, even if he did manage to make contact with the hospital or whatever place his son was in, how would that change anything? It wouldn’t make his son any better. At most, the call might put the professor and his wife’s minds at rest—if the news was good. Joanes preferred not to think about what would happen if the opposite were the case, if the news didn’t bode well or was out and out bad. He couldn’t bring himself to imagine what it would be like to be locked up for hours, days even, with an elderly couple who’d just lost their son.
But for the time being, he went on reasoning with himself, making the call simply wasn’t an option, so they’d have to put up with the lack of
There was a pause, after which he added, “I have to find out how he is.”
“Of course,” muttered Joanes. “You say you tried to call from the bus; so you have a telephone, then.”
“I had one. But I lost it. There was . . . how can I put it? There was a ruckus when they threw us off the bus, and I lost my phone. It must have fallen out of my pocket. I only realized after the bus had already driven off.”
“Seems like it’s been a rough day for you two.”
The professor agreed wordlessly.
“And it will continue to be for as long as we don’t know what’s happened to our son.”
“Perhaps someone could lend you a phone.”
The professor shook his head.
“I’ve asked several people. They say the electricity is cut and that if their battery runs out, they’ll have no way of recharging it. And no one knows how long it’ll take for the electricity supply to return, so everyone’s keeping their phones to themselves.”
“Perhaps with a little financial incentive . . .”
“I’ve tried, but it’s no use. And the hotel doesn’t have a land line.”
“You could offer more.”
“They’ve told me not to ask again.”
And lowering his voice, the professor added, “Some of them got a bit aggressive. They say that the system’s overloaded and that even if I tried, I wouldn’t be able to get through and I’d just be wasting their battery.”
There was a pause before he added, “I don’t think these people have taken much of a shine to me. It’s a good thing we’re with you. Although it’s a shame your phone is no use.”
He said all this looking hard at Joanes, who averted his gaze and began staring at the weeds growing beyond the yard. The professor knew that expression well, it was the same one his students pulled when he threatened them with a question—a mixture of fear and shame.
“It’s a pity you didn’t ask to borrow my phone earlier, when you could have used it.”
“Yes, a pity. But I prefer to work my own problems out wherever possible.”
“Maybe the lines will come back later and someone will lend you their phone. My advice to you is to keep asking,” said Joanes.
“Yes, maybe,” was the professor’s laconic response.
“And now, if it’s all right with you, I’d like to go up to the room and get a little rest.”
“Of course. It’s your room, too. Give me a minute or two to see how my wife is. Then come up whenever you like.”
Joanes needed a minute to go over what had just happened. He unzipped his backpack and checked the phone battery again. It was nighttime in Spain. There was almost no chance he’d receive the call he was waiting for in the next several hours. But it could well come tomorrow. He had to save his battery.
As for the professor, he could use any old phone so long as it could make international calls. And there had to be a load of them in the hotel. As long as he used a bit of tact, someone would likely end up lending him one. If there was one thing Joanes was sure of, it was the professor’s powers of persuasion.
What’s more, he wasn’t absolutely convinced that it was an emergency. The professor knew only that his son had been in an accident. Not whether or not he was seriously injured. And in any case, even if he did manage to make contact with the hospital or whatever place his son was in, how would that change anything? It wouldn’t make his son any better. At most, the call might put the professor and his wife’s minds at rest—if the news was good. Joanes preferred not to think about what would happen if the opposite were the case, if the news didn’t bode well or was out and out bad. He couldn’t bring himself to imagine what it would be like to be locked up for hours, days even, with an elderly couple who’d just lost their son.
But for the time being, he went on reasoning with himself, making the call simply wasn’t an option, so they’d have to put up with the lack of
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