"You should go to him, Veronica. The two of you should be together."
Veronica let out a laugh of relief.
"Thank you," she said again, grabbing Greg's hand in hers. She squeezed it and he squeezed back.
"Now go!" he said with a smile. "Go before I change my mind!"
Veronica laughed again and squeezed his hand one last time. She got up and left the kitchen, leaving Greg sitting at the table. Putting on her boots and coat, she grabbed her purse and left the house, shutting the front door behind her.
Chapter 18
Veronica got into her car and turned it on, but as she backed out of the driveway she realized that she didn't know where she was going. She turned out onto the road and started driving away, but the rush she had felt a moment ago was quickly dwindling away. She knew he did car work. And she had his phone number. She decided to try calling him to see if he was home.
Veronica pulled up to a pay phone, stopping on the side of the street and parking her car. She got out and went to the phone, pulling a quarter out of her purse. She picked up the receiver, deposited the money, and dialed the number by memory.
It rang. And rang. Nine, ten, eleven times it rang. Veronica drummed her fingers impatiently against the glass walls of the booth. On the fifteenth ring she hung up. She looked around, wondering what to do. She looked back at the number pad, the metallic squares taunting her. And then an idea suddenly popped into her head.
Veronica picked up the phone and dialed "0", listening to the phone ring once before being picked up.
"Operator, how can I assist you?" a man said.
"Hi," Veronica said to the stranger on the other end, "Um, I'm looking to find someone and I was hoping you could help me."
"Okay, do you have their name?"
"I ... yes, but I only know his first name and phone number. Is there any way you could do a search for his address, or something, please?"
"You only know his first name?" the man asked.
"And his phone number."
"I'm sorry ma'am, but we can't divulge that type of information. I'll need the person's full name."
"But I know his phone number! And I've spoken to him before!"
"I'm sorry ma'am. I could give you his phone number and address if you knew his full name, but that's all I can do. Unless you can prove to me that you know this person, I can't give out their information."
Veronica wracked her brain, trying to think of a solution.
"Look," she said frantically, "I ... I love this man, okay? I love him and I don't even know his last name and I know how stupid that sounds but if you can help me out it would change everything in my life because I've lost him and I don't know if I can get him back. Please, I just need to find him and tell him how sorry I am and how much he means to me, and if you could just please help me out it would … it would mean so much … to me."
Veronica's throat tightened up as she listened closely to the silence on the other end. The phone was pressed painfully against her ear, and for a terrible moment she thought that the operator had hung up. But suddenly his voice appeared again:
"What's his number?"
Excitement filled Veronica's chest.
"Oh, thank you, thank you so much," she said, and she read off his number slowly. "His name is Jason," she finished.
"One second," the man said, and Veronica was put on hold. She listened to the tinny music, her heart in her throat. After about 30 seconds the operator came back on.
"Jason Reeves?" he asked. Veronica'd never heard his last name before.
"Um, yes," she said.
"457 Parkfield Crescent," the operator said. "Do you need me to repeat that information?"
"No," Veronica replied. "457 Parkfield Crescent, I've got it. Thank you so, so much."