Did You Call?

Earlier this week I wouldn't know if you'd called because my cel phone was, well, unavailable. It wasn't missing, but I couldn't exactly answer it if it rang. It all started when I went to pick up the nieces from their respective schools. Both kids in tow, I asked Elder Niece (newly promoted to the front seat after turning twelve) to call my mom since I'm not the sort of person who calls and drives. When in the car, I often leave my phone in the niche next to the emergency brake, so it was easy for her to make the call and then put the phone back where she found it. We went off on our merry way, and I didn't think another thing about it.

Eventually, we got home, bundled out of the car like a heard of elephants, ate snack, began homework, and started to make some dinner. Since we were still waiting to hear from my mom, I thought I would check my phone for messages. Oh noes! I left it in the car! Running out to the garage, I found that the phone was not in the usual niche. Instead, it was about four inches to the right wedged in another little crevice, but this one was the rubber gasket for the emergency brake! Are you visualizing this? I could just see the top sticking out next to the lever. I tried to pull it out, but of course it slipped down inside the housing like a ship beneath the waves (sigh).

Ten thousand attempts to retrieve the phone were unsuccessful, so the next day Delphinium and I made a pilgrimage to our favorite mechanic. We got to spend some quality time in the beautiful autumn sunshine while they fished the phone out for us. No harm done! Of course I know Elder Niece did not intend to do this, she doesn't have a trouble-making bone in her body, but I may need to be more careful next time. Who knows, with Delphinium learning to crawl soon this may be only the beginning.