At 9:17 p.m., the old landline rang.
Almost nobody used it anymore.
I nearly ignored it.
Then I picked up.
“Hello?”
A man’s voice answered.
“Is this Sylvia Carter?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Colin Hayes. Russell Hayes is my father.”
I sat down immediately.
For several seconds, I couldn’t find my voice.
“Russell’s son?”
“Yes.”
My mind went straight to the worst possibility.
“What happened?”
Colin was quiet for a moment.
“My dad asked me to call you. He’s in the hospital, and he… he doesn’t have much time.”
My fingers tightened around the receiver.
Before I could ask another question, I heard movement on the other end.
Then came a voice I had not heard in 41 years.
Older.
Fainter.
But still his.
“Sylvie.”
My eyes filled instantly.
“Russell?”
A weak laugh came through the phone.
“You remembered.”
“How could I forget?”
He was quiet for a moment.
Then I whispered, “You remembered this number.”
“I remembered every birthday.”
I covered my mouth.
Forty-one years disappeared in those four words.
Then Russell’s voice broke.
“Sylvie, I need you to know something before I die.”
My heart began pounding.
“What?”
“I was in love with you when we made that promise.”
I couldn’t speak.
He continued before I could recover.
“And I had already bought the ring.”
I slowly stood.
“What ring?”
“The one I was going to give you before I left for college.”
The room seemed to shift beneath me.
“You bought me a ring?”
“Yes.”
I pressed one hand against the table.
“Then why didn’t you give it to me? Why did you marry someone else?”
Russell began crying.
Hearing him cry after all those years hurt in a way I wasn’t prepared for.
“That’s what I’ve spent 40 years wishing I could explain.”
“Then explain it.”
“I need you to come here.”
“Russell…”
“Please come to the hospital.”
His breathing became uneven.
“There’s something you need to see. Once you see it, you’ll understand why I walked away.”
I closed my eyes.
“Russell, I don’t understand.”
