A Caller Named Jan
Jan’s voice comes on the line. “Steve, it’s me.” Shocked, Steve says, “Ah...Jan? Is it…really you? I thought you were out of town, or going back to New York with your mother.” “I was, but her flight got delayed, and then Linda called and said I should listen to the show.” “I know we only had a… I mean, we didn’t exactly talk about everything…” Steve says trying to explain himself.
“Why’d you disappear so quickly?” Jan waits for a moment and then, “I was hurt that it seemed the only reason you were dating me was to get to my money. And, then I saw that ‘Jan Project’ on your iPhone! What was I supposed to think about that, huh?” “Oh - ah - you… saw that, huh?” “Yes, I did!” Jan shouts.
Dave winces and grabs his headphones – a little too loud in his ears; he motions to the engineer to adjust the volume on his headset. Steve closes his eyes and speaks sincerely. “I’m sorry, Jan. I didn’t mean anything by it. That’s just how Greg talks about people, talks about projects and work, and my relationships.” “So what about my Mother, and her money?” Jan asks calmly tapping her foot, holding the phone tightly against her cheek.
“Well, we did want it, but then,” Steve says searching for the right words, “other things started popping for us, and this book came along. So, I found I… I tried to call…I tried to call...I…” “Missed me? Yeah, so did I. But you never left a message, Steve.” Jan says coldly. “I didn’t know what to say. It doesn’t matter now, Jan.
Is there any chance we could talk?” Steve asks. Jan comes into the booth and stands behind the Engineer. She has been in the radio station the whole time. She hangs up her phone and speaks to the Engineer. He smiles and nods. Steve hangs his head. Dave sees her, but plays along with Jan and says to Steve, “Sorry, man, she hung up.” “So, I guess…” Steve begins.
Meanwhile, in the control room the Engineer flips a switch and turns on the overhead microphones to listen to the conversation and broadcasts it across the airwaves. “So, tell me more about your book.” Jan asks. Steve practically falls out of the chair as he looks up to see Jan standing there behind the glass, next to the Engineer. “I can’t believe I was so stupid.” Steve says. “I got so caught up in the work that I lost sight of what was important, what was right in front of me.