Returning Phone Calls

Usually I will answer my phone if I know who's calling (unless it's a name and number I keep in my phone for the sole purpose of letting me know not to answer). A few people have challenged that lately, as they seem to call only when they want something. The worst part is that they want to warm up to it, making idle chit-chat before laying it on me. At this point I've figured it out, so when their names pop up, I don't answer. I wait until I feel like dealing with it -- or feel more like dealing with it. It's obnoxious enough that they call and ask for a huge favor when I haven't heard from them in months (or in one case years); don't further insult me by pretending to care what's going on in my life!

Today's ignored call came from an old boyfriend, my first love, in fact. I was working, so I didn't feel bad about not answering, and I didn't listen to the message until my break. It was pretty generic -- just asking that I call him back -- but I already know what he wants. Before I left on my big trip, he had called after I hadn't heard from him in about three years. The first time was fine; we caught up and he didn't ask for anything. We've been in touch on and off over the years, so it didn't seem too unusual to hear from him after not talking for a long time. His birthday was the next week so I called to wish him a happy one. Late in that conversation, he dropped a bombshell of a request: he wanted to know if he could move in with me for a while -- with his million cats. Okay, it's not a million, but it is somewhere between six and eight. He lives in an oceanfront condo in Maryland that he inherited from his parents, but he's trying to sell it. He thinks it would sell faster if he moved out for the showings. I think it's not my problem. I said no. Actually, I think I said, "Are you fucking crazy?!" He said, "Okay, well, have a good time on your trip and we'll talk about it more when you get back." I'm not sure what he thought would change. Maybe he believed the trip would change me; if so, he was right, but I didn't change in a way that will do him any good. If anything, I'm more emboldened to do what I want and stand up for myself than I've ever been -- and I was already plenty good at that.

I'm tired tonight, having spent 19 of the past 34 hours scoring for two different programs. I'm still sticking to my weird diet. My head hurts. I will call him back, eventually. He isn't going to like what I have to say.