Where was Redwood City? I didn’t know. All I knew is that Sarah’s golden heart wouldn’t turn down my request to go. Still, I was dejected that I wouldn’t be able to travel there until the next day – Sarah wouldn’t get off of work today until after they closed.

The Customer Service Representative had said there was only one $10 phone left in the Redwood City store, and I prayed that no one else would take it. If I showed up at the same time as another customer to claim the $10 phone, I would find myself in the position of competing with someone else for a phone no one else in the world but me prized.

The battle would either become progressively more pathetic-seeming, or else I would end up making friends with my opponent; We could bond over how cheap we both were over happy hour specials.

Lucky for me, Sarah was very familiar with the location of the Berizon store in Redwood City. She drove me there first thing in the morning, as soon as they opened. I thanked her so many times that she turned the volume on her stereo all the way up and began singing at the top of her lungs to the Decemberists’ “We Both Go Down Together”.

We burst in the double doors as soon as they were unlocked, and marched straight to the Customer Service counter in the back, ignoring and rushing between the two salesmen who greeted us. I prayed no one named Marsh (or possible Marsha) would come to my “assistance”.

My prayers were answered and a tall, skinny dreadlocked teenager with a clean face and white teeth appeared to assist me. “What seems to be the matter?” He looked into my eyes, the gateways to my soul.

“It doesn’t work anymore,” I said softly, surrendering my phone to him, laying it gently on the counter.

The teenager half-smiled at me compassionately. He put his hand on my bowed head, “It’ll be okay.” He reassured me, nodding slightly.

I looked up, suddenly rejuvenated. But he had disappeared through the swinging door. Sarah and I looked at one another. My savior had at last come.

When he returned, he held a phone that looked like my phone, but less banged up. “And now to give it life…” he said, fooling around with some gadgetry that I couldn’t make sense of.

“I thought it would never work again,” I told him in awe. “Thank you.”

He smiled widely, “After all you’ve been through…you’ve come all this way. But, it was worth it. It was worth it, Ms. Shayne.”

I stared at him and then at my phone.

“This is one of those $10 phones,” he said thoughtfully, nodding. I bit my lip, embarrassed. “Sweeeet,” he said. I smiled.

“Go in peace,” He told me, handing me my new phone, which miraculously had my entire address book on it and the same number as the other one.

Sarah and I drifted out of the store in a daze, knowing if we had only turned around, we would see the nameless Customer Service Representative smiling at us and perhaps – just perhaps – waving goodbye.

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