Caller ID indicates a pay phone. The phone calls start around 9:00 p.m., just as I’m beginning to drift off to never-never land, and have gone well past midnight.

*B-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-g-g-g-g, b-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-g-g-g!*

*cough* *cough* *Snort*

“Uh … Hullo?”

“You have a collect call from …”

*pause*

“… Tory”

“Who?”

*pause*

“Will you accept the call?”

“WHO??”

*pause*

“This call is from an inmate at the Dallas County Jail.  If you accept this call, your conversation will be monitored and recorded.  The cost for this call is $3.75 per minute. It is recommended that you do not …” yada, yada, yada.

*Cough* *Snort* *Fumble* *Click*

I have no idea who Tory is or why he wants to talk to me.  He has become not only extremely persistent but somewhat of a nuisance as well, especially after the third or fourth phone call, each time just as I’ve started to fall into that wonderful little dreamland.  There have even been a couple of calls after I’ve been in my fantasy world for several hours which means I’m in a deep, deep sleep and I am not a nice person when suddenly, and rudely, awakened.

Not only that, but since middle of the night phone calls generally indicate trouble, it takes a while to get the old heart rhythm back to a livable level which means I’m now awake.

The thing is, as I was lying there last night at some ungodly hour after one such phone call, I started thinking.  And wondering.

Just who is Tory?

What did he do?

I have no answers and no, I don’t plan to accept one of those collect calls to find out.  I did come to the conclusion that dear Tory is probably right where he should be and chances are he's not on the genius level in the IQ department.

I mean, after five nights of rejected phone calls, get a clue, Tory! 

You either have the wrong number, you’re dialing wrong, or … and here’s a kick of reality … if whoever you think you’re calling won't accept your calls, they don't want to talk to you!