I put my hand over hers.
“I’m glad you called someone,” I said. “And you don’t owe me an apology. We’re all just… trying to figure this out.”
Here’s the part of Part Two that might make some of you argue with me again.
I still believe in calling.
I also believe in hanging up.
I believe in blocking phone numbers when you need to, and unblocking your heart when you can.
I don’t think every parent, every sibling, every old friend deserves a second chance at your table. Some people have to stay on the other side of a locked door for you to stay alive, or sober, or sane.
But I also don’t think we should let algorithms decide for us that anyone who hurts us once is trash to be taken out.
Sometimes “I’m done with you forever” is wisdom.
Sometimes it’s just pride dressed up in therapy language.
Only you know which is which in your life.
So here’s my new invitation, revised after Mike, after hospice, after ten thousand strangers yelled at me from their phones:
Think of one person you still love, who it would be safe—not perfect, not easy, just safe—to reach out to.
Not the one who broke your bones or your soul. The one you argued with about money, or politics, or who should get the house.
Then do something small and honest.
Send a text that says, “I was thinking about you today.”
Mail a photo.
Ask a friend to sit with you while you make the call.
Or, if you’re not ready, write their name on a piece of paper and put it in a drawer and say out loud, “I’m not ready yet. But I’m not closing the door forever.”
The world is loud and angry and very sure of itself right now.
You don’t have to be.
You just have to be a little braver than your pride, and a little kinder than the internet expects you to be.
Because at 2:17 AM, when the phone rings, it won’t be the comment section holding your hand.
It’ll be the person on the other end of the line.
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This story is a work of fiction created for entertainment and inspirational purposes. While it may draw on real-world themes, all characters, names, and events are imagined. Any resemblance to actual people or situations is purely coincidenta
