In Case of an Emergency

When I was a child, I memorized my Aunt Joan’s phone number.

Just in case.

Decades passed and her phone number never changed.

My aunt died last Friday.

Her phone number will soon go to someone else.

Perhaps another child will remember the number.

Just in case.

My heart is breaking, it’s not an emergency, but it feels like one. I reach for my phone to dial her number, but stop. My aunt’s not home to answer her phone.