"Hello？Why？"
"Well，ifnobodyevercallsyou，IthoughtmaybeIshould。"
"Okay。Hello。Whoisthis？"
Atlast，Ihadgh。Nowhewascurious。ItoldhimwhoIwasandasked>
"MynameisAdolfMeth。I'm88yearsold，ahadthismanywrongnumbersinonedayi;>
&alkedfor10minutes。Adolfhadnofamily，nofriends。Everyonehehadbeeohaddied。Thenwediscoveredwehadsomethinginon：he'dworkedfortheNewYorkCityPoliceDepartmentfornearly40years。Tellihisdaysthereasaoroperator，heseemediing，evenfriendly。IaskedifIcouldcallhimagain。
"Whywouldyouwannadothat？"heasked，surprised。
"Well，maybewecouldbephonefriends。Youknow，likepenpals。"
&ed。"Iwouldn'tmind…havingafriendagain。"Hisvoidedalittletentative。
IcalledAdolfthefollowingafternoonandseveraldayslater。Easytotalkwith，herelatedhismemoriesofWorldWarIandII，theHindenburgdisasteraorits。Hewasfasg。Igavehimmyhomeandoffiumberssohecouldcallus。Hedidalmosteveryday。
IwasnotjustbeingkindtoaloalkingtoAdolfortanttome，becauseI，too，hadabiggapinmylife。Raisedinesandfosterhomes，Ineverhadafather。Gradually，Adolftookonakindoffatherlyimportaalkedaboutmyjobandcollegecourses，whidedatnight。
Adolfwarmedtotheroleofselor。WhiledisgadisagreementI'dhadervisor，Itoldmy;IthinkI'vehaditwithhim。"
"What'stherush？"Adolfed。"Letthings。WheasoldasIam，youfindoutthattimetakescareofalot。Ifthiworse，thenyoutalktohim。"
Therewasalo;Youknow，"hesaidsoftly，"IamtalkingtoyoujustthewayI'dtalktoaboyofmyoantedafamily—and。You'retooyoungtoknowhowthatfeels。"
No，Iwasn't。I'dalwayswantedafamily—aIdidn'tsayanything，afraidIwouldn'tbeabletoholdbackthehurtI'dfeltf。
Oneevening，Adolfmehbirthdaywasingup。Afterbuyingapieceoffiberboard，Idesignedabiggreetingcardwithad89it。IaskedalltheyOffiissinit。Igatherednearlyahuures。Adolfwouldgetakickoutofthis，Iknew。
We'dbeentalkingonthephoneforfourmonthsnow，andIthoughtthiswouldbeagoodtimetomeetfacetoface。SoIdecidedtodeliverthecardbyhand。
Ididn'ttellAdolfIwasing。Ijustdrovetohisaddressahecarupthestreetfromhisapartmemanwassmailinthehallwaywhehebuilding。HenoddedasIcheckedthemailboxesforAdolf'sartment1H，some20feetfromwhereIstood。
&pouhext。Wouldwehavethesamechemistryiwehadonthephohefirststabofdoubt。Maybehewouldrejectmethewaymyfatherrejectedmewheofmylife。ItappedonAdolf'sdoor。Whentherewasnoanswer，Iknockedharder。
&manlookedupfr。"here，"hesaid。
"Yeah，"Isaid，feelingalittlefoolish。"Ifheansweredhisdoorthewayheanswershisphohismaytakeallday。"
"Areyouarelativeorsomething？"
"No，justafriend。"
"I'mreallysorry，"hesaidquietly，"butMr。Methdiedthedaybeforeyesterday。"
Died？Adolf？Foramoment，I'taoodthereinshoddisbelief。Then，pulliher，Ithamaothelate-msuowardthecar，misty-eyed。
Then，roundingtheer，IsawadaliheOldTestameomymind：Afriealltimes。Andespedeath，Irealized。Thisbroughtamnitioakessomesuddenandsadturoawakenustothebeautyofaspecialpresenourlives。Now，forthefirsttime，IsensedhowverycloseAdolfandIhadbee。Ithasbeeneasy，ahiswouldmakeitevehehmyclosefriend。Slowly，Ifeltawarmthsurgingthroughme。IheardAdolf'sgrowlyvoig，&qu;ThenIheardhimaskingwhyIwao。
"Beattered，Adolf，"Isaidaloudto;BecauseIwasyourfriend。"
Iplaopehdaythebaydgotbehindthewheel。Beftheengine，Ilookedovermyshoulder。"Adolf，"Iwhispered，"Ididn'tgetthewroall。Igotyou。"