Benny had parked in this spot so many times that it needed a sign with his name on it. 5,828 times, in fact. Not that he was counting. The sun had withdrawn its stolid gaze, and yet he had just woken up, as he did every day for the past fifteen years. Benny loved the graveyard shift. He thought the world was so much less claustrophobic this time of day.

His wife thought it was just an excuse for him to avoid talking to her, to which he could only reply with a batch of half-baked denials. He was loony to enjoy doing this for a living, she always said. Why not be a stock broker, or a sales exec, or something she wasn’t embarrassed to bring up during dinner parties? The man sighed and shook his head in amusement. Her discontent had become intoxicating to him, and her approval anathema. It was… a predictable relationship, if nothing else.

The winter was especially biting tonight, but Benny didn’t notice until he tried to grip the door handle. He cursed himself softly, having left his gloves at home, warmed his hands with his breath, and swung it open. 911 calls don’t come in much this time of day, and the room was quiet, save for the loud snoring of the heater above his head. He sat down in his usual spot. Across from him, a woman in her late 30s, high cheekbones, pencil eyebrows, was cleaning her nails. 

“Have I been drinking too much again, or is this your first time being late to work?”

“Linda.” The man nodded.

She shrugged. “I’ve been dry for the past month, so … what were you doing? Holding a vigil or something?”

“A vigil for …?”

She turned around to face him. “For Gutierrez, of course. You saw the report, didn’t you? He got swiss-cheesed.”

“He died doing the things we wouldn’t dream of doing,” he replied instantly. “The world is a better place because of him. Wish I could say the same about everyone else.”

“Tell me how you really feel.”

Benny kicked the leg of her chair.

The first call of the day brought her swinging around, and for the moment he was alone. The initial anxiety of waiting for the phone to ring had all but vanished, and soon he had lapsed into his own thoughts again.

Linda was a greenhorn, and a damn good one at that. Not like those other spineless amateurs who showed up all hoity-toity and then left. He kept tabs on all of them. There was one who overdosed on antidepressants two years back. Another, who quit after a caller chopped his arm off and bled to death before assistance could arrive. And then there was Terrence Mitchell, who had two staff sergeants die on his watch during a domestic violence case gone wrong. Benny didn’t mind their absence too much. You don’t last as long as he did with a bleeding heart. Linda understood that, and he was happy to have her around.

A shrill ring coming from his own desk pulled him out of his morbid daydreams, and he snapped on his headset. Emergency calls were fascinating—an all-you-can-eat of people’s misfortunes. There were car thefts, drunk dials, bar fights, you name it. Which one was this going to be?

“911, what is your emergency?”

“Holy s***, I—There’s a dead body.”

Benny raised his eyebrows. A murder, perhaps? Murders were rare treats in a world where people called 911 to report traffic jams or c***roaches in the bathroom.

“Do you know for a fact that this person has died?”

“Yes. No! I-I don’t know. She was fine a few minutes ago, then she collapsed. She’s not breathing.”

“Where exactly are you calling from?”

“258 Grove. Northwest side of the city.”

“Police are on their way. Can you stay on the phone so we can confirm the victim’s condition?”

“Uh, sure. What do I need to do?”

“Do you see anything in her mouth that might be obstructing her airways?”

“Huh?”

“Look into her mouth. Is she choking on something?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know. It’s closed.”

“Can you open her mouth and check?”

“What? No, that’s disgusting. I’m not going anywhere near her.”

“Sir, if she’s still alive, I need you to ensure that she is in a safe condition.”

“I can’t do this! I can’t do this.”

You moron, he thought to himself.

“In my capacity as an emergency service personnel, I am asking you to comply with my directions.”

“Listen, can’t you just wait for the doctors to get here? I do not want to touch a dead body.”

“Emergency services are at least fifteen minutes out. That’s not enough time.”

“But can’t you just—”

“Sir, the only way to ensure that someone is dead is to not help them.”

He unclenched his fists and waited.

“Okay, okay, fine! Oh God, give me a few minutes, please.”

“Of course.”

Benny heard a shuffling noise as the man on the other end rest his hand on the woman’s forehead. It was only a few hours ago that she had called him to arrange their secret rendezvous. He reached for her jaw slowly, hoping for some sign of life, hoping that this was some sick prank and that she would awaken and laugh at him for his foolishness.

“No, I don’t see anything.”

There was a long silence between both of them. The caller rubbed his hands on his pant sleeves and was staring despondently at his feet.

“Sir, are you alright?”

“Yeah.” He paused. “I know … knew this woman. She said her man worked at a 911 call center. Name’s Benny. That ring a bell with you?”

Benny clutched his headset.

“It does,” he said slowly. “Why?”

“If you see him, tell him I’m sorry,” the man said, almost inaudibly. “We had an affair.”

Benny opened his mouth to speak, then stopped himself, then started again.

“Why?”

“Why does anyone cheat?” he wondered, then, after a pause:

“She wanted me. She told me her husband was a deadbeat. She didn’t love him anymore.”

“I know she didn’t.”

A pause.

“W-what’s that supposed to mean?”

“What’s what supposed to mean?” Benny echoed, raising his voice.

“What do you mean, ‘I know she didn’t?’”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“I said, don’t worry about it!” said Benny, who, realizing that he was still holding his headset, picked it up and flung it at his monitor screen.

He turned to Linda, whose eyes were fixed on her hands again.

“I’m heading out.”

“What? Heading out where?”

He put his coat on and started for the door.

“To see my wife again.”

The cold almost stopped Benny in his tracks as he shuffled towards his car. Temperatures this month always dipped well below freezing, but he was feeling numb for an entirely different reason.