Sharing a Dozer

For the past few nights, my phone at the bedside rings and I pick it up already knowing who is clutching the receiver on the other end. It's bedtime and it's the time my sister calls for a little chat. It's quiet in both houses; everyone is asleep in that house in WV and here in La. It's bedtime for all and this is the ritual of late.

"Hi Sis, whaachodoin?" Although I'm not asleep yet, the brain has already slid into a lower gear and the ignition switch is close to being spun backward. "Hey, just watchin the tube" I say.

In the next few minutes we both decided to take our Ambien and I start watching the clock while having the phone to my ear and listening to the tell tale sounds of sister fading into the dark corners of sleep. After a few minutes, she doesn't respond to anything I am saying so I question "you still there?" She answers with one word and that word is soft, low and slow. I glance over to the clock and note that 20 minutes have passed and our Ambien has started tickling the feather edges of our consciousness.
"Sis", I say, "the Ambien has kicked in." "Nah, she mumbles, "I don't feel a thing".

Our conversation now turns to me trying to convince her that her Ambien is now totally effective. She mumbles and slurs her words and rejects my observation. I tell her to hang up the phone. "Hang up the phone, sis." I say this a few more times, I tell her I"m hanging up now.

I never get a ''yes" but I try a few more times to get her to hang up her phone and then I quietly stand my phone back in it's cradle and roll over and dive bomb right into unconsciousness. That Ambien works quickly and silently.