“State prison death house. Mullendorfer speaking.”
“Hello there. My husband is supposed to be electrocuted at midnight tonight and I wanted to know if there’s been a stay or if the governor has granted a last-minute commutation.”
“Name?”
“Cherry Wiley.”
“Your husband’s name is Cherry?”
“No, I thought you meant my name. My husband’s name is Clement Wiley.”
“Hold on a minute. I’ll check and see if any new information has come down on that.”
“Thank you.”
“It looks like, um…”
“Yes?”
“It looks like, um, Clement Wiley has opted for alien abduction.”
“Oh, he didn’t tell me that!”
“About eleven-thirty he’ll be taken up to the roof and at midnight they’ll pick him up.”
“I wish I could be there to see it.”
“No witnesses are allowed. There’s really nothing to see, anyway. The alien spacecraft doesn’t come close enough to see it. They send a beam of light down and pull the condemned man up through it. Don’t ask me how it works.”
“What will they do to him?”
“That’s something we never know. The only thing the aliens promise is that the condemned will be treated humanely.”
“Well, I guess it’s better than frying in the electric chair, isn’t it?”
“Some people think so. It’s a matter of taste, I guess.”
“If it was you, would you choose death in the electric chair or alien abduction?”
“Between you and me. I mean, completely off the record, I think I’d take the electric chair. It’s just too uncertain what they do to humans on an alien planet. They might cook them and eat them. They might use them as laboratory animals. Who knows? They might treat them like kings.”
“Do you know what planet he’ll be on?”
“No, I don’t. If I could pronounce the name, I wouldn’t remember it for five seconds. All I know is that it’s not in this solar system.”
“Since he’s not being electrocuted, I guess there’s a chance that I might see him again someday.”
“I think the chances of that happening are very slim, ma’am. The planet is very, very far away. Even if he’s alive out there somewhere, I think you should probably give up all hope of ever having any contact with him again.”
“He’s always been a rat and a no-good skunk and now he’s a murderer, but I love him in spite of all that. He has his good qualities. He’s a human being, too, you know.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Maybe someday in fifty or sixty years, if I live that long, I’ll look up and see him coming toward me on the street and he’ll look just the same as he does now.”
“I guess you might say that anything is possible, ma’am.”
“I don’t suppose you could bring him to the phone and let me tell him goodbye, could you?”
“I’m afraid not, ma’am. That’s against regulations.”
“Of course. You have your regulations.”
“The time for goodbyes is past.”
“You know what? You sound like a really nice person. Kind of sympathetic, like. Not just an unfeeling machine. I’m glad I got you instead of some jerk.”
“I’m the only one here right now, so it’s me or nobody.”
“Well, I’ll be crying myself to sleep tonight, thinking about all the good times my little Clemmie and I had before he went to prison. I hope he has a real nice life on that planet where he’s going. I hope he’ll be with good people where he’ll be treated decent and given a fair shake.”
‘Yes, ma’am.”
“He’s had a hard life here. Since the day he was born. I don’t blame him for choosing alien abduction. Maybe he’ll have it better there than he’s ever had it here.”
“There’s always that chance, I guess, ma’am.”
“Maybe he’ll find a way to get a message to me to let me know how he’s getting along there.”
“It can’t hurt to hope, ma’am.”
“I’ll bet you’ve got a sweet wife, haven’t you?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Children?”
“A boy and a girl.”
“Well, you give them a big hug and a kiss for me, will you?”
“I’ll do that.”
“Before they take Clement tonight, tell him I’m thinking about him. Every night of my life I’ll go outside and when I look at the stars I’ll see him. I know that someday we’ll be together again in the life that comes after this one.”
“All right, ma’am. I’ll tell him.”
“You won’t forget?”
“No, I won’t forget.”
“Well, good night, then. And thank you ever so much for your kindness.”
“Not at all, ma’am. And you have a really pleasant night now. Goodbye.”