Open Letter

to Lee Ann, the prospective child care provider who completely blew us off last weekend:

When we talked by phone, you agreed to come over at 10:30 on Saturday. I explained about the weirdness of our street and how to get there from your place. You seemed enthusiastic and sweet.

Chris was feeling a little sick on Saturday, but at 10:15 I pried him out of bed so that he could get dressed and brush his teeth before you arrived. But did you show up? No, you did not. Not at 10:30, not at 11:00 when I called you to see if you'd gotten lost or forgotten the appointment. Not later that day.

Oh, but you called, right? No, you did not. Now, you might have gotten another job offer in the mean time, or you might have fallen into a sink hole on your way over. There are many things that could have kept you away. A call would have been professional. Even if you did forget, or decided you didn't want the job, common courtesy fairly well demands that you call. Lie to me: tell me that your brother was crushed by bulls in Pamplona and you'd had to hop on the next flight to Spain. You caught a flesh-eating virus and your fingers fell off before you could dial my number. You were hit on the head by a blunt object and this caused a sex-mania that forced you to move to Baltimore. Whatever, I don't care. You just should have called.