Then the screen blinked.
A gray box appeared with a small icon of an envelope.
The text inside said that the group administrator had declined the request. My name vanished from the list, leaving only the white space between my youngest son and my granddaughter.
I tapped the link again, but this time the screen remained gray, the words Expired Invitation appearing in small black letters.
I closed the tablet cover, the blue plastic making a soft snap against the wooden table.
The kitchen clock ticked forty-two times before I reached for the telephone.
I had the number memorized, but my fingers still hovered over the plastic buttons on the wall.
There were twenty-six names in that group, including the cousins in Austin who only visited during the holidays.
I dialed Carlos’s office line first, knowing he would be driving home from the regional headquarters by now.
He always answered his office line on the second ring.
The line rang five times before Carlos answered, his voice competing with the hum of highway traffic in the background.
“Mom, I am in the middle of a regional meeting drive,” he said, speaking in his rapid, clipped rhythm. “Is everything alright at the house? Did the well pump go out again?”
“The well pump is fine, Carlos,” I said, pausing to let my breath catch up. “The computer says I am not in the family message list. I tried to use the old invitation from the tablet, but it told me the administrator declined it.”
There was a brief silence on the line, the sound of a turn signal clicking twice.
“It is easier this way for everybody, Mom,” Carlos said.
“I like seeing the pictures of Sofia,” I said, my finger tracing the edge of my silver band. “She had a volleyball game yesterday, and she usually sends me a note about the score.”
“The group is mostly for scheduling the work trips and the driving rotations,” Carlos said. “Working adults have different schedules, and we do not want to fill your phone with junk alerts at night. You do not need to see thirty messages about soccer practice while you are trying to sleep.”
