The uninvited CALLER

Sam loved to meet up with her mates online – until a stranger joined them

- Helen Cooper

Until that strange night, Sam cherished her weekly video calls with her oldest friends. She would rush her children into bed, grab a glass of wine and retreat to her study, leaving her husband Tom channel-hopping below.

With the three women she’d known since school, there was no time wasted on small talk. They vented, shared, sympathised, laughed...

Jaz was usually in her pajamas, Clara frazzled from work, Anna covered in baby food or a felt-tip pen. Meanwhile, Sam would mostly listen and grin, as had always been her way.

One rainy Friday, she was particularly looking forward to their online get-together. Her friends appeared on her laptop screen in their separate boxes, waving from their different corners of the country.

‘Excuse the hair,’ Anna said. ‘Just got out of the bath, you know my curls go crazy.’

‘Sam, immaculate as ever!’ Jaz said. ‘And I didn’t think this was possible, but has your study got tidier?’

Sam chuckled. Her neatness was a long-standing in-joke. Then her smile faltered as the screen reconfigured and a fifth square appeared, knocking out the group’s usual symmetry.

‘Is someone else dialing in?’ she asked.

‘As if!’ Anna said. ‘It’s always just us.’

‘Another icon’s appeared.’

Whoever it was had no video or audio switched on. The black square showed only a screen name – Birdie’s iPhone.

They each became still, registering this.

‘Hello?’ Sam ventured. Though she was the quietest, she often took the lead when composure was needed. Not that this situation was a big deal, she thought. Maybe somebody had joined the wrong meeting.