Catching Up

By Charlotte Stacey

Monday morning, four elderly but spry women sat in a corner booth at the local café, their hands cupped around steaming mugs of aromatic coffee. Tracksuits and Nikes identified them as aiming for quality of life. Mobile phones, lined up on the table, identified them as connected to the pulse of the world.

Jessie, Myrtle, Edna and Betty were the FitTechs, an exclusive four-member club with the motto, “Time to Redo.” Time to bring their fitness to a higher level and time to upgrade tech skills on their cell phones—both necessary in their latest pursuit of civility. Progress in both categories was uphill and slow.

Myrtle, the oldest and heaviest at sixty-eight, spoke up. “Well ladies, last week we advanced quite a bit in our texting. Remember to always press the send button after you’ve typed the message.”

Betty shook her head. “I’m at fault there. Happened about three times. I did wonder why no one was answering me.” She looked down at her phone. “And one time I sent a message to the wrong person.” She smiled at each member. “Thank goodness you’re all so patient with me. Nice to have friends like that.”

“Don’t you worry.” Edna reached over and patted her hand. “We’re all in the same boat.” The women each gave an understanding nod.

Myrtle continued, “Remember to use your thumbs to tap the keys. When we looked around the café last week, all the young people were thumbing, simply flying over the keys.” She chuckled. “If you use your index finger, you might look amateurish. We want to blend in as much as possible. We don’t want Jessie’s boyfriend to notice us spying on him with another woman. And fumbling over a picture and text.”

A grateful smile flashed over Jessie’s face. “I’m starting to use my thumbs more. It takes practice but that’s what this is all about. Right?” She looked around the table, looking for encouragement.

Betty smiled back. “My arthritis keeps me rotating fingers when I text.” She flexed both hands. “I’ll probably never be a thumber. I heard my granddaughter say ‘thumber’ and I looked it up in the dictionary. It’s not there. Probably will be added next year, though.” She sighed. “That thing keeps getting thicker and thicker with all this new-fangled jargon.”

“Never mind about thumbing.” Edna reached over to pat Betty’s hand again. “Just do the best you can.” She sat back, satisfied with the encouragement she’d dispensed.

Myrtle took a sip from her mug. “Jessie did a fabulous lesson on emojis last Thursday. Has everyone been adding them to their words?”

“I’ve included a couple each time I send a text and I think they’re so expressive of emotions,” said Jessie, a satisfied ring to her voice. “They add so much sparkle. My grandson loves the emoji that looks like a devil with horns and I think it’s become his signature.”

The women smiled at the story and the mention of a grandchild. They sipped their coffee.

“I’m glad that last Thursday we collected our favorite emojis under the ‘most frequently used’ ones,” said Betty. “It’s so much easier to go there than to scroll through everything.”

Edna squealed. “Betty, you used the word ‘scroll!’ You’ve come so far.”

The women clapped lightly to recognize Betty without interfering with the other patrons.

“To summarize,” said Myrtle, “we know how to text and are becoming better at it. We know how to thumb our texts and add expressive emojis. Today, Edna is going to teach us how to take a selfie and, if we have time, how to add words to them.” All eyes turned to Edna.

Her shoulders arched back and her chin jutted out. “I learned this selfie thing last weekend. I had my grandson teach me. He’s only ten but sure knows a lot about technology. In fact, he told me to phone him if I have trouble explaining something and he’ll go on FaceTime with us.”

“Oh,” Betty gasped. “You know how to do the face thingy? I’ve always wanted to know.”

“After we catch on to selfies,” said Edna, “I’d be glad to teach you all about that.” She sat up straighter with a smug grin, proud that her tech knowledge now surpassed the other women’s.

“Now, girls.” She held up the phone. “You need to find the picture of the camera on the screen of your phone. This is called an icon. First, tap that and aim at what you want to photograph. You should see it on your screen. Then with a steady hand, click, and that’s all there is to it.”

She looked around to see if everyone was following correctly. “No, Jessie, don’t bring the phone to your eye. It’s not like the old cameras. This is a much smarter invention. Focus, click, and there you have it. Now look for the photo icon on your screen, tap on it, and you’ll see the last picture you took.”

Betty and Jessie showed each other their pictures and giggled.

Edna continued, “By tapping lightly on this icon when the camera is turned on, it reverses the picture and you can see yourself. Just like looking in a mirror.”

The women tittered excitedly.

“Go ahead and take a picture of yourself,” Edna instructed.

“I could use this as a mirror,” squeaked Jessie, “to put on lipstick.”

“My hair needs fluffing up.” Betty raked her fingers across the crown of her head.

The women leaned over to view each other’s selfies, as though they’d look different than the person seated across from them.

Myrtle cleared her throat to get the women’s attention. “Now’s our turn to each send that two-timer a message he’ll never forget.”

All four huddled over their phones, thumbing and sending.

A man’s voice interrupted. “Ladies.”

Four heads rose in unison. Four gasps.

The phone in his pocket signaled messages. He ignored them. His eyes searched for Jessie. “I’d like you to meet my sister.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Charlotte Stacey is an avid reader of mystery stories and enjoys thinking up mischievous and humorous plots for her characters. When a story isn’t coming together, she reverts to her other passion of fitness and loves to tackle hills repeatedly. Usually a breakthrough happens and her characters act even more daring. She has several wins and honorable mentions in contests and some published shorts. Charlotte Stacey has her Masters in Education and resides in Toronto, Canada.