Mabel Episode 3, The Man in the Street, in which rain continues to fall.

The Hi, you've reached Mabel Martin. I'm not here to take your call right now, so please leave a message after the beep,

and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Thanks.

There's a man out in the street. He's been there since I brought Sally down for her breakfast, maybe 45 minutes ago.

She's listening to the radio in the front room right now, and I'm supposed to be cleaning the kitchen,

but instead I'm camped out behind the fridge,

peeking out the little window beside the kitchen door.

It's not that he's done anything particularly sinister.

He's just leaning up against a lamp post, smoking, and looking at his phone.

He's not taking pictures of the house or snooping in the windows of binoculars.

There is nothing in his behavior or demeanor that would suggest, I don't know, intent

to cause harm.

But there are no other houses up here, not for a quarter mile at least.

There's Sally's house and the lamp post and my car and a grey stone wall.

Nothing else. No view to look at, not on this side of the hill. No bus stop,

no interesting landmarks, barely even any cell reception. And he's just standing.

I better go.

How am I supposed to end a message to you anyway?

Talk to you soon?

Later, Gator? Over and out? Talk to you soon?

Later, Gator.

...