The phone rang in the middle of the night, and I let it keep on ringing for ten minutes at least. I don't have an answering machine or any kind of service like that, so I could have let the thing keep on going until Judgment Day if the caller on the other end was so inclined. Yet after keeping him or her waiting for so long, I came to admire their persistence. I wanted to sleep. It had been so long since I had slept through the night without a break. But I could tell that forces more powerful than I could comprehend were conspiring to get me up and out of bed.

I stumbled across to the old couch next to the phone. My apartment is one big room, with a mattress on the floor in the far corner. I don't believe in ostentation.

Of course I didn't intend on being polite when I picked up the receiver. "Who is this?" I spat, thinking back to all those sleepless days and nights I had racked up over the past several weeks.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you that you won something?" the voice on the other end said. It was a young man's voice, weak and nervous.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked him.

"You don't sound happy to hear from me, " the voice said.

"Why should I be happy to hear from you?" I said to him.

"My name is Thomas, but you can call me Tom, " he told me.

"Why would I call you anything?"

Tom laughed at that, trying too hard to be friendly. "I know what it's like, getting calls so late."

"It would make me feel better if I knew who was calling, " I told him. "I mean, I know that your name is Tom. But there must be more to you than that. More than just the name, I mean."

"I can't tell you too much about myself, " he said. "You know how it is these days. You slip up once and someone starts using all your credit cards."

"I'm the one who should be worried here, " I said angrily. "I don't know why you're complaining. You called me in the middle of the night."

"I'm from North Dakotans for Affordable Healthcare, " Tom told me.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked him.

"We have materials here ready to mail to you, " he said. "I only need your approval."

"How about you tell me what you're up to first because you start sending my literature?" I said.

Tom laughed again in that nonsensical way of his. "I can't do that, " he told me. "I can see that you're going to be a difficult case. But that's why I want to send you the literature."

"Read it to me, " I said. "Over the phone."

"I can't do that, " Tom said. "It's not allowed."

"I haven't slept in weeks, " I told him. "I was asleep for maybe an hour before you called."

Tom was silent for a little while after that. I could hear that he was still there on the other end of the phone, but he wasn't saying anything. I thought maybe I should hang up. I mean, we said everything that needed to be said, right? But for some reason I stayed on the line, curious as to what my new friend was going to do next.

Finally, after maybe five minutes, he spoke again. "I was with my supervisor, " he said.

"I understand, " I told him.

"I apologize for waking you up. I know what it's like."

"I'm sure you do."

"I do, " Tom said. "I absolutely do."