First Number Called

First Number Called

Two-thirteen in urgent care
Vending-machine pretzels for dinner
You came in sweatpants, hair still wet
Phone charger tied around your wrist
I kept saying, Sorry you had to come
Like love should only see me polished
You plugged my dying phone into the wall
And asked which show I wanted on the little TV

First Number Called, you show up, you stay
First Number Called, no grand words to say
When the night gets ugly, you don't make me small
First Number Called, you're the one I call

First Number Called
First Number Called

Nurse hands me the intake clipboard
I fill the boxes, miss one line
Who should we call if something changes?
Your name is already in my mind
You notice before I cover it
Smile like you have known for months
I laugh because the truth looks simple
In blue ink under fluorescent lights

I thought love had to look impressive
Something cinematic, something tall
I wrote your name where the form asked who gets called first
Before I ever learned to say it all
That charger wrapped around the wristband
Was the whole night in one small knot

First Number Called, stay till they turn the lights low
First Number Called, you already know
I don't need a hero, I need the hand that does not stall
First Number Called, you're the one I call

First Number Called