The Tarnishing of Mrs Jones’ Reputation

I experienced an interesting telephone call yesterday. (For the record, I’ve made up the surname, because I can’t remember the actual one the caller said, but it was definitely a surname.)

Walking through my kitchen yesterday afternoon, I picked up the phone as it suddenly rang as I walked by. (Well, since we rarely know when people will call us, the phone generally does ring suddenly.) I was my normal pleasant self, greeting the caller with some sort of cheerful ‘Hello’. The caller asked to speak with Mr Jones (who is a previous occupant of the house I rent). I informed my caller that he had the wrong number – there was no one by that name living here. ‘Well, is Mrs. Jones there?’, the called asked. I replied that Mrs. Jones didn’t live here either. The caller muttered something under his breath, gruffly said ‘good-bye’ and hung up.

It was only after replacing the phone in the cradle that I realised the full implications of what the caller had just asked of me. Effectively, the caller enquired: ‘Listen, I know that you just said that Mr Jones doesn’t live there, but nonetheless, is Mrs Jones there?’ Blimey! What kind of question is that?! I didn’t know whether to be offended or, perhaps worried about the defamation to Mrs Jones’ reputation.