Fate Or What?

Fate Or What?
Tom Carrol was dialing up his sister Joyce’s new number when an annoying mosquito buzzing around his face caused him to accidentally hit a wrong digit on his smart phone.
When he heard the voice on the other end ask who’s calling, he practically shouted, “Joyce, this is Tom. I got the promotion!”
“Great!” she replied. “So, what are you going to do now?”
“Call mom and dad and tell them I got it.”
That’s when he heard the hesitation in her voice. “Wait a minute. Is this Tom Jenson?”
“No, Tom Carrol.” Feeling the weight of embarrassment, he replied, “Sorry, I must have dialed the wrong number.”
But before he could disconnect, she said, “Congrats on the promotion.” Then she ended the call.
That’s when he finally dialed his sister’s correct number and told her the good news. He also invited her for lunch at their favorite restaurant to celebrate. Afterwards, his call to his parents, who were on an Alaskan cruise, went straight to voicemail.
Even though his sister was seated at a table with her back towards the door, Tom recognized her by her favorite flowered dress.
“Joyce!” he called. That’s when two heads turned at the same time. One belonged to his sister. The other belonged to a stranger. She had red hair, wore a casual outfit and looked to be somewhere in her twenties or thirties.
Tom hesitated a moment then walked over to his sister’s table. “Tom,” she said as he stopped between her and the stranger.
The female at the other table shot him a curious look. “You wouldn’t happen to be the same Tom who called me earlier, would you?”
Feeling a small wave of embarrassment, he asked, “And were you the Joyce I talked to?” She nodded. That’s when he noticed the man in the T-shirt and gym shorts sitting across from her. He indicated the man. “And this wouldn’t happen to be Tom Jenson, would it?”
“I am,” said the man, who also appeared to be somewhere in his twenties or thirties.
Tom turned to his sister. “Joyce meet Joyce and her friend, Tom.”
“Glad to meet you,” replied his sister. Then Tom sat down and explained to his Joyce about the mistaken call earlier.
When he mentioned the word promotion, the other Tom said, “I just got promoted, too. I’m now the head of IT. What promotion did you receive?”
Tom Carrol replied, “I got promoted to head of the graphics department.”
“Which company?” Tom Jenson asked.
“Allied Electronics.”
Tom Jenson’s eyes went wide. “We work for the same company?”
Now, it was Tom Carrol’s turn to look surprised. “Wait a minute, if you’re working for Allied, how come I’ve never seen you before?”
“I just got transferred from Atlanta.”
And that’s when Tom Carrol and his Joyce moved over to their table. Before long, all four were talking like old friends.
The longer they talked, the more Tom Carrol discovered the other Joyce, whose last name was Conklin, had a lot of similar interests as his own . . . which led him to ask her out for drinks—and then dinner.
At one point while they dined, he remarked, “I don’t know if it was fate that brought us together, but I’m glad it did.”
“Me too,” she replied warmly.