Your old home number

You punch in your old house number and hear the connecting tone through the receiver. You’re more than a little caught off guard by the voice on the other end of the line.

“Hello?” Says your father on the other end of the tinny receiver. You suck in a breath.

“Hey dad.” There’s a long pause before he speaks again.

“John? Is that you?” He asks, surprised.

“Yeah dad, it's me.” You reply. There’s another long pause of dead air.

“It’s good to hear your voice, son. We’ve been worried.” He states matter of factly.

“Thanks.” You sheepishly reply.

“How you been?” He asks.

“Uh―” you begin. “I’ve been alright. Doing fine. Yeah.”

“So what’s the next step in your city plans?” He asks.

“Well,” you suck in a breath, “I’m coming home today.” There’s a minute of dead air, just those words hanging on the thousand miles of wire between you and your dad.

“Alright.” He finally speaks.

“Yeah.” You awkwardly add.

“Oh! Well, uhh, thanks for the heads up, we’ll make sure to have your room cleaned up by the time you get here.” He states. “When do you think you’ll get here?”

“I’m coming in on the train.”

“The train?” You dad asks. What about your car? You know he is silently mouthing the words.

“Yeah, the train, dad.” You state again.

“Tonight?” Your dad asks. You look down at your ticket.

“Yeah. Supposed to be arriving at the depot around dinner time.” You state. “Maybe a little bit after if I get delayed.” Another long pause.

“Well,” your dad states, “I’m sure that we can come down and pick you up from the station when you get here.”

“That would be nice.”

“And I suppose we should save you a seat at the dinner table?” He chuckles.

“Yeah, I’d like that too.” You chuckle, and your stomach growls in agreement.

“Would you―”

“Western Chief arriving shortly at platform one!” Announces the speakers on the platform, drowning out your father. You gaze down the tracks and can see your train approaching the station, moving in slow motion with the distance.

“Hey sorry, you cut out, what did you say?” You ask.

“I said would you―”

HONK! HONK! You jump, surprised. There’s another ear piercing honk as your train pulls into the station in front of you and comes to a halt, bell loudly ringing.

“Sorry dad! I have to go, trains here! Love you, see you soon, bye!” You shout into the receiver and hang up. Then you grab your bags and book it for the train. You are, in a flash, inside and finding a seat for the long ride home.