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 when it connects and you hear a familiar 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? John? Is that you?” He asks, surprised.

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

“Uh, 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 sport, what’s the next big step in your city plans?” He asks.

“Well, about that dad,” you suck in a breath preparing for impact, “I’m coming home tomorrow.” 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, slowly, 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. You would expect him to, you loved that car, even he knew that, it was the first thing you ever bought God damn it and they destroyed it!

“Yeah, the train, dad. I’m gonna be arriving in Garden City.” You state through gritted teeth, trying not to let the sadness come through.

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

“The ticket says that I am supposed to be arriving at the depot in the morning, 6:10 in the morning if I'm on time.” You state. “Maybe a little bit after if I get delayed.” Another long pause.

“Well,” your dad states, “I’m sure that one of us can come down and pick you up from the station when you get here, you can just give us a call when you―”

“Uh Dad,” you interject.

“Yes John?” He asks.

“Well about that,” you chuckle nervously, “my phone broke and I haven’t had the money to replace it.”

“Oh,” your dad smacks his lips, “well in that case, I’ll see what I can do for you. If the train is really late, maybe Maxine can pick you up.”

“That would be nice.”

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

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

“I’m sure that your mother would love to hear from you too. She’s been worried sick about you since you left.” Says your dad.

“I can understand that,” you sigh, “let her know that I said hi.”

“I can do that for you John. Would you hold on a second while I get her from the other―”

“Southwestern 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 pulling into the station, backend first, 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 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 slam it onto the hook. Then you grab your bags and book it for the platform and the train. You are, in a flash, inside and finding a seat for the long ride home.