Title: Sleeping With the Telephone
Rating: K
Summary: A song-fic based on the song of the same name by Reba McEntire and Faith Hill. Mildred Potter misses her husband.
Disclaimer: Don't own the song or the characters. Too bad for me.
I knew who he was when I took his name
But somehow knowin' is just not the same…late at night
She sits up late again in bed, alone, clutching his latest letter to her chest. She spends too many of these nights, worrying, praying that he's ok. She knew he'd be gone a lot when she married him, but she never imagined it would hurt this bad.
He calls it duty but I call it love
So, here I am
While he's gone to some foreign land
And I cry 'cause I'm all alone
And the nights get so cold and long
And I try not to think he won't come home
But I'm sleeping with the telephone
Her teardrops make the words on the paper run together, just like her days now, no separation. She can't count all the different countries that his letters have been postmarked from, all she knows is it means too many nights she's spent alone. She finally feels sleep pulling her in so she turns out the light and lies down. She feels for the phone next to her, and when it's gone she panics. She finds it in the living room and then returns to bed, the phone next to her.
The yellow ribbon on my neighbor's gate
Always reminds me that someone's awake
Just like me
I hear the sirens and I watch the news
He laughs and leaves with his gun and his brown uniform
And I pray God keeps him safe from harm
The neighbors have a son in the war. They, among everyone else on the block, have a huge yellow bow hanging on their gate. She remembers the day Sherman had to go. She was staring at that bow, listening to the radio talk about all of the men lost. The phone rang, and she knew what it was. He tried to make jokes, lighten the mood, but it was too dark already. She loved his uniform, but she hated to see him in it, because it meant lonely nights and worry. As he drove off she looked up and asked Him to bring him back home.
I lose him in my darkest dreams
Yeah, my blood runs cold and my heart skips a beat
So I get up, I can't take any more
Sometimes I hate how much I love him
But everyday I love him more
And I try not to think he won't come home
But I'm sleeping with the telephone
She sits up in bed, heart pounding and adrenaline rushing. These nightmares come too often. Suddenly her bed is swallowing her, so she slips on her robe and walks around the house. One moment she's so angry at him, for him being gone. But then she just thinks about his smile, one of his hugs and she can't stay mad.
Something awakes me from where he should be
I reach for him, the telephone rings
She's again awoken from slumber. The shrill ring startles her to action, and she picks up the receiver. "Hello?"
"Mildred?"
"Oh, Sherman. I've been waiting for your call."
A/N: I hope you liked my second song-fic. I changed one part of the song; to him having a brown uniform because we all know that it's not blue (which is what the song says). Please let me know what you think!