"….." beeped the receiver. I sighed, relieved that the message was finally at end. Oh! I'm Matthew. I'm a telegraph operator for the American Army. I know what you're thinking; that as a Canadian, I have no right. But let me tell you. I have a family to care for back home. My partner, yes… Partner, is busy with our adopt, Shelby. And, before you start to jump to conclusions, I'm not the masculine one. In fact, I'm closer to feminine then most of the girls that work with me. Granted, only Miss Elizabeth is interested in males. But now we're getting off topic.
he reason Francis agreed to be Shelby's caretaker, is that I have more experience working and Francis has more experience as a father. He has no kids, but is quite old enough to be a grandfather. I'm sure he's been a mentor before. Eh? How old am I? not too much younger. Here, I'll just say it. Francis is 51, I'm 44. Not too bad of an age gap, eh? Oh? Why did we just adopt? Well… It's 1920. Adoption policy for…*cough* our kind, take more then ten years. And we were almost not accepted. In fact, that's one of the perks of the job. Proving Francis and I can be capable of both a steady income, and raising a seven year old.
"— .- - - .….-" mattieu. It was Francis, My dear french husband. "mattieu" is my name in french, and we had grown accustom to using this as code for "It's me, Mon amore." It's quite convenient, really. Most other operators think it's a typo, and direct the station to me. Then I with tell Francis to switch to an unoccupied station, where we can talk until Shelby is tired. Shelby is also picking up on what we say, though she can barely read, she understands the gist of it. It wouldn't surprise me if one of these days she starts knocking on her own. Francis and I are so proud of her.
"…. —- .— .. … . …- . .-. -.— - …. .. -. .—." how is everything? I buzz back. " .— —- —- -.. .. - .- ..- .— - … …-.. -… -.— … —- … .—- ..- … - .. -. -.-. .- … ." good. I taught Shelby SOS, just in case. "-.. .. -.. -.— —- ..- - . .-.. .-.. …-. .. - . … —- -. .-.. -.— ..-. —- .-.
. — . .-. —. .- -. -.-. .. . …" did you tell her it is only for emergencies? "—- ..-. -.-. —- ..- .-. .
—- ..- .." of course. oui.
And so, the night became late. soon, it was time to put Shelby to bed. I myself would soon go to my room. I was thinking fondly of the thought of Francis taking care of Shelby, and perhaps teaching her more. Maybe during the holidays, I would also teach her. it suddenly dawned on me… The holiday train ride home is only 5 days away. I can see how Shelby has grown, and how much Francis really missed me. At that last thought I started to blush. When was the last time I had sex? It feels like I've been here too long. though, I suppose five more days is tolerable. I look at the calendar. My last time at home was September. I watched Shelby enter first grade. Francis and I where gleaming dispute ourselves. And Shelby didn't look any too upset that the other families had a mom. I only had two days that break. And Francis and I only where intimate the night my train arrived. Shelby was asleep. Francis and I had already planned for me to simply "appear" the next morning. what we did not except to happen, was for Shelby to yell for Francis to wake up the next day… Both of us nude. Francis, being the more nurturing figure, said that it had rained last night, and we where so tried, we just took off are clothes and fell asleep. She nodded, believing him, then left so we could put our clothes on. Shelby hugged me harder then I ever think she had, her strength obviously growing. Shelby then begged for me to fix breakfast. I knew she wanted pancakes. Though Francis is a retired gourmet chief, Shelby always wants pancakes when ever I can make them. I guess it's because I'm the one making them. Francis and I are fully aware he can cook anything much better then I, but Francis says the more I am away, the more Shelby wishes she had both daddys at home. I wish I was there. To see my daughter spell her first word, to help her read her first book. To teach her Morse code.
I'm starting to get more and more homesick.