My talk with "The Operator".

I was in the bathroom when the phone rang. A shower was just what I needed after a long day. I jumped out of the water so quickly I had to grab the towel rack to keep from hitting the floor. I had been waiting for weeks now. Hopefully this was finally "The Call". I quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my waist. I got to my phone just in time to say, hello. "Hello. My name is Operator _______________. How may I direct your call?" Was all I heard. I stood there frozen for a second, not really knowing what to say, but the sound of an operator on the other end snapped me out of my daze. "I would like to place a collect call. My name is _______________ _________." I said. The voice didn't even hesitate to answer, let alone write my name down. She simply replied. "This is not that kind of call. You need to state where you would like your call to go." She said. That part caught me off guard. I didn't know where I was going, just that I needed to make the call. Deep down I knew the answer though. It took me a moment, but like the operator before me, only one name came to mind. "I would like to speak to my mother." "Very well. I will connect your call in just a moment." With that the line went silent. As I stood there I couldn't help but think of my mother. I had just turned 8 the day she died. If I remember right, she had gone on a business trip. She worked for a company that made candy. Her position was that of a taste tester, or so she told me. I don't know if a job like that actually existed, but I sure as hell hoped it did. I wanted to grow up to be just like her. She didn't come home that day, though. Or ever, really. I was told that she had been killed in an accident. She was on a plane that had crashed into the ocean. They never found her body. I didn't understand much at the time, but my grandmother took me in and helped raise me into the man I am today. Even after all this time I still miss her, though. That's why I'm here, I guess. I don't know how long I had been standing there. My mind started to wander, but I was brought back to reality when I heard a click on the other end of the line. "Hey there, baby boy." Said my mother. It couldn't be. This call couldn't possibly work. Could it? "M... mom?" I stuttered. "Is that you?" She giggled. The way she used to. My heart raced at the sound. "It's me, sweetie. How have you been?" She said. I couldn't believe it. This was really my mother. I was talking to my mother. I went on for almost fifteen minutes telling her everything that I could remember after she had left. When I was done she laughed again and told me she missed me. "I miss you, mom. Where are you? Why did you leave me?" I asked. There was a long silence on her end. "I'm exactly where I need to be right now." She replied. "I know it may seem cruel of me to just up and leave, but I had to." She went on. "I did it all for you, baby. You have to believe that. Everything I do, I do for you. You're going to do great things, and I couldn't be more proud." She said. "Will I see you again? Will you come home?" I asked, tears streaming down my face. She laughed once more before responding. "One day, baby. One day." And with that, the line went dead. I stood there for a long while just staring at my phone, crying, before I realized that my grandma was standing behind me. She didn't seem all that surprised. "How long have you known about the calls?" I asked her calmly. "Longer than you'd like to think." She replied. I thought back to all the times I had caught her crying when she thought no one was looking. I knew I had made the call for the right reasons. "It was worth it. I got to talk to mom again." I said. "I'll do it again sometime." "Not sometime." She said. "But next time. You'll know when that is." She turned and started to walk away. I called after her. "Why did mom leave?" My grandmother stopped but didn't turn around. "Your mother is an operator. She is very important. So are you." She said before leaving the room. As I stood there, my phone went off again. "Hello. My name is Operator ______________. How may I direct your call?" Said the voice. I stood there for a second before speaking. "This is not that kind of call. You need to state where you would like your call to go."

My talk with "The Operator".

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