The crying groundhog

The phone rang, of course, again in the middle of the night.
There seemed to be no time of day for him, times when other people were sleeping. And as always, he let it ring only two-three times, because he did not want to wake me up.
It annoyed me every single time. Why did he call if he didn't want to wake me up? I thought for a moment, then I decided to send him a short message that I was awake now.
He immediately called back and apologized for the fact that he had ripped me from sleep.
Did I hear a chuckle in the background?
No, it could not be, for sure he was alone, otherwise he wouldn't have called.
I was curious to see what story he would tell me this time, why he could not come home. Any excuse he had ever ready, I knew them all by heart now.
Basically, they were immensely important dealings, only the places changed from time to time as well as the subject of urgency.
As he spoke my mind ran off the track, I imagined he would be actually here and would hold me in his arms.
His next words shattered my reverie, he said he had finally managed to book a flight to come home.

Not "as soon as I'm done," not "in about 2 weeks," no, definitely a commitment to the promise that he would be here on the weekend.
Could I believe him this time? Could I really trust on him?
He sensed my uncertainty and insisted again and again that this time it was serious.

After several kisses, I love you, and sleep-well-words he hung up. For years, I rarely hung up the phone. He called so infrequently, and I just couldn't seem to end the conversation.
And again I heard a chuckle, I must have been completely exhausted to be experiencing mild hallucinations.
A thought flashed through my mind, the memory of the movie "Groundhog Day".
Now it was on me to laugh, a bitter laugh, however, because the title also fit pretty darn good on our relationship.
It was not the first time that he promised to come home, just to stand me up again and again.
The thoughts tormented me for a few minutes until I finally fell asleep again.

A bright blue sky greeted me when I woke up, it promised to be a nice day.
I let the dogs out, cooked a coffee and then went on my way out.
The horses were hungry and enjoyed a fresh portion of hay.
Back in the house, I filled the bowls for the dogs and cats before finally allowing myself to enjoy my coffee.

So he really wanted to come home, but my doubts stubbornly lingered.
Fortunately, I had plenty to keep me occupied. After reading my emails, I carried on with the weekly routine around the house.
Of course, my thoughts drifted off again and again, I imagined how nice it would be if he's here again.
Somewhere in the background a chuckle was heard.

So the next days passes and every night came a text message from him:
Only four nights, then three until Friday. In his message, he expressed anticipation for tomorrow.
I could hardly sleep with excitement and wished only that night would be over by now and Saturday would bring him to me.

At an early time I was out of bed, completed everything what had to be done, so that I could enjoy every minute with him when he was back home.
This chuckles irritated me a little, and slowly I began to fear I was going crazy.

Finally he called, said that he is at the airport and could go every minute on board. I was happy, so indescribably happy I haven't been for a long time.
After over a year it should finally happen, the waiting was almost over, I should see him again.
Only a few hours until I could finally hold him in my arms. I was happy.

The phone rang, my son called, his words came haltingly:
"Please Mum, turn on the TV. A terrible misfortune has happened."
Gently and softly my son said: "He was in the plane, it's true, isn't it?"

I cried, could not stop screaming but a sobbing yet came to my ear.
In the background cried the groundhog.

Words: 736 (counted with WordCounter)

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Based on my experiences with hubby.
He passed away, but not in a plane crash.

Word Count: 833
Hours Spent: 10
Software Used: Poser 10 / Poser Pro 2014 +