Sounds of the Homefront

I read this post by Triple E over at Oh! That's Gonna Leave a Mark about thinking she hears the sound of her husband's car coming up the driveway. At the time the only thing I could think of was that I always seem to want to call Jack Bauer on my way home from work. Well, obviously I have not been able to call him since last September when he left the States, but that has not diminished my desire to do so.

But I got to thinking a bit more about this later.

I hear sounds and think Jack Bauer must be close. Except rather than being in person - we don't have a driveway nor do we have a second car - these sounds all come from my laptop.

Pings, dings, and dongs. Each sound tells me he might be online.

Jack Bauer and I use Skype as our primary method of IMing - definitely has great emoticons. It makes distinctive noise when someone comes on, and despite being in other room, I can hear it, and I quickly stop what I am doing and go check to see if he is on.

Skype also has different sounds for the entry of a message: one for outgoing and one for incoming. It is that incoming sound that makes me smile every time I hear it.

The third sound is from Google chat. It is VERY loud and actually an unpleasant sound. It is most jarring when I am on Skype with Jack and someone else is trying to IM with me in Google. (Besides that is terribly confusing and anxiety-provoking cuz I am afraid of typing the wrong thing to the wrong person. That is another post for another day.)

Lastly, there is the sound when email arrives. A lovely sound indeed. Someone is reaching out to me.

These are the sounds I hear as I move around my silent life. The sounds I hear that remind me that my best friend is not by my side. The sounds I hear that bring me as close to him as I can be at this time. The sounds I have chosen to accept as a substitute for his voice, his presence.

And I hear then all the time, even when they aren't actually there.

Pings, dings, and dongs.