Saga In absentia--the diary of an Imperial officer's wife--Updated 07/07--Qualified for Most Underrated

Atunda, 1/1 23 AI

Before Edam shipped out this time, he insisted that I make him a promise. "Ive," he said, "this isn't going to be an easy year for any of us, but keep yourself and Alys happy in any way that you sensibly can."

I know it would be unjust to assume that it's easy for him to say that. After all, he took a leave of absence for an unheard of week last year when I lost the baby. Between the three of us, we're all that each other has. My parents were on Alderaan, but I don't speak of that in polite circles. His mother died in childbirth and his father died just after Alys was born. At least they all got to meet her and she has memories of them. I dislike that she knows so much loss when she is only seven years old, but she is still a child. She still thinks that there is no chance that Papa will go to join Grandmother and Grandfather.

Relatively speaking, she may be right. Edam was transferred at the last round of reassignments to be one of the bridge officers on the Star Destroyer Avenger. That is in Vader's fleet and so far, though many have tried, no Rebel force has ever conquered that fleet. Needa is a good man with a family of his own and I do not believe that he will put his ship at unnecessary risk.

Edam asked me to make our family happy in his absence, so the first thing I did was to take some of the higher salary that had come with his promotion to Colonel and find a good school for Alys. There aren't many schools beyond Coruscant that will accept deaf students at all, but Coronet Academy is quite different. There is an equal mix of hearing and hearing-impaired children, but all have at least one family member who understands Galactic Standard Sign Language. In addition, every single student there is the child of someone serving in the Imperial armed forces.

We toured the school today--Alys will be starting the second form on Satunda and I did not relish the idea of sending her alone to an unfamiliar place. Her instructor will be Lady Sarlik, a soft-spoken woman from Chandrila who has a deaf husband.

Edam would approve of this place. It is a small school with fewer students to each teacher and the war is not ignored. No one ignores the honorable services of the parents. There is a holoscreen in each class room with the name of the child and a holo of both the child and the ship where Mama or Papa is serving or the logo of the division to which the parent is assigned in the infantry.

The only thing that struck me as wrong was a relatively minor thing. Traditionally, the GSSL sign for Alderaan has been the letter A opening like flower petals in remembrance of the Royal Gardens at Antibes. Today was the first time that I saw the new sign used for it. When talking to us, Lady Sarlik mentioned that I had grown up on Alderaan. She signed the letter A and then converted it into the sign for explosion. Alys seemed distressed by this and I demanded to know if she would be required to disrespect her mother's homeworld in that way. Sarlik looked rather abashed and asured me that this was not the case.

Despite this minor argument, everything went smoothly. We went to dinner in the Theater District to celebrate and got her new school uniforms. Alys has been remarkably patient in this whole process--she is accustomed to not having Papa there at night and she likes our new house much better than the cramped apartment that we all shared on Coruscant.

I want her to be happy here. I want Edam to feel happy here when he comes home on furlough. I hope I have made headway in that effort.

 

Lovely! Your narrator's voice is calm and intelligent, a caring mother. And Alys is deaf, which is interesting too. I like this world that you are creating, this "homefront" for the Imperial forces.

May I have PMs when you update, please?

 

What a wonderful beginning.

this isn't going to be an easy year for any of us, but keep yourself and Alys happy in any way that you sensibly can."

She seems to be off to a good start and it's wonderful to see she is now able to send her daughter to a school where she will be accepted.

Looking forward to more

 

divapilot--Thanks! I'm looking to create someone who will deal frankly but impassionately with some things and who will be surprised by her own emotionality at other times. The homefront idea came from reading accounts of American families during WWII. You may have PMs.

KELIA--It's really about the little things. Thanks. I think she is off to a good start. That may or may not change.
*****
Katunda, 1/2 23 AI

Edam sent a message from the Avenger to let us know that he arrived safely and to give us a few details about his new post. As usual, it was a holo. He doesn't allow himself many other luxuries just so that his daughter can see him and he can communicate with her. She's able to read his letters, but takes a natural pleasure in seeing Papa.

Edam amuses me, but is a wonderful man. He always signs his messages at the same time that he's speaking. Two years ago, he was at home on leave when we found out that Alys' illness would take her hearing. I am a sentimental, maternal type and cried for all of us. Edam immediately went to work, preparing for what her life would be like in just a few weeks. He was the district security chief at the time and his team began catching him dictating his notes in a new way. He would have the microphone at his right and a mirror in front of him, with a dictionary datacard on his computer terminal. That explained why he would stay late at the office working, since it took him twice as long to finish his notes when he had to look up every other word. Still, he insisted on learning Alys' new language in the context of his work. By the time Alys could not longer hear his quiet laugh or the way he sang lullabies off-key, we had all learned to go without words.

I caught him using the same new sign for Alderaan that Alys' teacher did this time. It immediately disturbed me, but a moment later, I realized that he was referring to a ship called the Alderaanp that they had engaged just after his arrival. He was not disrespecting the memory of the Rebellion's first mass murder victim, but was giving the both of us a way of realizing that he knew which one was an enemy. It's strange to see him signing terms of endearment and jokes in the same message in which he uses the sharp, ugly signs for things such as Star Destroyer or bombers.

School starts tomorrow, so we spent today organizing her books and scribblepads. Alys does not like such drudgery, but I rewarded her by taking her out for iced chocolate after dinner and bought her a red coat to go over her blue blouse and dark-blue knee-length skirt. It looks wonderful with the dark hair that her Papa gave her and the fair skin that was my genetic gift. She enjoys 'fancy' things and has already developed a fascination with the red coat. In order to keep her from wearing it to bed, I let her lay out her school clothes on the repulsorchair next to her bed.

Tomorrow, she'll be spending the entire day at school and I have to begin work as well. The family for whom I tutored on Chandrila was able to provide me links to several families here on Imperial Center who were looking for a private tutor. The youngest is a girl Alys' age. Perhaps they can be friends if that does not get in the way of my effectively teaching the children.

 

Edam seems like a good father. He is a hardworking provider, and he cares for his family.

He was not disrespecting the memory of the Rebellion's first mass murder victim, but was giving the both of us a way of realizing that he knew which one was an enemy.

Interesting twist on the destruction of Alderaan.

 

divapilot--Glad you pick up on that sort of thing with Edam. And when I decided to make Alys deaf, the first thing I thought of was the difficulty of a
father trying to protect his daughter by withholding things from her and dreading the day when she would know the signs for terrible things. This is
a bit of a play off of that idea.
*****
1/3 23 AI

Today was her first day at the new school. We answered Papa's comm over breakfast, since as usual, she was running too late to do it at any other time.
Admittedly, it's no easier to sign when you are trying to finish your phraigmeal. My favorite image of the day will undoubtedly amuse Edam as well.
Alys grew frustrated with multi-tasking and finished the comm in one long rush. She accomplished this by wedging her toast in her teeth so she could
have her hands free to talk. Since GSSL involves both hand-signals and facial expressions, it was quite comical to see the two work togeher while
she was trying to not drop her toast on her new blouse.

I dropped her off and waited just like every fretful parent until she had been escorted with the rest of her class into the school. The advantage of
GSSL is that I can eavesdrop on conversations quite easily. The girl behind her in the line was named Emali and liked her braids. The boy in front
of her didn't want her 'cooties.' I have to wonder if Edam was ever like that. Somehow, I have difficulty picturing it.

I tarried too long at the school and did not have time to change before going to the home where I will be tutoring. The mother gave me a stern look
for being in slacks and a blouse rather than an acceptable skirt, but the children did not seem to mind. The group consists of ten children between
the ages of seven and ten and only three of them are fully focused on their work. I teach group lessons on history, music and Chanduri, which is the
old language from their home planet of Chandrila. Once those hours are spent, I work individually with each while the others complete assignments in
writing or reading.

Today was primarily about evaluating the children. They have all taken the standardized tests for their age group and Ila, the seven-year-old, shows
the most aptitude. The oldest is a ten-year-old boy who is something of a technical genius. If he ever has the chance to meet Edam, they will be fast
friends. Perhaps I will ask Edam to tutor me on how to relate to him.

I finished my work just in time to retrieve Alys and had to listen out of the corner of my eye to stories about everything from Emali's six brothers
to the pitten they have in the classroom. It is a wonder she also remembered to talk about what they were learning, because from what she was signing,
it didn't seem as if she had paid attention to anything other than her surroundings.

I helped her with her homework for Social Studies before dinner. Since they will be studying what is going on in the Galaxy, they have a large holomap, su
superimposed with information about the ships or bases in that area. That way, if they are studying something in the Mid-Rim this side of Anoat, they
will notice that her Papa is stationed there. Subsequently, we had to compile his holo, the file on the Avenger and some details on the sector
where he is stationed. I am not encouraged by the number of less-desirable worlds that Edam's ship patrols, but I doubt that, as a Fleet officer,
he will have much exposure to them.

The workload was light today, since they have little to do except introduce their topics of study. After dinner, I took her to the district library
and helped her find four books to read as a reward for finishing her homework each night. She is starting to read chapter books, which is a relief since
I did not favor the rhyming nonsense that seemed to be everywhere when she was younger. She likes it when we sit side-by-side and read 'out loud'
with each other. It is a good way to teach ourselves signs that we might not have known otherwise.

She went to bed at a reasonable hour and I f

 

the girl behind her in the line was named Emali and liked her braids. The boy in front
of her didn't want her 'cooties.'



I'm glad to see Alys had a "typical" day at school.

Sounds like she and her mom will be keeping busy while Edam is away.

Great updates

 

I dropped her off and waited just like every fretful parent until she had been escorted with the rest of her class into the school. The advantage of GSSL is that I can eavesdrop on conversations quite easily.

She sounds like a typical mom! Sounds like Alys is adjusting well. The scene where Alys is signing while trying to eat her toast was adorable. I already care about this family and hope things will be good for them.

 

KELIA--LOL, very typical. The mom's definitely trying to make things as normal as possible for both of them, insofar as that is possible. Thanks!

divapilot--Very typical mom--she reminds me a lot of my older sister, who has an 8-year-old. The toast-signing scene was inspired by a joke I read in Reader's Digest, where a person comes late to their ASL class and is asked a question. They immediately say out loud, "I can't talk. I have my hands full." I'm glad you already care about the characters. I feel the same way.
*****
1/4 23 AI

Another comm came from Edam, but this was a sound-only file. For us, that is the equivalent of "for your eyes only" and means that something is potentially wrong. I am grateful that I received it before leaving to the Mekthamas' because I might have not handled it well.

As it turned out, my initial fear was mostly unfounded. Whereas the Avenger has always been in Darth Vader's fleet, Lord Vader has decided to form something of a splinter group. It is specifically designed for the discovery and elimination of the Rebels' primary base. That means that he will be involved in some of the more dangerous battles of the war. The stories of what the Rebels have done at places such as Yavin are the stuff of legend. I can only hope that some of the stories are exaggerations.

The name of the new group is rather ominous--Death Squadron. I suppose that after hearing that the Avenger accompanies the Executor, I should not be surprised. Edam said that the nature of the group will become more public knowledge soon and wanted to prepare me in case Alys was treated differently for her father's association with the Squadron.

I have no doubt that there will be something that she notices. Already, there is a kind of respectful distinction between the children whose parents are stormtroopers or infantry soldiers and those whose parents are fighting more impersonal battles in the navy. The distinction between gunners and officers is even greater. Alys is not the sort to be bothered by that, but I am not sure how well she will adapt to this new affiliation. I will have to remind her that Papa did not choose his placement, but is simply trying to do his best to win the war, just like any other soldier of the Empire.

After work, I picked up Alys and made dinner while she did her homework. Since she is getting into a regular routine, I allowed her to watch some of the holoprograms as a reward after she had finished and I finished unpacking the last of the boxes that we brought with us.

In the second-to-last box, I found the flag that we were given when Edam left the Academy and was given his first commission. It is a dazzling white piece of fabric that we hang from the front right window to indicate that one of our dearly beloved is away from home, fighting for the good of all those in the Empire. Since Alys has been old enough, I have allowed her to do the honors of hanging it. Tonight was no exception.

The moment it was hung, she turned and told me that one of the children in her class had been given a black flag this morning. That means that one of her classmates has lost a parent to the war and that they will remain in the school out of respect to the fallen. Mr. Dumailnk, the headmaster, says that this is not uncommon, though there are many children who leave the school because the reminder of what they have lost is too painful.

As always, I encouraged her to be sympathetic to this classmate, but to not fear too much. After all, her Papa is on one of the most indestructible crafts known to sentients. The Avenger has taken many beatings in battle, but never fallen. There is a chance that some day we may change our flag for a black one, but Edam is not a TIE pilot. He is not one of the inadequately shielded cruisers. He is an officer on a Star Destroyer under Vader's command. He is not indestructible, but he is not as vulnerable as he could be.

 

Interesting how this post seems to have a theme of communication. The "sound only" transmission so that Alys won't be able to pick up on it; the signals of the flags (like the gold star/silver star flags) and the issues they connotate. There is an awful lot being said between the lines, too, as the class separations are fairly evident. Nice update!

 

I see you've another good story started, Ish! I like this one; because it has (thankfully) little to do with the familiar main characters, and looks behind the scenes to the Empire's 'home front' and to one family of one serviceman. As divapilot noticed, there is a separation between the services in the classroom:

Already, there is a kind of respectful distinction between the children whose parents are stormtroopers or infantry soldiers and those whose parents are fighting more impersonal battles in the navy. The distinction between gunners and officers is even greater. Alys is not the sort to be bothered by that, but I am not sure how well she will adapt to this new affiliation. I will have to remind her that Papa did not choose his placement, but is simply trying to do his best to win the war, just like any other soldier of the Empire.

The wife sounds like a decent sort, worried about her absent husband and their deaf daughter. She can console herself that Edam is as 'safe' as any frontline Imperial Navy officer can be:

After all, her Papa is on one of the most indestructible crafts known to sentients. The Avenger has taken many beatings in battle, but never fallen. There is a chance that some day we may change our flag for a black one, but Edam is not a TIE pilot. He is not one of the inadequately shielded cruisers. He is an officer on a Star Destroyer under Vader's command. He is not indestructible, but he is not as vulnerable as he could be.

Well done, Ish! I'm liking the family already, and hope for many more updates!

 

I certainly hope Alys is not treated horribly when news of her father's new position is made public. After all, she didn't chose it any more than he did.

I'm glad to see he was able to warn his family first.

Great update

 

I'm a rebel at heart, but this is giving me sympathy for the Imperial citizens. I very much like this family. Great writing, Ish.

 

divapilot--Good catch. The flags, of course, are inspired by the blue and gold stars given to families of soldiers in the United States during World War II. There is a great deal between the lines. I'm glad you liked it.

Kevin_Solo--Why, thank you. :0) Wait, you don't like it when I deal with the main characters? Anyway, I'm glad you like the look behind the scenes. I've long wanted to do a 'home front' story as you put it. The separation of services thing was inspired by a plot bunny about Leia being raised as Vader's daughter. Ive is an interesting character for me to write--she has a great deal of sound priorities, but her own moments of fretfulness. I'm glad you like the family already. 364 updates to come.

KELIA--They're seven-year-olds. They'll either ignore it or make too much of it. And no, she didn't choose it. Thanks!

Alexis_Wingstar--I'm very much a rebel at heart, but really like looking at alternative perspectives such as the Imperial POV of the whole war. Thanks!
*****
1/5 23 AI

Tonight was Back to School night as a kind of orientation. Of course, I was thoroughly oriented several days ago, but Alys was very excited about it. I finally met Emali's mother, an outspoken Raltiirian who is on the verge of giving birth to her sixth child. Emali is the third and her oldest brother, Jisse, is the hearing-impaired one. According to Naden, Emali grew up more accustomed to GSSL than to Basic--she thinks Basic is limiting.

Half of the evening seemed to be taken up by these sorts of introductions, first with Naden and then with the parents of Miri, Kiratta and Tyla. It is a wonder that I managed to pay attention to the educational side of things at all.

As it was, we were given the syllabi for the second-form class and I was relieved to see that the Academy is living up to its reputation for a well-rounded education. I have determined to read every book on the reading list by the Spring hiatus. Since most of them are ten chapters at longest, I should have no trouble at all. One of the books is potentially questionable. There are rumors that the author was imprisoned for sedition. I've read some of her political treatises, but not her juvenile fiction.

Miri's father serves on the Avenger as well, as one of the gunners. Neither she nor Alys have been bothered since last night's announcement of the Fleet reorganization. It seems to be typical of children that they will either not understand the significance of something or they will overstate it. For now, the children at school seem to be tending towards the former habit. It is a small mercy. Alys was not particularly eager about coming here in the first place and it was fortuitous that we were able to find her a good school. I have to wonder when my luck will start running out.

I heard from my sister. She will be coming for Alys' birthday on Satunda. It will be a relief--Alys adores her lone aunt and that aunt is well-heeled enough to dote on her extravagantly. I do not always approve of that, but enjoy seeing my little one treated well.

 

What a relief to see the children too busy being children to notice or care about the new Imperial group.

I hope Alys' luck in that area never runs out.

Great update

 

I love how you put in things like the author of one of the books having been arrested for sedition. It gives many layers to the whole story.

Hopefully the children will stay "unaware of the significance" of the reorganization, but if they don't perhaps Alys will have a good ally in Tyla.

 

Ive has so much going on in her life. She's trying to fit in with the parents socially, help Alys succeed in school, and protect her from the negative aspects of their life. She's balancing things deftly, but what will happen if something major disrupts this careful balance? I worry about Edam.

 

KELIA--I think they're right on the border between the two habits. Third and fourth grade was when I saw the latter attitude developed most frequently. Then again, there's the threat of her being the new kid with a dad who does an unpleasant job. I hope her luck doesn't run out either. Thanks!

Alexis_Wingstar--That thing was inspired because I have been thinking for a while about a GFFA adaptation of Lois Lowry's classic World War II novel, "Number the Stars." It would be a story in which a family knowingly harbors a fugitive Jedi Padawan while her Master attempts to find safe passage to a neutral world, with stormtroopers coming THIS CLOSE on several occasions to discovering them. I love Lowry's book because it is a powerful way of teaching the difference between evil men and evil acts. Well, upon thinking of it, I thought immediately that the person who wrote it would have been in a great deal of danger because treating the Empire as something dangerous would be seditious and teach children from an early age that they are right to question absolute authority. So we'll be talking about that later in the diary, but that's the story behind the author being arrested for sedition. I hope the children will stay unaware of the significance. Tyla will probably be a very good ally, though as diva and Kevin both mentioned, there is a definite class separation.

divapilot--She's definitely got it tough at the moment. Something major will be disrupting this careful balance, but it might surprise you what it is and it won't be for a while yet.
*****
1/6 23 AI

Atunda already? We have been settled in for a full week and I am glad that it is passing quickly.

There's not much to report on some days. For example, today, Alys was on time to school. The children I tutor had all done their homework and the one disruptive child was out with a mild pox that most children get at one time or another. Edam did not comm, but as I said, that is to be expected. His two comms were unexpected as it is, but when there are fleet movements, they often go into comm silence.

I started reading Alys' book list with the help of the Coronet Public Library. So far, my favorite has been the tale of a girl with a holographic memory who solves mysteries. It is an excellent book for developing deductive reasoning skills.

I also enjoyed "Oh Squeak Can You Speak?", which is a book of nothing but interminable tongue-twisters. It is difficult to convert into GSSL and gets somewhat lost in translation, but I gave it a go as a bedtime story. Alys giggled at how many times my hands got tangled up in each other trying to keep the words straight. I challenged her to do better and she gave me a conciliatory but unnecessary hug. Unnecessary or not, it was much appreciated.

I will cut my efforts short here, since I have procrastinated my lesson plans for tomorrow.

 

Ish,

It's good to hear about the 364 more updates! You wondered if 'you don't like it when I deal with the main characters?' I like your stories very much, especially 'LYBJ', and those of other good writers on these boards; it's just that I like to read stories of original characters. The GFFA is presumably made up of billions of beings of different species; and I like it very much when writers tackle characters other than the main ones.

********

In terms of your last update:


The back to school stuff sounds like typical school stuff, which is good. The mention about the author of a book is interesting:

One of the books is potentially questionable. There are rumors that the author was imprisoned for sedition. I've read some of her political treatises, but not her juvenile fiction.

This would depend on whether the authorities would condemn all that person's works on those grounds, or only those dealing explicitly with politics. I liked this bit about the children:


Tyla's father serves on the Avenger as well, as one of the gunners. Neither she nor Alys have been bothered since last night's announcement of the Fleet reorganization. It seems to be typical of children that they will either not understand the significance of something or they will overstate it. For now, the children at school seem to be tending towards the former habit. It is a small mercy.

In terms of Alys's aunt:

I heard from my sister. She will be coming for Alys' birthday on Katunda. It will be a relief--Alys adores her lone aunt and that aunt is well-heeled enough to dote on her extravagantly. I do not always approve of that, but enjoy seeing my little one treated well.

As long as Alys understands that being spoilt by her aunt is an occasional treat and not a regular thing, she should turn out fine. (I say this as someone spoilt by older relatives.)

 

Kevin_Solo--Hey, Kevin. Glad you're looking forward to this. I know what you mean. All of my stories in the '90's were OC fics of this sort, only really badly written. The back to school stuff is meant to be very typical. The whole thing about the author of the book still slightly cracks me up because of how I took something that inspired me as a child and made it so the adults saw it as twisted or potentially corrupting. With that kind of author in the GFFA, they might start to see seditious tendencies in all of her works, whether they were political or not. Glad that you liked that part. Yes, it's an occasional, but important, treat.
*****
1/7 23 AI

Little to report today. Work as usual. Alys had difficulty with her mathematics assignment and absently wished that Papa could explain it to her. It is sometimes strange what will make her miss him. Perhaps, like me, she constantly misses him, but chooses the odd moments to say as much.

I had a comm from Emali's mother tonight. She wanted to know if we would like to accompany them to the aquarium tomorrow night. We accepted the invitation and I extended one for Alys' birthday dinner. If we had been here longer, I might have given her a proper party, but for now, I will make up in gifts and friends what I lack in festivities.

I hope Edam remembers Alys' birthday. Last year, he was given shore leave on the appointed day, but this year, he is too new to the command to ask for such a thing. At least he will be given time to make a comm call. It's the least he can do.

 

I like this story immensely. You've written all the characters so that they seem undeniably real.

If it's not too much trouble, could I please have PM's when you update?

 

Meredith_Kenobi--Thank you so much for saying that these characters seem undeniably real. I'm really striving for that.
*****
1/8 23 AI

I remember very vividly the day that I told my sister Lisia that her only niece was going to be deaf. Lisia is my older sister and practically raised me, so has always been a somewhat more pragmatic character than I have ever been. Alys was given the Corellian adaptation of Lisia's name and the two of them are sometimes too alike.

She was, as expected, sympathetic. She recognized my need to cry and endured all of the distress that I had been leaving unsaid so that Alys would not overhear. When I had finished pouring out my heart over a strong cup of tea, she reached across the table and squeezed my fingers.

"Ive, love," she said. "Look at it this way. You will never have to complain about your noisy child."

She was wrong, of course. Fairly quickly, Alys began testing her hearing loss by making a racket and seeing how much of it she could still hear. When she could no longer hear her own voice, she would talk just to feel what sound was again in her throat. She still hums to herself, though more often than not, it stays on the same pitch. I think she misses hearing her dulcet tones even more than I do.

But I digress. What made me recall that conversation was tonight's birthday celebration. It was true that most of the conversations passed without a single word spoken, but having four hyperactive seven- and eight-year-olds signing frenetically at you for attention can be just as overwhelming as a small room full of screaming children. The mothers were fairly understanding and tried not to talk over each other.

Lisia arrived from Imperial Center this morning and we had no sooner returned from an early birthday breakfast than Edam called. It must have taken a good portion of his week's wages to make a live comm call rather than leaving a message, but I could tell that Alys would remember this more than the package that he sent later today.

Lisia and I left Alys in the study to converse with her Papa while Lisia interrogated me verbally about how well we were doing here. She seemed to be satisfied with all of my answers, since I did not pretend that this is easy for either of us. Lisia's husband died a few months after Yavin and they had no children together, but she still does an excellent job of mothering me to death. When we returned to the study, Alys was telling Edam about how I was happy and liked being a teacher. She 'graciously' let me have a few minutes with him so I could tell him the same things and a few other important things that Alys could not say as convincingly or verbally.

I had a short day at the Mekthamas today, since they are leaving for a family funeral on Chandrila tomorrow and will not return for a week. This also gave me the chance to bring chocolate cupcakes with blue icing--Alys' favorite color--to class. I had ensured beforehand that this was as much a tradition on Corellia as in Alys' last school. I am glad that Alys has not yet outgrown such sentimentality.

I went to the spaceport to retrieve the off-world mail that I had been anticipating while Lisia decorated the house for the evening. As soon as Alys left school, we went to Dila's, a dress shop that I had promised to show her. She found a suitably festive blue caten dress with a scalloped hem and a wide sash around the waist. Edam's package contained a dark-blue overcoat that I know he found while away on training last year. Alys seemed please with herself that she was able to coordinate the two.

By the time we reached home, there was just enough time to finish the food preparations and do Alys hair in a crown of braids before her friends arrived. She played a very gracious hostess, but acted just like a seven-year-old. That was something of a comfort to me. She liked the doll that Tyla brought for her, the holos from Emali, the board game from Miri and the gift chip to a local candy store that Kiratta provided. Lisia brought her a new shou

 

She was wrong, of course. Fairly quickly, Alys began testing her hearing loss by making a racket and seeing how much of it she could still hear. When she could no longer hear her own voice, she would talk just to feel what sound was again in her throat. She still hums to herself, though more often than not, it stays on the same pitch. I think she misses hearing her dulcet tones even more than I do.

It's details like this whole paragraph that make this story seem so realistic.

But I digress. What made me recall that conversation was tonight's birthday celebration. It was true that most of the conversations passed without a single word spoken, but having four hyperactive seven- and eight-year-olds signing frenetically at you for attention can be just as overwhelming as a small room full of screaming children. The mothers were fairly understanding and tried not to talk over each other.

I love that image.

Thanks for the PM! I look forward to reading more tomorrow.

 

A couple of nice updates!

I can certainly see Alys's missing her father emerge this way:

Alys had difficulty with her mathematics assignment and absently wished that Papa could explain it to her. It is sometimes strange what will make her miss him. Perhaps, like me, she constantly misses him, but chooses the odd moments to say as much.

In terms of her father not getting shore leave for her birthday because of his new command, that's sadly what happens in any military:

I hope Edam remembers Alys' birthday. Last year, he was given shore leave on the appointed day, but this year, he is too new to the command to ask for such a thing. At least he will be given time to make a comm call. It's the least he can do.

I liked the description of Lisia being told about Alys's impending deafness, and her reaction:

She was, as expected, sympathetic. She recognized my need to cry and endured all of the distress that I had been leaving unsaid so that Alys would not overhear. When I had finished pouring out my heart over a strong cup of tea, she reached across the table and squeezed my fingers.

"Ive, love," she said. "Look at it this way. You will never have to complain about your noisy child."

Children do not need to use their voices to be noisy! I'd thought that a bunch of signing children would be just as stressful as one of screaming ones before I read this:

She was wrong, of course. Fairly quickly, Alys began testing her hearing loss by making a racket and seeing how much of it she could still hear. When she could no longer hear her own voice, she would talk just to feel what sound was again in her throat. She still hums to herself, though more often than not, it stays on the same pitch. I think she misses hearing her dulcet tones even more than I do.

But I digress. What made me recall that conversation was tonight's birthday celebration. It was true that most of the conversations passed without a single word spoken, but having four hyperactive seven- and eight-year-olds signing frenetically at you for attention can be just as overwhelming as a small room full of screaming children. The mothers were fairly understanding and tried not to talk over each other.

Nicely done! Lisia seems like a nice person, if a little on the 'mothering' side. Edam's call and the birthday party were also nicely done. I particularly liked the reason why the author hadn't hired a housekeeper:

One of the other officers' wives reminded me when Edam was promoted that on a Colonel's salary, we could probably afford a housekeeper. With only one child to mind, I will never give in to that temptation. Cleaning is more cathartic for me than leisure time, since I can take control of one thing and feel as if I have accomplished something.

I always thought that most higher-ranking Imperial officials, civil and military, would have had servants, depending on how many they could afford.

You're certainly making the author and her family sound very real, Ish!

 

Meredith_Kenobi--I'm glad that that seemed realistic. I have a friend who went progressively blind and she told a story somewhat like this about trying bright colors. That was my favorite image to write, I have to say. I was remembering my 8-year-old nephew's birthday and the terror of screaming kids and then taking that in Alys' context.

Kevin_Solo--Thanks! I'm glad you can see the stuff making sense. Very typical of any military. Lisia and Ive are both based on people I know, one named Eva and the other named Alicia. They're sisters-in-law and the characterization of both is very true to life. They were friends of mine from my missionary days in California. I'm glad you liked the description of Lisia's reaction. I would be terrified by anyone trying to sign at me when they're excited. I'm glad you like Lisia. The whole thing about not hiring a housekeeper was somewhat inspired by Harry Potter. Thanks!
*****
DAY 9

I have an opportunistic immune system. This means that I can be hardy as a bantha when I am needed, but the moment that I have some 'down time' as Edam calls it, I tend to become ill.

The fortunate thing about contracting whatever it is that I have is that not only did it happen after Alys' birthday, but I fell ill while Lisia is here. She saw to it that Alys got out the door to school, was picked up in the afternoon and that they had something to do outside of the house. I have been yearning to play tourist with Alys since we arrived, but time has been scarce.

I, on the other hand, am buried under a pile of blankets, sniffling into my datapad's microphone and waiting for decongestants to take effect. I think I shall leave it at that for now.