Coming Home Again (A Coming Home Again Novel Book 1) (15 page)

Robbie is the athletic son. Football
and wrestling were his main priorities during high school. After earning his
master’s degree in business, he gladly joined in the family business.

Jackson has always been called the
brainy middle child. He loves graphic arts, and can play a piano so sweetly it
can make you cry. Well, you maybe. Not me. I wish. The high school
valedictorian went to an Ivy League college and now heads up the advertising
branch of the company.

Lucas is a mixture of his two older
brothers. He played soccer in high school and graduated with honors. He chose
to go to a less prestigious college so that he could explore life down south for
a while. He promised his parents he would go to a graduate school close to home
so that he could intern with his father. And he did. Lucas and his brothers are
such well-rounded young men. Definitely a bunch of momma’s boys. They are a
reflection of a stable home life and sound child rearing from their parents.

Even though his dad is a very dedicated
businessman, he never works past five o’clock and never on weekends. This is
how he runs his company, and he is just as successful as the CEOs who worked themselves
to death. He shared one quality with my dad, and that was how well they took
care of their employees. That had always stuck out to me about my dad, and it
was nice to see Lucas’s dad was the same way.

I was desperately sad at the idea of
having to be apart from Lucas, and the ache grew severe the closer we got to
graduation. It also broke my heart that it didn’t seem to bother him at all. He
was so excited about getting on with his future—grinning nonstop and even a bit
more talkative than his norm. I finally had to come to the realization that I
was only a part of college life for him and now he was ready to move on. I
didn’t blame him per se, but it still stung.

Two weeks before graduation, Lucas came
home with lots of empty boxes. I was depressed at the sight of them. I knew it
was the end of the contented life I had with him, and it was time to pack those
comfortable memories up. I stood there frowning at the boxes, while he looked
at me with a silly grin.

“You didn’t think this mess was going
to pack itself, did you?” And with that, we began packing up the apartment.
First, we sorted through what was mine and what was his, which was mostly his.
We boxed it all up separately. I let it be known that this was not something
exciting to me. I stomped around and would snap at him when he was too
cheerful. I definitely showed my grouchy side. I figured it didn’t matter if he
liked how I was acting or not. “Us” seemed to be coming to a close right along
with college. We were still packing the day of graduation.

“Would you mind sorting through a few
boxes in the back room while I finish up in the bathroom?” He said this so
chipper that it pushed an instant frown on my face. He was so excited because
his parents were driving down to watch him graduate. He was also graduating at
the top in his class. I was proud of him as well as envious at the same time.
Lucas had his act together, and he had a well thought-out path awaiting him.
Not me. I was completely clueless and the only path I saw had a dead-end.

I had sent my parents an invitation,
but my dad called to inform me that they would not be able to break away due to
the busy tourist season erupting. All I could think about was how that was a
bunch of bull. I also sent Julia one but I never received a reply from her.
Only an envelope with two one-hundred dollar bills came with her address on it.
I guess she was too busy to pick up a card or to scribble a few lines on a
piece of paper. I sent her a blank thank you note in return. Julia always got
my wicked sarcasm, and I knew she would totally get it with the blank card. I
should have been more appreciative that she took enough time to throw some
money in an envelope for me. After all, it was more than what I could say for
my own mother.

After the phone call with my dad, I
threw myself a little pity party. After about an hour of that whiny crap, I got
good and mad. I came to the conclusion that I had made it through the past four
years of college all on my own, and I definitely didn’t want them to show up and
take any credit for my hard work. That’s what I tried to convince myself of
anyway. The closer the time came for the ceremony, the more I wished the jerks
were going to be there anyway.

“Come on grumpy butt, get the lead out.
We’ve got to get your stuff out before my parents show up and start asking too
many questions,” Lucas said as he walked by and placed a kiss on my cheek.
“There are two boxes in my room that I think some of your stuff got mixed in.”

I hesitantly made my way to the back to
his room as Mr. Happy-go-Lucky had asked of me. I began slinging the boxes
open, mumbling under my breath the entire time about how it was mostly his crap
and he should be the one to go through it. I completed one box. Shoving it out
the way, I quickly moved to the next. I was so ready to be done with it. When I
tore open the last box, I found a small satin jewelry box sitting on top. I had
never seen it before, and so my nosy-self decided to find out what was inside.
As I flipped it open, I discovered disappointedly that it was empty. I turned
to throw it in the trash and almost hit Lucas with it. I had not realized he
had been standing at the door watching me the entire time.

“Don’t throw that away!” Bending down
to pick the empty box up off the ground, I watched Lucas’s warm brown locks
fall across his forehead. I had to swallow hard for already missing that little
unruly detail of him. “Something very special goes in here.” He brushed the
hair away, revealing his beautiful eyes sparkling with his every word. As he
walked towards me, he pulled from his pocket the most delicate diamond ring I
had ever seen. I confusingly looked at the beautiful diamond set in white gold
and then at Lucas. He was grinning ear to ear as he had been doing the entire
week. All he said as he slipped the hopeful ring on my finger was, “You didn’t
actually think I was going to leave without you, did you?”

And that was all it took. It was the
most perfect proposal to me. That was the only future plan I needed. Lucas
wanted to keep me, and I was content with whatever else happened.

I believe I floated through the
graduation ceremony later that day. I had a permanent grin on my face, and I
couldn’t stop looking at the magnificent ring on my finger. Lucas’s family
members were the only familiar faces in the crowd. They cheered me on just as
they did Lucas, and that made me feel a little less disappointed in my family
for not being there.

Afterwards, Lucas’s mom put together a
surprise combination graduation and engagement party for Lucas and me at one of
the hotel banquet halls near the campus. His entire family knew of him planning
to propose to me on the day of graduation. I guess they were pretty confident
that I would say yes because there was even a mini wedding cake presented for
Lucas and me to cut just as we would on our wedding day. Kathleen always went
above and beyond for her children. She spoiled each one of them. I do believe
she spoiled me just as well, if not better. It was a wonderful night of
celebration. A great memory that I like to revisit often.

~ ~ ~

I’m getting right lonely, so I rinse my
glass and head to my place of refuge. I pull up in Miss May’s yard a few
minutes later and find her on the porch, slumped down in a rocking chair and
snoring as loud as any grown man can.

“So this is what old, retired women do
with their free time,” I say loudly as I shake her awake in a less than polite
way. She loves me anyway.

“Why, I wouldn’t know,” Miss May snaps
groggily and sits up a bit straighter. “This is what this old,
employed
woman does until her idiot boss
decides to open the restaurant back up. If you don’t do it soon, I’m gonna die
right here in this chair of pure boredom.”

“You still don’t work at the
restaurant, do you?” I ask in amazement.

“Why not? The only thing wrong with me
is that I’m old.”

I occupy the rocking chair beside her.
“Well. You shouldn’t have to be bored much longer. John Paul will probably
reopen by the weekend.”

Miss May cuts me a look I can’t decipher.
“I think it’s time you get your butt back home. Girl, you standing on the
doorsteps of thirty years old. You need to get on with life and grow up.”

Yep. I knew she would tell me whether I
liked it or not. Maybe I should have just let her have that nap…

“Miss May, I just don’t think I can
ever come home again. It’s just too—”

“Home ain’t that big white house that
prissy heifer lives in. Home ain’t no haunted house.” She places her wrinkly
hand over her heart. “Home is where yo’ heart leads you and I think it’s past
time for yo’ stubborn butt to listen to yours. You ain’t getten’ any younger.”

There goes that blame age thing again.
I just roll my eyes at this. There’s no use arguing with this here lady. Of
course, I head on down that path anyway.

“Julia left way before I decided to.
Why is it okay for her and not me?” I question rebelliously as I slap away a
few aggravating flies that won’t leave me be.

“’Cause that child’s heart ain’t here.
It never was.” We rock in silence for a stretch before she continues. “Them
demons still won’t leave you alone?”

“Me? Oh, I’m
so
cured. You’d be real proud of me. I’ve gone through counseling
and all that junk,” I say sarcastically. I wave the demons off with my hand
dismissively and slap at another blame bug.

Now she rolls her eyes. “And how’d that
work out for you?”

“What do you think?” I take a deep
breath of the hot, humid air. “Just too many demons chasing me around here,” I
whisper as I stare out at her tidy lawn. I focus on a rose bush by the driveway,
full of white blooms. Julia flickers through my mind, regret washing over me.
“I don’t know if I can call Bay Creek home, again.”

“Bay Creek ain’t done a thing to you.
People and life did. Stop blamin’ this here town. Face the mess of it and get
on with your life,” she rebukes as she scoots out of her rocking chair, leaving
me on the porch alone. A nice breeze finally bristles through and takes the
flies with it, thank you!

I sit, rocking and contemplating what
she said, until she returns with two iced tea glasses. We sit in more silence,
rocking and sipping our tea until I completely drain my glass. My eyes are
starting to float with tea, but it’s so good. You don’t find this tea up north.

“Miss May, you know I can’t make a
decision like this without Lucas.” There’s no bone in my body wanting to live
anywhere besides Rhode Island with Lucas.

“That boy loves you more than his
teeth. I bet Lucas would follow you to the end of this here earth, if that’s
what would make you happy.”

“Let’s leave this for another day,
okay?” When her head nods in understanding, I place my empty glass on the small
table and stand. “Thank you,” I say as I give her a kiss on the cheek and get
up to leave.

She says nothing, just pulls my hand in
hers and stares up at me for a spell as if she is relaying a wordless message
to me. And she is, because I get it loud and clear that she loves and misses
me. I also find the hurt in her dark eyes that has been caused by my absence. I
place a quick kiss on the back of her hand to let her know that I’m sorry for
causing that pain before heading back to Jean’s house.

I’m pretty wiped out and really hope to
arrive to a quiet house so that I can rest for a little while. As I pull up the
driveway, I find the opposite of what I had hoped for. My mood plummets. People
are already buzzing in and out.

I enter the foyer, and a wave of
aggravation sweeps over me. Someone has placed my blame flowers back in the
original spot. I scoop up the massive arrangement and stomp upstairs to return
it to my room. People give me a questioning look as I pass, but none dare ask
what I’m doing. And the look I give a few is
I dare you.
They obviously decide to hold their tongues. One of
them hussies is probably the one who hauled them back downstairs. As I set the
flowers back on the dresser, I assess my room. The bed has been made, the dirty
coffee cup removed, and my very small stack of dirty clothes has been washed
and neatly folded and are now resting on the foot of the bed.
Well…someone has made themselves overly useful
.

I ease back downstairs and notice that
the entire house has been cleaned once again, and the kitchen counters are
restocked with delicious-smelling home cooking. I realize that there will
definitely be no resting, so I decide to help myself to the large spread. I
fill my plate with tangy barbeque, rice, slaw, and a slice of white bread. This
is another southern treat that I have missed. Back home with Lucas, we eat
mostly health-conscience food. We never indulge in strawberry shortcake with
fresh whipped cream. That is exactly what I treat myself to after devouring
almost my entire plate of barbeque.

Instead of feeling more energized from
the food, I feel as though I can barely hold my eyes open. I must look pretty
rough, too. People keep coming up to me and insisting that I go lay down for a
while. It doesn’t take much convincing for me to go for a quick nap. I’m so
tired that I barely recall climbing into bed.