There's No Place Like Home

Her words repeated themselves over and over in his head, but no matter how many times he recited them he couldn’t seem to put meaning to them. What did she want him for? A husband? A father? A friend? He didn’t know; they were just words after all. Words that meant nothing to her, only to him. She hadn’t said anything about needing a son, so why now?

His mind drifted back to the night before as he sat at the dinner table with his family. It was their first day home since he’d returned from Korea and he found himself unable to take part in the conversation. His thoughts were focused on someone else, something else entirely

He tried not to let it show though, especially not when he saw his mother watching him out of the corner of her eye. When the meal ended they had been quick to excuse themselves and head upstairs to his mom's room.

"Are you sure there's nothing wrong, sweetheart?" asked his mother from across the room.

He knew what she was asking, but he wasn't ready to tell her yet. Not when it still felt like everything was spinning in reverse. It would come to pass eventually. There was nothing more he could do to delay it any further.

She gave him a knowing smile. "Of course." She turned and headed towards the staircase "It'll be an alright sweetheart."

He watched her go, taking a few steps behind her as she climbed up. He followed her up until they reached the top step before making his way back to his room. Once inside his bedroom, the door locked securely behind him, he began to strip off the clothes he wore and change into his pajamas. By the time his hands fell away from his body and his legs collapsed beneath him into bed his brain felt like mush and every single thought came to a screeching halt.

He lay staring at the ceiling, unable to move. Why wouldn't she say anything to him? He wanted her to tell him what was going on. He'd spent years trying to understand what was happening but had never managed it. Now that she was finally here things seemed even more confusing than they had before. Everything felt surreal...

He closed his eyes and willed sleep to come quickly and erase all those things from his mind

When morning finally dawned bright and early, he opened one eye and glanced at the clock above his pillow. 6:38 AM. It must have taken some effort for his eyes to open at all. The last thing he remembered was the sound of his mother calling his name. The next thing he remembered was falling asleep.

~*~

His eyes blinked open to bright sunlight streaming through his window. Groggily he dragged himself from bed, stumbling slightly as he went. With an exhausted sigh, he made his way to the bathroom and washed his face before grabbing an apple from the counter and heading downstairs. The smell of food wafting from the kitchen had him stopping dead in his tracks.

The sounds of his family waking up filled the air, followed by a soft clattering of pots and pans as his mom worked her magic on breakfast.

For several minutes he watched from the doorway while the others got up to eat.

He couldn't help smiling at how domestic it all looked and wished that this would never end. He missed living with his parents but if they'd learned anything over the years it was that they needed to be able to live alone. It was a simple truth he'd always accepted because that's what they wanted. For the most part anyway.

Eventually, he forced himself to make his way down the stairs.

“Good morning!” greeted his father happily, patting his arm affectionately when he walked past him. “How are you today?”

Scoffing under his breath, slightly at his dad's concern, he shrugged his father’s hand off, watching as everyone started filling their plates.

"Where's my spot?" He said, looking around in mock desperation before dropping his plate onto the nearest empty chair and plopping himself down next to his brothers at the breakfast table.

“Better than yesterday, I think,” he muttered at his dad's question.

His brother’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really?! Then it must have sucked having us all gone.” He replied sarcastically.

"Oh shut up!" He snapped angrily, jabbing a finger harshly into the side of his brother's ribs.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" cried his brother cradling his side where Sam had poked him and jumping away, trying to rub it off with his sleeves.

Before anyone else had a chance to respond his mother stood between them. Her face set in hard lines of disapproval at their arguing. "Enough."

She said simply. "There is no need to get heated over such things. We're just glad we had the opportunity to be together again," she paused to smile briefly, "even if it is for only a short amount of time."

At her words his brothers nodded in agreement, shooting each other quick looks and trying to hide smiles.