Page 28 of Together Is Where We Belong

Even though she’d just moved in, there wasn’t a packing box in sight.

The living room had a couch on the wall and a love seat in front of the bar in a soft gray tone with throw pillows in each of their corners with a coffee table in the middle of the two. A television was on top of a coffee table in front of the window. The room was open and airy, and you could see into the kitchen that had white cabinets and a breakfast nook that had a table for four. The layout of our houses was identical, but that was to be expected with the same builder.

“Luke is in the restroom freshening up, albeit reluctantly,” Carolina said as she walked over to the stove and stirred something in the pot.

The aroma hit me and made my stomach growl. Whatever she’d cooked smelled delicious.

“Dinner’s nothing fancy since I haven’t been home long. It’s just homemade chicken alfredo and a salad with some French bread,” she said as she combined the sauce with the noodles.

“Sounds perfect. Do you need help with anythin’?” I asked, trying to be a gentleman.

“No, I’ve got it. If you want to sit the bag on the couch and come sit at the table that’s fine. I’ll bring dinner over once this is all combined,” she said without a backward glance as she cut up the chicken and added it to the pot of alfredo.

There was a table by the door that had photos of her and Luke that I stopped to look at. He was of various ages in the photos and looked like a happy child. I smiled to myself as I picked up the last photo, instantly drawn to it. Luke was probably two or three in the photo. Carolina held him up in the air as he beamed down at her. A park was in the background. I couldn’t help but wonder who’d taken the photo of them two as I sat it back on the table.

Just as I sat down I heard tiny feet running down the hallway.

“Is he here yet, Mama?” Luke yelled.

Just as he rounded the corner, he came to a stop at the sight of me. My breath caught in my throat, and I swallowed hard to keep my emotions at bay.

“You’re here,” Luke whispered as he stood there taking me in.

I was too stunned to move and unsure of how to respond. Get up and greet your son.

I snapped out of it, stood, and knelt to his level.

“Hi, Luke,” I managed to choke out. I blinked back tears as I watched him wait for a beat and then come toward me.

I thought he’d be standoffish meeting a new person, but I was proven wrong as he ran and crashed into me. I wrapped one of my arms around him and used my other to catch myself to keep both of us from falling to the floor. Once I felt steady enough, I wrapped my other arm around him and took a deep breath. Tears filled my eyes as I knelt there hugging my little boy. I didn’t want to let him go, but I knew I had to.

I tried to pull back, but his arms remained tight around my neck, so I decided to stand, and he wrapped his legs around my waist. I made sure I had a good grip on him as I walked us over to the table and sat down.

Tears hit my shirt, and I instantly panicked. Him crying wasn’t a good sign. I looked over to Carolina for guidance, but she had tears streaming down her face as she held the pot of pasta in her hands. Her lip trembled as she shook her head and walked over to the table to set the pot on the waiting potholder.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket, and I took the moment to just embrace Luke. I’d give him all the time he needed to get his emotions out.

My phone dinged in my pocket, but I ignored it.

“Hey, Luke. You ready to eat, buddy?” Carolina asked as she tried to coax him.

Luke pulled back but didn’t remove his arms from around my neck. Tear stains lined his little cheeks.

“You’re not leaving, right?” he asked, and his lip quivered as he waited for my response.

“No, I’m not goin’ anywhere,” I promised, and I meant every word. Nothing would ever keep me from him again.

He scooted off my lap and went to his place at the table. Carolina plated our food, something I wasn’t used to. Once she said grace, we all sat there unmoving.

“I helped Mama make the sauce,” Luke said, breaking the silence as he took a bite of his food.

I took a bite and moaned. This sauce was better than my mama’s, but I’d never tell her that.

“It’s really good,” I told him with a smile. He smiled from ear to ear after hearing my praise as he continued eating his food.

I looked over to Carolina who gave me a reluctant smile as she looked back down to her plate and took a bite of her food.

Luke gobbled down his food rather quickly. Carolina was right; that boy did have a good appetite.