“Who was at the door, honey?” my dad calls from the living room.
My mom glances over her shoulder at me and grins excitedly. We round the corner to the living room where, as expected, my dad sits in his favourite armchair as he’s done my whole life. He turns his head when we walk in and he stares at me wide-eyed, his mouth open.
“Hi, Dad.”
He slowly rises from his chair, his face white as a sheet and crosses the room, wrapping me in a hug. He seems almost hesitant at first, not knowing whether it was the right thing to do, but the second my arms go around him his body relaxes, his hold tightening slightly.
“It’s good to have you home, Son.” He pats me on the back.
“It’s good to be home.”
He steps back, his hands on my biceps. “So is this just a visit, or…?”
“No. I’m here to stay,” I say. His shoulders relax, and he smiles.
“I’m going to go and make some coffee,” my mom announces before she exits the room.
I take a seat on the armchair opposite my dad and glance around the room. Nothing has changed, it is exactly as I remember it, the walls covered in photographs of our family from when Tori and I were children, the same scent of cherry blossom lingering in the air, reminding me that I’m home.
“You don’t know how happy we are to have you back,” my dad says.
“I’m sorry it was unannounced, it was all very last minute.”
“When did you get back to Chicago?”
“A couple days ago. I’m staying with Logan for a while until I get everything straightened out.”
He nods slowly, and from his face I can tell he’s disappointed that I’m not coming to live with them, and at that moment, my mom returns to the room, placing a tray of coffee on the coffee table. My dad reaches over to take his and my mom hands me one before taking her own and sitting on the couch closest to me.
“You’re a sight for sore eyes, Dwight. I’ve missed you so much,” she says before taking a sip of her coffee.
“I know, I missed you all too.”
“So what brings you back?” my mom asks.
“I got a job, teaching at the university. One of the other professors wasn’t able to teach this year so they called and asked if I was interested. My old professor, Richard Harris heard I was teaching out in Florida, so he reached out.”
“That’s wonderful, Dwight!”
The front door slams closed. “Hey, we’re here!” I hear my sister Tori announce and my stomach knots at the thought of facing my sister after all this time.
“Grandma! Grandpa! Guess what? I came tops of my class at school for writing the bestest story out of all of them!” my niece shouts, as she comes bounding into the room and jumps immediately onto my dad’s lap.
My heart warms at the sight of her. Christ, she’s gotten so big. The last time I saw her in person she was still practically a baby, now she’s all grown up. She looks the spitting image of my sister, long golden brown hair the ends at the middle of her back, the same cute-as-fuck dimples I remember from when she was little.
“Hey, who’s is that car out fro-” Tori’s voice dies away when her eyes catch sight of me as she enters the room, and her jaw all but drops to the ground beneath her.
I stand from my seat and offer her a weak smile, shoving my hands into my pockets. “Hey.”
I see the change in her face as it moves from shock into pure rage. She storms across the room and pushes me hard against my chest, pounding at me with her fists. “You jerk! You’ve been gone for three years and all you have to say is,‘hey’?” I let her continue to hit me, allowing her to let out her anger until her arms begin to tire and she eventually slows.
I reach out and pull her into me, resting my chin on the top of her head as she releases a whimper against my chest, her arms limp around me.
Tori and I were always close growing up, though I drew the line at playing dolls and dress up with her, and as we got older, I was always the overprotective older brother whenever the need arose.
I pull her face up to look at me, her eyes swimming with tears. “I’m sorry Tori, please forgive me.”
“Why are you here?” she asks, shrugging off my touch.
