Page 25 of Embracing Trust

Aidan plunges onto the couch next to me, grabs me around the neck, and rubs his knuckles across my head. “That’s from Sean. He just texted.”

“Hey,” I laugh as I grab my brother and we tussle on the couch.

Mom sighs. “Some things never change.” She scowls and raises her voice. “Take that outside you two.”

Lydia rolls her eyes. “Must be a brother thing. Patrick and Ryan are always horsing around.”

“He starts it,” Patrick says with a grin.

Aidan and I separate but continue to give each other friendly punches.

When Mom calls us to eat, everyone squeezes around the large dining room table, Dad says the prayer, and the family digs into the wonderful meal Mom prepared.

Today brings back memories of our Sunday dinners when I was growing up. When my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins joined us, we were all on our best behavior. No arguments or disagreements.

“So, what’re your plans, son?” Dad asks as the food dishes are passed around the dining room table.

I’m not ready to share my plans. “I was planning to stay here a week or so to visit and then stay at Patrick and Lydia’s until I can get on my feet. You know…get my own place.”

Immediately my mother perks up. “What? Only a week? I thought you were planning to liveherefor a while.”

“No, I’m going to be staying with them. Patrick is putting me to work.” I’ve been dreading this conversation for weeks. The feeling of nostalgia from our Sunday dinners is now gone. Although Mom has the vision of me in my childhood room, I don’t want to hurt her feelings, but I can’t stay here.

My mother’s smile turns tight and her shoulders droop. “You don’t want to stay here?”

“It’s not that I don’twantto,” I start. My foot is tapping on the floor. “It’s going to work out a lot better to be near the job sites.”

My mother pats her mouth with the cloth napkin she’s been clenching. “You don’t need to rush right back to work, do you?” She lifts her glass and takes a small sip of water.

“I’m looking forward to a break, but I really need to get back to work and earn some money.”

Dad sets the mashed potatoes next to his plate. “Well, that makes sense.”

After dinner, the group breaks up with the women staying inside to clean up the kitchen and the men sitting outside on the deck.

“So, how does it feel?” Aidan inquires over a beer.

“Being back?” I take a pull from my own bottle. “Weird.”

“There was some news a few times about your unit,” Dad adds as he pops the top off his bottle and sits down in one of the lounge chairs.

I shrug. The last thing I need to do is release all my pent-up anxiety with my family. “Yeah, I’m sure it was hard on the family not knowing what was going on.”

“Just glad you’re back.” Finn lets out a breath. “In one piece.”

Once the women are finished in the kitchen, they join us on the deck. Dad starts a fire in the pit, and we gather around. Mom brings out the marshmallows, chocolate bars, and graham crackers.

“This always reminds me of the times at the cabin,” Mom says as she hands roasting sticks to Finn and Jessica.

I take a drink of my beer. “You guys go up there anymore?”

Dad cocks his head. “We do. Not as often as when you kids were growing up, but your mom and I still enjoy it.”

“Lydia and I were there a few weeks ago,” Patrick says as pokes the roasting stick into his marshmallow.

Aidan pops the top off his bottle. “Yeah, we had a lot of good times there, didn’t we?”

Being around the family and reminiscing about the good times at the cabin makes me think of Julia. She’s a part of those memories. My recollection of those times got me through a lot of tough days in Afghanistan.

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