Page 4 of The Homecoming

Dan stood, putting on his hat, “Here, I’ll take that out for you, Mrs. Mac. I should be off anyway. I’ll see you at church.” Dan lifted the bag, and Shirley fawned all over him about how happy she was he came for a visit, and that he was so strong to lift the trash bag like it was nothing.

When she started touching his arm again, Autumn intervened. “Mom,” she admonished. “Dan needs to go.” She followed him out the back door, where her dad, Walter, sat next to the hanging bug zapper. “There you are.”

“Where’d you run off to?” he asked.

“I went for a ride with Dan.”

It was only then he seemed to notice the large man standing next to her. “Dan, it’s good to see you again.”

“Sir.” Dan extended his hand and they shook. The two small-talked for a minute before Dan and Autumn made it to the gate and Dan tossed the bag into the trashcan.

“I’m sorry for my mom back there,” she said.

Dan smiled and shook his head. “It’s fine.”

“Anyway,” she continued, “thanks for getting me out of here today.”

“Glad I was here.”

She nodded and bit back a smile. “Are you really going to church in the morning?”

“Yeah, It’ll make my mom happy,” he said with his own smile. “And I’ll get to see you again.”

Once he was gone and Autumn walked along the path back up to the house, she argued with herself on what to make of the apparent flirtation coming from Daniel. Was it her imagination? Or was heinterestedin her? She hadn’t been on a date or had a boyfriend in a while; maybe it was desperation reading too much into his friendliness.

2.

The next morning, Daniel Madera was waiting outside of the White Oak Baptist Church when Autumn arrived in the back seat of her parents’ car. She wanted to take her own but her mom had told her not to waste the gas. So, there she sat, like a small child. Autumn took in Dan’s muscular frame from a distance—he filled out that jacket and jeans nicely—before reprimanding herself. From the parking lot, Dan was noticed by most of the congregants, particularly the females. The same families had attended the church for years and a soldier being home garnered attention. He was speaking to an older man when Autumn walked past him. “Autumn,” he called. The two embraced, but he kept his arm around her long after the hug was over and continued with his conversation as others joined in. “Yeah, it can all go sideways in a blink,” Dan said to the man. His arm remained pressed against Autumn’s back, his fingers hooked around her hip. A couple of the ladies in the group appeared annoyed. One of them sighed loudly and left the circle.

“That was in Fallujah,” the older gentleman said.

Dan nodded. “Yes sir, we were clearing the town when I’d gotten separated from my unit. Which turned out to be my saving grace. A group of Al-Qaeda fighters was sneaking up on their rear for an ambush when I came upon them and picked off six alerting my unit they were there.

The man reached out for Dan’s hand, and they shook. “Thank you for your service,” he said. “For being out there keeping us all safe.”

Dan nodded humbly. “I appreciate it. Just doing my job, sir.”

The church bells began to ring, signaling an end to the conversation.

“Wow. You’re really something,” Autumn said. “What other heroic things have you done?” They walked toward the door with his arm still around her.

He shrugged. “Why talk about war when better things are happening here?”

***

After church service ended, Dan turned to her. “Will you go to lunch with me?” he asked. Before Autumn could respond, Shelby Sayers leaned over the pew in front of them smiling, cleavage spilling from the top of her dress.Subtle.“Well, if it isn’t Daniel Madera,” she cooed.

“Shelby,” he nodded.

“My, my,” she stared at him like a starving wolf in front of a wounded animal. “I didn’t know you were back in town. We should get together. How about lunch?”

“I already have plans with Autumn.” He stood, grabbing Autumn’s hand and pulling her from the pew and down the aisle toward the door.

“Maybe some other time, then,” Shelby called.

“In a hurry?” Autumn asked smiling. “You forgot to get her number.” He scowled back at her as another female voice called his name, a look of terror crossing his face made Autumn laugh.

“For god’s sake, get me out of here.” He pulled Autumn out of the church, through the courtyard, and into the parking lot where he unlocked the jeep and opened the door for her.

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