Falling into Cadence (redux)

[danimal3378]

Thomas P. Hillbroke was on his final flight, a short jump to the local airport. He had been 22 when he had signed up for the military, 8 years later he was on his way home. Having served his final mission; not quite the way he had planned it, but his last none the less. For seven year he'd served his country and took pride in the efforts he and his team had taken to bring safety to the world - it had went well, he'd been through numerous scrapes and skirmishes and luck had been on his side. He had to remind himself he still was lucky; lucky to be here, lucky to be coming home, lucky to be alive even if he may never walk the same. The missile strike had thrown him clear of the transport unit; he didn’t even remember the feeling of it all, just the sound…the whoosh of the explosion even now would wake him with a start in the night. It had only been minutes, but it felt like forever till the Apache choppers were down and pulling out what remained of the team… him.

Six months later he was finally headed home, a shell of his former self. He was a different man than the one who had set off eight years earlier, both in ways that were easy to see and those hidden within. Home… if you could call it that; he had never planned to come back to this place. Shaking his head at the thoughts; his mind rushes into the present as he feels the wheels of the plane hit the ground.

Once the plane hits the terminal, he waits for the other to get off, collects his bag, and slowly makes his way up the ramp. At the gate he’s greeted by his Dad, a hulk of a man who keeps his emotions hidden; yet here they are, in a deep long hug. The drive from the airport was mostly silent, a reflection of the effect the years had had on not only him, but the town he left behind. Seeing the closed ice cream parlor – long since closed, the high school tore down and replaced, how can this be home? However as they pull in the drive he sees the old house, much the same as when he left. At least some things don’t change.

 

[pregfet2009]

Meg looks outside the window, again. Noticing Tom's father's car pulling up on the street, she gets everybody's attention.

"Tom is outside, let's go and give him the proper welcome." She says, to the crowd of about 25. Everybody, with Liz, his sister, and Lydia, his mom, leading the way, makes their way out of the front door. Meg tries to stay at the back of the crowd, until Liz pulls her to the front.

"My brother deserves to see the woman, who pulled all of this, together." Liz whispers, with a slight pinch to Meg's arm.
"Liz, what about?" Meg drops the rest of her question, when the driver's side door opens.
Liz leans over, whispering through her smile.
"To be honest, no one suspects a thing. Quit worrying." She says, as her dad gets out of the car, first.

 

[danimal3378]

Thomas took a second to collect his thoughts, letting his dad step out first, unsure how he'd react to all this excitement and hubbub. He know that his family wanted to see him, but in many ways wanted to be alone. The doctors had all said it was important to get out and see people, so no time like the present I guess.

I press the door latch and then push the door open, the easy part as my arms are unblemished. Grabbing my cane and swing out my good leg then focusing as I get the replacement leg to comply and steady on the ground as I stand. I trek to the front of the car, greeting first my Mom, then his little sister. Long warm embraces as the years and fear melt away.

Then he steps to Meg, barely able to recognize the face, so changed with the years he's been gone. "Meg?" he questions.

 

[pregfet2009]

"Welcome home, Tom." Meg says, softly. "I kind of pulled all of this together." The tears softly building in her eyes, from all of her hormones building.

 

[danimal3378]

Tom held Meg close as he hugged her, surprised as the emotion she was showing. She'd been so young when he left it felt to him like he barely knew her, yet her she was organizing the party and tearing up significantly as they hugged.

As he held her close he whispered in her ear, "Thank you, it means a lot to have so many here to welcome me home." Slowly the hug ends and Tom let's go of Meg, turning slowly to the crowd. "Thank you all for coming, its great to see you all here. Now let's get something to eat."

Tom and his dad carry his couple bags to his bedroom, setting them down on the bed. Tom slowly looks around the room, so much like the way it was when he left, like his parents knew he'd be back. "I'll be out in just a minute Dad." he says softly, looking at the pictures sitting on his dresser.

 

[pregfet2009]

One of the dishes brought for the potluck, gave Meg. an unsettled feeling in her stomach, so she quickly made her way upstairs, closing the door behind her. She quickly empties what little contents were in her stomach, and flushes the toilet. A few tears escape her eyes, but she quickly blots them away with a few squares of tissue paper. She rinses her mouth out, at the sink, and throws away the messed tissues. She inhales and exhales deeply, for a few times.

 

[danimal3378]

Tom, standing in the silence of the bedroom upstairs looking over his memories can't help but over hear the sounds of sickness coming from the bathroom next door. He makes his way slowly on to the bathroom door and gives a soft knock, calling out quietly to the the person inside "Are you okay?"

He stands patiently by the door, waiting for a response as the seconds pass.

 

[pregfet2009]

Meg's eyes widen, as Tom asks her if she was okay. "Yeah, I am fine." She says, while opening the door. "Something didn't agree with me, this morning." She leans into the door, trying to be relaxed.

 

[danimal3378]

Tom looks her over closely, she has a few beads of sweat on her forehead and looks a bit flushed. "Okay. Do you want to lay down for a bit?" He offers her his arm, it looks like you maybe should. He starts to usher her down the hall to his room.

Her frame still young and nimble, her clothes doing their best to hide her growing secret. "Here, lay down and take a nap. I know you worked hard to set all this up for me, but take some time for yourself too."

 

[pregfet2009]

"I'm fine, Tom, really." She says, pulling away from him, slightly. "Let's go, and enjoy your party, okay? I'll take a nap later."

 

[danimal3378]

Tom decides he has no choice but to acquiesce to what she saying, after all, look at everything she did without really even knowing him.

"Okay, if you insist." Tom then puts his cane in front of him and starts his trek to the stairs, using the railing and making his way to the bottom easily. The therapy before he came home already paying great dividends as it gives him a sense of independence. He finds the line for food is already empty and starts to put a few things on his plate, having not trouble with it all on the counter, but trying to come up with a good way to get everything from there to the table.

He asks if his sister could help him get to the living room where all the men have congregated, thankful she agrees to carry his plate for him as he finds a spot to sit and start enjoying the company. In the living room he is mostly quiet, but enjoys the idle chat of the other men in the room.