“Hello,” he said to the little boy.
“The doorbell is broken, you know,” the child said, popping his head up. The kid must have been seven or eight.
“I did not know,” Chris said.
The kid just shrugged.
“Figured. I live there.” He pointed to a blue-and-white painted house across the cul-de-sac. When he turned back to Chris, he frowned. “Mrs. Blake doesn’t like me hiding in her yard.”
“Then you probably should get out of her bushes before she sees you.”
“You won’t tell?”
“Cross my heart.”
The kid grinned and darted off. Chris smiled at his dirt-covered clothes. He wondered how long the little monkey had been sitting there, and for just a second, his heart panged.
Would he ever have a family?
Garrett had been the closest thing he’d ever had to a brother and now he was gone. Dead. The IED that had shortened his life had done more than just take an airman. It had taken his best friend.
Chris tried to push everything out of his head, tried to focus on today. Today wasn’t a day to feel sad. Today was a day to feel happy. He was finally going to meet Sarah after all this time. The truth was that months of emailing hadn’t prepared him for this. He was still as nervous as a high school freshman on a first date.
He took a deep breath.
“You’ve got this,” Chris said aloud to himself. He could do this.
He went back up to the door and this time, he knocked. He heard laughter coming from inside the house.
“Coming!” A voice called out, and he held his breath. When the door opened, a middle-aged woman stood in front of him with a bright smile. She had dark hair that was sprinkled with grey and was wearing a navy blue dress with a white apron tied on the front. She looked like the picture-perfect mother, complete with a sprinkling of flour on the tip of her nose.
“Chris!” Mrs. Blake greeted him. “I’m so glad you could make it!” She reached forward and pulled Chris inside, wrapping her arms around him in a warm hug. Fuck. She was just as sweet as Garrett had always said. Part of Chris had worried that his friend’s family wasn’t all that. Part of him worried they would be weird or awkward around him.
All of his concerns, his fears, and his anxiety melted away in that warm, motherly hug. His own mother had died years before and with a surprise ache of yearning, he suddenly missed her in that moment.
“Mrs. Blake,” Chris said politely. “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
“Oh, Chris,” Mrs. Blake laughed. “You must call me Rita.”
“Rita,” he said, repeating her name. “It’s a pleasure.”
“The pleasure is all hers, believe me,” a sweet voice sounded from behind Rita, and Chris peeked over the older woman’s shoulder.
Sarah.
It was Sarah.
Her short pixie hair was blonde and her bright blue eyes shone as she walked toward Chris. His heart felt like it had stopped beating as she moved toward him.
“Sarah,” he said. “I can’t believe it’s really you.”
The whole world faded away in that moment as she moved toward him. He barely registered the dress and leggings she had on or the way her socks made her practically glide across the hardwood floors.
“Right back at ya, sergeant.” She grinned and wrapped her arms around him, pulling Chris close. She smelled like vanilla and cinnamon. Sweet Sarah. He’d been talking to her for so long and now they were finally meeting. He tried to keep his body in check, but having her so close to him was incredible. If her mother hadn’t been right there, Chris would have pinned her against the wall and kissed her hard, nipped at her lips, made her beg him for more.
A cough broke him from his thoughts and they both turned to see Mrs. Blake still standing there.
“Sorry to break up this little reunion,” Rita said. “I think it’s time to pull the pie out of the oven. Sarah, will you help me? Chris, you can go down to the family room and get Jim for supper.” Rita motioned toward the nearby staircase that led downstairs, then disappeared down the hall, dragging a reluctant Sarah and left Chris on his own.