This story was written for my boyfriend a month before he got back from deployment.
I've waited so long for this. I fidget as I wait for the buses to arrive, trying to look casual by leaning up against the side of my car. I look around at all the families, kids are everywhere. I make a mental note of the ones that are not wearing coats. The buses pull up and the atmosphere changes – you can taste impatience in the air as the crowd moves toward the buses. I tense, but stay near my car – figuring it will be easier to find you that way. Agonizing seconds tick by before the doors on the buses open. The first men get off the bus slowly, engulfed by people. I study each face carefully as the people crawl off the buses – a couple of times thinking it is you only to realize I am mistaken. As more buses open their doors I am suddenly lost. People are walking towards the buses, away from the buses; I stand stationary studying the crowd intensely – searching for your face. I grow more anxious as I search for you. Finally, I spot you walking towards me, maneuvering through the crowd. I break into a smile as our eyes meet and run towards you. I hit you like a ton of bricks – leaping into your arms. I bury my face into your neck – breathing in the smell I have missed so much! You hug me tightly to you and I feel your face pressed against my neck as well. We hold each other like this for a long moment, before pulling away to kiss. Tears glisten in my eyes as we kiss, softly at first then deeper. Your hands rest on my waist, my hand on your arm and the other on the back of your head as I pull you closer. I love the feel of your body as it presses against mine and for a moment I have to remind myself that there are children present.