Sonia, his daughter, got to him first as he walked out of the secure area. Throwing her arms around him, she said, "I'm so happy you're home, Daddy. I've missed you." He kissed her on the top of her head as his wife approached.
"Hi sweetheart," she said as he embraced her. He held her tight, "I'm happy to be home," he said.
Breaking the embrace, he turned to his son. Sean's hand was out, a big smile on his face. Bruce brushed his hand aside, "You're not too big to hug," he said, throwing his arms around him.
He turned back to his wife after releasing Sean and grinned at her. "You look good, really good."
She blushed. "Thank you. How was the flight?"
He looked at his watch. "Only twenty minutes late. Not bad."
Lynne hooked her arm in his. "C'mon, let's get your bag and go home."
Thirty minutes later, they pulled into the garage.
The kids took over once they walked into the house. Sonia had to show him what she had been doing in school and the Girl Scouts; Sean wanted to talk football, pulling out all his newspaper clippings. They dragged him back and forth from one room to the other, fighting over him like they were five years old. Finally, he made his way to the living room.
Lynne sat there, smiling. "They needed that time with you," she said.
"Yeah, I forget how much time I'm away from them. I should get home more."
"Yes, you should," she said, a hint of frown on her face.
"I know."
The smile came back. "You must be hungry. Do you want something to eat?"
"I would like a sandwich, some ham and cheese if you got it."
"We do, I'll make it."
She brought it in and said, "I made reservations at the Country Club for six. I'd thought we'd have dinner out tonight. A small celebration, having you home for the first time inβhow many weeks?"
He took another bite of his sandwich. "Hmm, six, seven. It's been too long, I know that."
"Almost two years out of six now. Do you think we can maintain this separation for four more years?"
Kathy popped into his mind.
What have I got myself into?
He looked at her, trying to get Kathy out of his mind. "Is it starting to affect our marriage?"
She didn't say anything for a few minutes. "No, I don't think so but, uh, you're not home very often. The kids miss you, I miss you." She looked like she was on the verge of tears.
He moved over to the sofa and sat down next to her. "I signed up for six years, you know that. Do you want to move the family to Washington? You know, that's the simplest solution."
She put her hand on his inner thigh and squeezed.
Surprised, she had never done that before; he looked at her.
She smiled at him and began caressing his thigh. "I know. I still don't want them to change schools. This is such a critical time in their life. Stability's important."
They both looked up as Sean walked in, tossing a football from hand to hand. "Let's go out in the back, toss the ball around," he said, looking at his father.
"We're going out to dinner, Sean. What do your dress pants look like? For your sake, they better not be wadded up at the bottom of your closet."
"They're hanging up, Mom. They're in good shape."
"Go check. See if they need to be ironed?"
"Okay."
Bruce laughed as his son went to his room. "Well, he must be getting better, he said they were hung up."
She smiled. "Yeah, he is. I just have to stay on him. Keep him that way."
Sonia walked in and sat down next to her father. "Dad, will you take me to the mall?"
"No," Lynne said. "Your father will be here for two weeks. He'll have plenty of time for taking you to the mall."
"But I'll be in school. I won't be able to go until next Saturday."
"Stop whining, we were at the mall yesterday. Besides, we're going to dinner this evening. Go pick out something to wear and bring it to me. Let's see what it looks like."
"Oh Mom," she said, dropping her head, slowly walking away.
He got up. "Well, let me spend the rest of the afternoon with these two, they need attention."
"Please do," she said. "Days before they know you're coming home, that's all they talk about. Go be super-dad."
"Okay," he said and bent down and kissed her. She put her hand on the back of his head and he felt the tip of her tongue between his lips.
"Here're the pants, Mom."
She released her husband and he stood up. Bruce ruffled Sean's hair. "You ready to go outside?"
Sean handed his mother the pants and said, "Let's go."
* * *