With special thanks and appreciation for the idea, input and editorial assistance provided by Reiner43 - thank you my friend, for letting me pick your brain and for sharing your memories.... And as always, with all things, my love and appreciation to R.S. for....everything!
I seemed to have been cooking and cleaning for days, and now I was darting to the window every few minutes - every time I heard a car door slam or a neighborhood dog bark. 'They're coming home...My boys are coming home...' My heart seemed to skip every other beat with joy and relief as I wiped the already spotless kitchen counter one last time and I sat down, mentally assessing the menu to make sure everyone's favorites were included. Mulling over my coffee I grew lost in my memories....
Mike and Chris had grown up together, becoming 'Best Buds' in Kindergarten. They'd played T-ball and peewee basketball together - taught each other how to swim - Mike taught Chris to ride a 2-wheeler and Chris taught Mike how to cast a fly-rod. They hadn't always agreed and, as boys will, had battled often over everything from ideology to who's Mom made better cookies (which always made me laugh because Linda didn't bake to start with so what they found to argue about was a puzzle to me).
Linda and I had both been single mothers - it should have made a bond between us - but we were never as close as the boys were. Linda tended to flightiness - in life and in motherhood - but I think she resented that Mike liked being at my house more, where meals and bedtimes were regular and the power was on unless storms or other natural disasters interfered.
By the time the boys were Juniors in High School, Mike was more or less living at our house - Linda was off on a motorcycle adventure with an unemployed artist - and I stood in 'loco parentis' as it were. Mike had been calling ME 'Mom" as well for a few years by then, 'Aunt' Maggie seeming a little awkward and not being able to bring himself to call me just 'Maggie'. It was fine with me - I loved ALL my sons - dishing out praise, punishment and oodles of love and good cooking. The boys had graduated together, taken a year of Community College to sort themselves out and then enlisted together.
The recruiter and I had both warned them that they might not even go to basic let alone ever serve together, but they were determined, and as things turned out - they were also lucky. From basic training on - they had gone every step of the way together - able to stand together, comfort each other, strengthen each other, and watch each other's backs. And now, after a total of 18 months of what they would only describe as 'hell' in the Middle East - my boys were coming home for a long leave and a state-side duty assignment.
Lost in my musing - wondering how they will have changed - I was startled when the kitchen door opened but expected my oldest son, Tim to pop in. Instead the door swung wide with the breeze. Thinking that perhaps the wind had blown it open I got up to close it but as I came around the counter, who should I see, standing at the foot of the stairs - grinning like a pair of tanned, camo-clad monkeys but my boys! Simultaneous, as always, came the chorus of -
"Hi Mom, I'm HOME!"
Squealing with delight I dove down the stairs to wrap them up in hugs and kisses. It was a total surprise when both boys picked ME up and swung me off my feet instead, hugging me tightly and kissing my cheeks loudly. When had they gotten so tall and broad-shouldered, I wondered? It hadn't been that long since they'd been home on leave and I certainly didn't recall such a dramatic change....
I was babbling, asking when and how they'd gotten in? And they were both laughing and slapping each other on the back - bragging about how they 'snuck in on stealth mode' and about how surprised I was. As they came into the house suddenly the kitchen seemed too small. Eyes darting everywhere they took in the buffet spread across the counters - sink filled with ice and beer - platters of sandwich 'fixin's' - chips and homemade dips and salsa - Chris' favorite, the bratwurst simmered happily in a pot of beer, waiting for his brother Tim to come and throw them on the grill - Mike's favorite li'l smokies in barbecue sauce - my granddaughter's favorite broccoli salad - Tim's favorite barbecue rice - there was something special for everyone.
The boys shrugged off their shirts, popped open a couple of the Coronas and drained them without stopping. Chris belched and Mike called him a 'douchebag'. It was a lot like it always had been - except for the shadows behind their eyes - the wariness in their stance - their lean muscularity and the fact that I now barely came up to their shoulders. Oh, and the matching unit tattoos on their biceps.
They were laughing and talking - trading stories about their trip home - people they'd seen and places they'd been when it happened. Chris accidentally dropped a chip loaded with dip on the floor and yelled, "C'mere Sammy - come and get it!"
Looking at me he asked, "Mom, where's Samson? Did you put him in the bedroom? Can I let him out?"
Heart in my throat and tears filling my eyes I shook my head, "No, son. I didn't have the heart to tell you before you got home - I didn't want you to be distracted."
"Awww shit, no!" from Mike as he reached to grab Chris by the shoulder in a tight hug.
"The vet said it was spinal disc disease - that basset hounds are prone to it. He went down pretty fast - he just couldn't hold on till you got home, he tried but we lost him this Spring."
We were all now tightly locked in a three-fold hug, freely dripping tears. My face was buried in someone's chest. There was a very masculine smell of clean male, and aftershave. It was very comforting just to lean there against that broad firm surface for a brief while. There was a rumble from somewhere within the chest I was leaning on -
"When?" Mike again.
"April," I replied. It was late June now.
"Stupid ol' dog," Chris now. "Couldn't wait two more months."