“Keith!” Julia excitedly embraced the golden haired, green eyed boy with the impish grin standing in the doorway.
Looking expectantly over his shoulder she asked, “Where are Jeremy, Rebecca, and baby Samuel? Didn’t they come with you?”
Keith shrugged his shoulders. “Not this time. Dad needed them to... Uh... They needed to get ready for some important company.”
Julia flounced onto the sofa like a pouting child. “I knew it! He’s moved on already.”
Keith leaned over to hug her and brushed back a blonde lock of hair from her eyes. “No, Mama. He still loves you. That’s why he sent me. He was hoping maybe this time....”
Julia slowly stood up, smoothed her skirt, and cautiously walked to the back door. “Shhh. Do you hear that? A dove call. You always loved doves. Do you remember the time you held one in your hands?”
Keith smiled at the memory. “ I thought it was hurt,” he said. “I held it for a few seconds, then it flew away. It was so great.”
As the fragrance of rose bushes wafted through the open door, Julia laughed. “Everyone always thought I had a black thumb,” she mused, as she led Keith to the small, neatly kept garden just outside the door, “but look at what I’ve done. Aren’t they beautiful? Pick one to take back to Rebecca.” Her mouth dropped open with realization. Running back into the house Julia came back cradling a doll in her arms.
“I got this for Rebecca,” she bragged. “You know how she loves dolls. I thought this one looked just like her.”
Keith ignored the conversation and looked serious. “Mama, Dad really misses you. Can you please come back with me this time?”
Holding the doll close, Julia whirled back toward the house shaking her head. “No. This is home. Honey, I didn’t leave. Your father did.”
Keith swallowed hard and looked down as his mother continued. “This is where I belong. I have a life here. I have friends. You remember my neighbor, Tina. We talk all the time. Hi Tina!” Julia called, waving to a lady in the house next door. The lady smiled vaguely, but made no further acknowledgement.
“He’ll be here soon, Mama. I know he was expecting you to come back with us. Our family hasn’t been the same without you. And Dad.. He was crying last night.”
“Was he?”
“I’ve never seen him cry before.”
Julia’s mouth turned down slightly as she thought to herself. “Only if he asks me first,” she murmured.
The rest of the afternoon was spent in a remberance of days gone by. They laughed about how life used to be. Julia tried not cry as she remembered all the hours she had missed playing with the little ones.
This time things would be different. They would be happier, because she would be happier.
The knock interrupted their visit. Julia flew to answer it. Her husband stood outside the door waiting for her welcoming embrace. Tears of happiness streaked down both of their cheeks as she rushed into his arms. “I’ve missed you, Julia,” he whispered as his tears dropped onto her hair. “Please come back home.”
* * *The rain began to come down as the coroner leaned over the body. Tina Brune cried as she looked down at the small, lifeless body of Mrs. Morgan. Shaking, she hugged her arms tightly around herself trying to explain. “Every day she would come out to the garden and talk to me. Today I was late for my shift. When I got here I ... I found her lying among the rose bushes. She was holding that old doll she said her little girl used to have, and she was... was....” Tina broke down again. “I knew it would eventually happen. She was almost eighty. A lot of patients eventually die. I just didn’t expect ... I don’t know.” Tina’s heart broke to think of poor Mrs. Morgan’s last lonely moments.
* * *“Welcome Home, Love,” David opened the door for Julia and Keith. Their house was even bigger and more beautiful than she had remembered.
Beyond the door Julia was bombarded with hugs and kisses from Rebecca and Jeremy. “Mama!” a small voice called. Little Samuel toddled toward her, his arms wide open.