Coming Home

by Priscilla Glenn

  “Oh, here,” Robyn said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a small stack of envelopes before tossing them to Leah. “We got your mail on the way in.”

  “Thanks,” Leah said, quickly sifting through the stack as Robyn started taking the containers of sushi out of the bag. There were two bills and a magazine subscription renewal.

  And one other.

  Leah laughed humorlessly as soon as she saw it.

  “What?” Holly asked, coming back to the couch with the remote.

  “Well, he’s certainly goal oriented,” Leah said as she tossed the envelope onto the coffee table before her. “You gotta give him that.”

  “Oh my God, is that from Scott?” Robyn asked.

  Leah nodded.

  “What is it?”

  “Don’t care,” Leah said as she took one of the containers from the table and popped off the lid.

  “I do,” Holly said, swiping it from the table and tearing the envelope open.

  “Is it a love letter?” Robyn asked. “Do a dramatic reading!”

  Leah laughed as Holly shook her head. “Not a love letter. Too heavy,” she said, reaching her hand in and pulling out a stack of pictures. She plopped down between Leah and Robyn on the couch as she started flipping through them.

  The first one was of Leah and Scott at the beach the summer they first met. She was sitting in between his legs on their towel, leaning back against his chest and smiling as he kissed her cheek. The next one was the two of them at the baseball field where Scott played with his team from work. It was a candid shot, neither of them looking at the camera; Leah stood with her arms around his waist, her eyes closed and her cheek pressed against his chest. Scott had his arms wrapped around her shoulders with his chin resting on the top of her head. The next picture was of the two of them lying in Scott’s bed, their heads together as Leah held the camera away from them and snapped the shot. They were both wearing lazy, contented smiles, and Leah closed her eyes momentarily to ward off the memory. They had spent that entire day in bed, making love over and over, only getting up to use the bathroom or get a drink.

  It went on and on. Various pictures of them hugging, kissing, laughing, smiling. Just when Leah thought she couldn’t take any more, the onslaught of images finally ended.

  And then came the index card.

  I know you remember how this used to be. Look at us, Leah. You were happy with me. One mistake isn’t enough to change that, and you know it. You were upset. You had a right to be. But you made your point, and I’ve certainly served my sentence. Let’s stop wasting time. We’re better together, and you know that too. You still love me, beautiful. As much as I still love you.

  Holly shook her head in disbelief as Robyn bit her lip, glancing nervously at Leah.

  A few seconds of pregnant silence passed before Leah said, “Guys, I’m not gonna do what you all think I’m gonna do, which is, you know…flip out!” she yelled, waving her arms maniacally in the air.

  Holly and Robyn instantly laughed at her Jerry McGuire reference, and Leah grabbed the stack of pictures from Holly’s hand before she stood.

  “What are you gonna do with those?”

  “Purge,” she said as she walked toward the kitchen.

  Leah turned the corner and approached the garbage can, stepping on the pedal to lift the lid. Just as she was about to toss the pictures in, she stopped, sifting through them one more time.

  She had been so happy in all of them.

  But so much had happened since then that it felt like she was looking at a different girl. And truth be told, Leah felt bad for her. She felt bad that the rug was right about to be pulled out from underneath her, and this girl didn’t have the slightest idea.

  Leah flipped until she was once again looking at the index card.

  I know you remember how this used to be.

  But she couldn’t. It was like when she was a little girl, and she’d watched a show that explained how magicians made rabbits and other things appear in hats. After that she could never watch a magic show again, not after she’d seen them for what they really were. A ruse. A sham.

  A lie.

  And that was exactly what this felt like. Looking at these images felt like watching a magic trick that had already been exposed. It left her feeling disappointed, and more importantly, unimpressed.

  With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the photos into the trash can, letting the lid close on that era of her life once and for all.

  “Jesus Christ. So is this typical, or is Robyn one of those dictator brides?”

  Leah laughed, rolling onto her side to turn off the light before scooting further under her covers. “It’s pretty typical,” she said, switching the phone to her other ear. “You’ve never been in a bridal party?”

  “Once,” Danny said. “For my cousin, when I was like twelve. But I definitely don’t remember it being a three-day affair.”

  “Well, it’s typical for girls, I should say.”

  “Of course. You guys always have to make shit more complicated,” he said, and Leah smiled.

  She’d spent the past few months being excited over Robyn’s wedding, but tonight, for the first time, she wished it wasn’t going to occupy her entire weekend.

  She had spoken with Danny on the phone every night that week, and this time when he called, he asked if she wanted to hang out that weekend. Leah explained to him that she’d be spending Friday getting massages, manicures, pedicures, and facials with the bridal party, followed by the rehearsal dinner. Saturday was the wedding, which of course would occupy her entire day, and then Sunday, the entire bridal party, along with Robyn and Rich’s families, would be attending a celebratory brunch at the hotel.

  “Alright, maybe next weekend, then,” he said. “I have something I want to show you.”

  “Well, I’m getting back late Sunday afternoon. We could do something Sunday night if you want. I don’t have work on Monday.”

  “You don’t?”

  “Martin Luther King Day,” she said.

  “Ah, that’s right.”

  “Can you do a Sunday night? I don’t know what your hours look like on Monday.”

  “I make my own hours. One of the perks of being the boss.”

  Leah shook her head. “You think you’re so cool.”

  Danny chuckled. “Let’s do Sunday night then. Text me when you get back.”

  “Okay,” she said through a yawn.

  “Alright, I’ll talk to you then. Have fun this weekend.”

  “Thanks,” she said, her eyes falling closed. “Good night.”

  “Good night sweet girl,” he said before ending the call.

  Leah’s eyes flipped open before she smiled, reaching over to place her phone on her nightstand. It was the first time he’d called her that since his drunken rant the weekend before, but it sent the same thrill through her.

  With a tiny sigh, she curled into her comforter and closed her eyes.

  She fell asleep imaging those words falling from his lips before he pressed them to hers.

  As cliché as it was to say a bride looked like a princess on her wedding day, that was the only way Leah could think of to describe Robyn. She couldn’t remember a time her friend looked more beautiful. And it wasn’t just her fairy-tale gown, or her elegant up-do, or her delicate makeup. It was because she was so unbelievably happy. Her smile didn’t leave her face the entire day, and every time Leah saw Robyn and Rich look at each other, it felt like she was intruding on a private moment. They were in their own little world, so wrapped up in each other, so conspicuously in love. It was extremely humbling to be around.

  Leah said good-bye to Holly and Robyn on Sunday afternoon, wishing Robyn a wonderful honeymoon and telling Holly she’d talk to her later that week. She hadn’t told her about her plans with Danny that night for fear of getting a lecture about not taking things slow enough.

  Before Leah left the hotel, she texted Danny, and he asked her to meet him at his apartment around sev
en. He also told her that she shouldn’t eat anything because he’d have dinner ready for them, a notion that left her apprehensively intrigued.

  She spent the afternoon running errands before she showered and headed down to his place, and as soon as she neared his building, a series of flutters started low in her stomach. She had thought of Danny so many times that weekend, wondering what it would have been like if he had come to the wedding with her. Picturing him in a suit, his black hair in sexy disarray, smiling his adorable smile. Laughing with her, holding her hand as she introduced him to people.

  Kissing her softly as they danced.

  Leah parked at the end of his block, and the fluttering in her stomach doubled as she rode the elevator to his floor.

  When the doors finally opened, she approached his apartment and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before she opened them and knocked. There was a muffled rustling sound, followed by the muted thud of footsteps.

  A few seconds later, the door swung open, and the fluttering moved up into her chest. His dark hair was tousled to perfection, and he had a hint of a five-o’clock shadow defining his jawline. He was wearing a pair of worn jeans with a gray zip-up hoodie over a white T-shirt.

  And her favorite dimpled smile.

  “Hey,” he said, leaning over to kiss her cheek before he stepped to the side to let her in, and she was immediately greeted with the smell of Chinese food.

  Leah hummed as she walked past him into the apartment. “Good call. That smells amazing.”

  “You got here before I could take it out of the containers and put it in pots and pans on the stove.”

  Leah laughed as he took her coat and hung it by the door. “Right, because I totally would have believed that.”

  “Hey, I can cook,” he said in feigned offense as he walked over to the table and pulled a chair out for her.

  “I know,” she said as she sat. “I was there for the Hot Pocket.”

  Danny laughed, shaking his head. “Why did I ask you to hang out again?”

  “No clue. Maybe you’re a masochist.”

  Danny pushed her chair in before he walked around to the other side of the table. “Sometimes I think so,” he said, but his voice was strangely devoid of humor.

  Leah glanced up at him, but by the time he sat across from her, his dimples were back on display.

  “So how was the wedding?” he asked as he started opening containers. He looked up at her, his smile still intact.

  Maybe she’d imagined it.

  “It was really fun,” Leah said, reaching for the bottle of water in front of her. “Robyn looked amazing. Everything went smoothly.”

  “It went smoothly? What’s to mess up? Both people say ‘I do,’” Danny said, holding out a pack of chopsticks and a fork for Leah to choose from.

  She grabbed the fork. “Girl stuff again. But there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that can get messy if it’s not well planned. Or if the bride is a bitch.” She smiled. “Thankfully, neither was the case this weekend.”

  Danny placed two opened cartons of food in front of Leah before he started opening the others. “Do those bitch brides actually exist? I thought that shit was just for TV.”

  “They exist,” Leah said, looking inside the containers. One was filled with sesame chicken, and the other contained pot stickers.

  Leah’s mouth dropped. “How did you know to order this?”

  “What?” he asked, his eyes trained on the chopsticks he was unwrapping.

  “Sesame chicken and pot stickers? What made you order this?”

  “Because it’s your favorite,” he said simply as he reached into his container with his chopsticks and pulled out a piece of broccoli.

  “How did you know that?”

  He popped the broccoli in his mouth. “You told me,” he said around his food.

  “I did?”

  He laughed softly. “Yeah. It was Tuesday night. Or maybe Wednesday. One of the nights I spoke to you this week.”

  “Huh,” Leah said. “I don’t remember that.” She reached into the container and pulled out a pot sticker.

  “I pay attention.”

  Leah glanced up, and he winked at her before he grabbed his water bottle and twisted off the cap. She watched him take a long sip, suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to swat the bottle away from his lips and replace it with her mouth.

  “What?” he asked as he put the bottle down and picked up his chopsticks.

  “Nothing,” Leah said. “Just…watching you show off.”

  “Show off?”

  She nodded to his chopsticks, and he laughed.

  “I’m not showing off. This is how you’re supposed to eat this stuff.”

  She shrugged, spearing a piece of chicken with her fork and bringing it to her mouth, and he smiled, putting his container down and leaning across the table.

  “Here,” he said, taking the fork from her hand and replacing it with the chopsticks. He manipulated her fingers around the sticks, his brow furrowed in concentration, and Leah kept her eyes trained on his face.

  Maybe it was the fact that she had anticipated being with him all weekend, but right now, everything about him—his touch, his laugh, his voice—was driving her crazy.

  “There,” he said, pulling his hand away. “Try it now.”

  Leah strained to keep her fingers in the position he’d placed them in as she brought them down to her food, unsteadily gripping a piece of chicken between them. She raised it carefully from the container, grinning with pride as she glanced up at Danny, but the sticks shifted in her hand. She tried to pinch them together quickly, but they slipped and snapped together, sending the chicken flying across the table into Danny’s chest before it bounced into his lap.

  She pressed her lips together, staring at him, and he looked down at his lap and then back up at her before they both started laughing. Danny grabbed the piece of chicken and popped it into his mouth before he reached across the table and took the chopsticks.

  “Okay, you’re cut off,” he said, handing her back the fork.

  Leah smirked as she took it from him, spearing a piece of chicken just as the double beep of her phone alerted her to an incoming text. She reached down with one hand and pulled the phone out of her purse, swiping her thumb over the screen to read the message.

  She laughed softly before replying.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “My dad,” Leah said, finishing her reply before she pushed the phone away. “He just asked me how old my brother was when he stopped sleeping with his stuffed dinosaur, which could only mean my brother is at his house right now and they’re having a heated discussion over this very topic. I’m sure I’m being called in as a referee.”

  Danny smiled. “How old was he?”

  “Fourteen. My brother’s gonna say I’m full of shit, but that boy was fourteen.” She watched as Danny lifted his chopsticks and grabbed some lo mein; with a quick roll of his wrist and a twist of his fingers, he had the long noodles twirled into a neat roll on the end of the sticks. He glanced up at her and brushed his shoulder off haughtily before bringing it to his mouth, and Leah rolled her eyes, causing him to chuckle.

  Her phone beeped twice and she leaned over. “My brother,” she said before tapping the screen. Leah smiled as she held the phone up, turning it around for Danny to see.

  YOU ARE SO FULL OF SHIT!

  Danny laughed as she placed the phone back on the table. “Told you,” she said.

  “Your family seems cool.”

  “They’re the best,” she said, taking a bite of a pot sticker. “You gotta have a thick skin to roll with us.”

  “I believe it,” he said with a laugh.

  “What about you?” Leah asked, taking a sip of her water.

  “What do you mean?”

  “What’s your family like?”

  He laughed humorlessly. “Not like yours.”

  Leah twisted the cap back onto her water. “You don’t get along?”
/>   “We get along, I guess.” He shrugged. “We’re just not that close.”

  “Do you have a big family?”

  “Just me, my mom, and my sister.”

  “What about your dad?” she said.

  “I don’t know my dad.”

  Leah watched him for a second before she dropped her eyes. “Did he pass away?” she asked, sifting through the chicken with her fork.

  “No, he left before I was born.”

  “Oh.” After a few seconds of silence, she said, “I’m sorry.”

  He shook his head. “It’s fine. I mean, I’m not fucked up from it or anything. I guess I could have been, but I had a family. It just wasn’t my real one.”

  “Your mom wasn’t around either?”

  Danny exhaled, running his hand through his hair. “No, not really.”

  Leah bit her lip before she said, “We don’t have to talk about this.”

  “I don’t mind,” he said. “I mean, if you don’t mind hearing this shit.”

  She shook her head. “I want to know about you. Even the shitty stuff.”

  He smiled sadly, his eyes dropping for a second before he said, “Here’s the thing about my mom. She did her best, but life dealt her one crappy hand after the other. She got pregnant with my sister when she was eighteen. Supposedly that guy had the decency to hang around for a year after she was born before he took off.”

  Danny looked up as he said, “I’m sure it sucked. I mean, I can’t imagine being left with a baby that young. And I guess at that age, the only way she could think of to fix it was to find a replacement for him. She went looking for a guy who could take care of them. And she thought she found him.”

  “Your father?”

  Danny nodded. “I still don’t know if she got pregnant to try and keep him or if it was an accident, but either way, he obviously wasn’t into it.”

  Leah frowned, and he said, “So she ended up a single mom to two kids from two different guys who wanted nothing to do with her.” Danny reached over and spun the bottle of water on the table. “She had to work two jobs just to pay the bills, and when she wasn’t working, she was out trying to find the next man who would take care of our family. So we never really saw her. I mean, the two jobs thing couldn’t be helped, but I just wish she had realized we didn’t need the man. We would have been fine without a father as long as we had a mother.”