Homecoming
Episode: 1: Homecoming
POV: Andrew
Home. I was heading home after four years of service.
I was still torn about the decision not to re-up, but my family needed me. My brother was proposing to the love of his life, Marnie, I had a new niece, and I was ready to be away from the desert, pop-up sandstorms, and camel spiders…eeek. The things still gave me the hibegibees.
Although I had made so many new brothers within my unit, I was ready to lie my head down on my own bed.
Now that my time was done, I had to think about the future. Honestly, I had joined so that I wouldn’t have to think about what to do next. All that had been asked of me was to follow orders. I didn’t have to plan my days or make decisions for myself. The military was all about schedules and routine. I had relished it, at first, but it was all so monotonous now.
I had lived as modestly as possible to prepare for my discharge, saving every penny I could. With the money I had saved, I could get started building a cabin on the farm property. Of course, I could just take out a loan and have a house built, but I would end up in debt for years paying it off. There was also something about building with your own hands that was so much more satisfying.
Yup, I was set to start life again as a civilian, but it would take a while to figure out what path I wanted to take.
We landed a little around three in the afternoon, and it felt good knowing my family would be waiting at the gate for me. The sounds of the PA system and people moving were a drastic change from the quiet flight. The last time I came home, it had been my buddy Marco waiting at the taxi terminal. This time I got to see my Mom, Sarah, Will, Marnie, and even little Sydney. Sydney was holding up a sign that read, Welcome home, Uncle Andrew, while Will’s sign said, Be ready to work. I couldn’t stop the barrage of tears welling up in my eyes as I waited patiently for the line to progress. All of these people were too slow!
I finally was able to break free from the line of disembarking passengers and high-stepped it towards my family. I reached Sydney first, since she had dropped the sign to run towards me. She jumped up into my arms and gave me a tight hug around my neck.
“Uncle Andrew! I’ve missed you!”
“Not as much as I’ve missed you,” I replied.
The first time I had met this little angel, she had been terrified of me. I had worked very hard, and by very hard, I meant lots of bribes, to get her to warm up to me. I think the tree house that Will and I had built was probably the main catalyst that had won her over. Although the toys I had won for her at the rodeo had helped, too.
I set Sydney down to receive hugs and to be welcomed by the rest of the family. Marnie was the one to wipe away the few tears that had run down my cheeks. “Welcome home, Andrew.”
I hugged everyone, Mom already grumbling about how much weight I had lost, and Sarah warning me about not messing up the house.
“It’s good to be home. Besides, there was no way I was gonna play in the large sandbox for the rest of my life. The other guys kept stealing my shovel.”
That earned me a few giggles from Marnie, “I guess we’ll just have to let you play in Sydney’s sandbox then,” she said as she patted my hand, “I’m sure she will share.”
Of course, Sydney didn’t miss a beat, “That all depends. How much is it worth to ya?”
“It’s like that, huh?”
The little thief flashed a devilish grin, “Uncle Andrew, don’t worry. I’ll give you the family discount.”
Inside, I was laughing my ass off. I looked at Will, “See what you have done to my sweet Sydney. I hope you are proud of yourself.”
Will scooped Sydney up, “Absolutely! I don’t have to worry about her falling for any of your shady schemes.”
“What? I don’t have shady schemes. It sounds like you’re worried about the wrong person.”
“Right…,” he gave me a huge grin before pulling me into his side, “Ya know, with you home I don’t feel quite so outnumbered now.”
I gave his back a pat, “Just you and me facing the onslaught of estrogen farm waves now, Bro.”
Will sat Sydney back down as we began making our way to the baggage claim, “For now. Who knows, maybe we can convince Brandon to stay when he gets here.”
I hadn’t seen our brother, Brandon, since my dad’s funeral. He had traveled out west to escape farm life as soon as he had finished high school. He was the tech genius of the family and seemed to be doing well with his cyber career.
“I doubt it. Just go ahead and give me a nephew to target practice with Nerf guns already.”
Marnie laughed as she moved into Will’s side, “Not so fast. I don’t plan on bringing another child into this world without a wedding ring.”
“Oh, how responsible of you. So boring,” I balked, pointing a finger into my mouth. I caught Will’s grin out of the corner of my eye. He had told me months ago he planned to propose but wanted to give Marnie and Sydney enough time to adjust. He probably would have proposed as soon as she had moved in, if not for the sick psycho of an ex that had been stalking them. He was dead now.
Watching them walk together, Sydney smiled at me before skipping to catch up to them. She pushed her way in between them and grabbed their hands. By the time we had left the terminal and made it to the bottom floor, she had convinced them to become her personal swing, picking her up on the count of three and flinging her feet into the air before lowering her back to start the counts again. Mom and Sarah were busy chatting about dinner plans as I found my large duffel bag on the conveyor.
I had missed this. The carefree interaction between my family was something that could never be replaced, but I felt like something was still missing. Hopefully, now that I was home, I could find it.
POV: Veronica
God, I needed a drink. I had just finished my fourth showing today to the same couple who didn’t like stand-up showers, gravel driveways, or being near trees. Every house seemed to have a new dislike to add to their list. The only saving grace had been the fact that they drove themselves. If I had been stuck chauffeuring them around, it would have been a red day. I was seconds away from telling them they were in the wrong town when I was saved by a phone call.
I peered at the caller ID, recognizing Stacey by her name ‘my favorite bitch’ on my screen. I held up a finger at Charles as he continued to grumble about the popcorn ceilings.
“I have to take this. Be right back.”
Leaving out the front door and walking towards my car, I swiped the option to answer, “Have I told you lately that I love you?”
“Only twice so far today. That bad, huh?”
“You have no idea,” I mumbled into my phone, “I am overdue for alcohol, stat.”
Stacey giggled into the phone, “Then you know what must be done.”
“No, please, for the love of God, don’t say it,” I whined as the couple came out, meticulously judging the color of the siding.
“Oh, yes, whore! We are heading to the bar.”
I could feel the migraine starting as I rubbed my temples. Turning away from the buyers from hell, I whispered into my phone, “Have I told you lately that you’re a bitch?”
“Hmm, at least six times today…But I’m your favorite bitch,” she cooed at me. I could practically feel her snarky grin.
“Yeah, yeah. Alright, I should be done here, so I’ll see you at the office in about twenty.”
“Tootles.”
I ended the call, training my lips back into that seller smile I had perfected. “So what are we thinking?” I turned to the couple who were deep in debate.
Charles shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck while his wife, Jamie, turned to me.
“It’s just not the right fit.”
’And you two have no idea how to make a house a home, or the meaning of the word renovate!’ I kept my composure as my head screamed. This house had everything they had asked for. If the cosmetic issues hung them up, problems that could easily be ratified with a can of paint or a scraper, then they weren’t buying.
“Well, I am sorry to hear that. I’ll keep an eye out and let you know if anything comes up, Mrs. Stevan,” I gave a small nod and then turned my attention to Charles, “Mr. Stevan. Please don’t hesitate to call me if you wish to view anything else in the meantime.”
I locked up as the couple got in their vehicle and left. It had been three weeks since my last closing, and there weren’t a whole slew of buyers at the moment. If my next few clients ended up like the Stevan’s, I was fucked.
I made it back to the office with ten minutes to spare before closing time. Stacey was waiting up front for me. One look and her face turned to a pout, “Oh, it was that bad?”
I went to the little mini fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. Twisting the cap and guzzling half the bottle before I responded, “Wasted my whole fucking day.”
I put the bottle up to my head to let the remaining cool fluid chill my forehead as Daryl came sauntering up from the back offices. I could tell from his smirk that he thought he had a shot today.
“Hey, Ronnie! How did your showing go?” He moved in a bit too close, the smell of his Joop cologne invading my nostrils. He propped his elbow on the desk, cocking his hip as he crossed his loafers. “You must have talked them into a great deal with my listing.”
I barely glanced at Daryl as I opened my bottle again and chugged the rest of the water. He remained peacocked against Stacey’s desk, flaunting his Rolex watch and Gucci loafers, thinking he was sly. I had been doing this dance with Daryl for several months now, and the bastard was getting bolder even though I had shut him down repeatedly.
“Complete bust,” I finally answered him.
Daryl was the type to keep barking for attention, so I tried to keep it minimal for the sake of keeping my job. I had worked hard to become a realtor and was working even harder to become a million-dollar seller without the strings that my father could pull. With his connections, I could have been hired on the spot in any reputable commercial big firm, working for high-name clients and selling my soul to the bigwigs without ever having worked for any of it. To Hell with that. My father may be happy with that, but I wasn’t.
I was going to make a name for myself without relying on Daddy. Ever since he left Mom and went to bed with conglomerate demons, he had changed. I didn’t want my reputation to be a reflection of him. I was my own person, but my sanity and patience were reaching their limit with this bozo.
Daryl leaned in closer; the smell of the onions from his lunch was still pungent on his breath, overpowering his cologne. “How about I take you to that new Chinese place that just opened up to chat about it?” He crooked a finger and brought it towards my arm, attempting to caress my sleeve.
I turned my head to glare at him, “Daryl, I’m trying to stay as polite as possible, so please, accept my most humble Fuck Off I can give.”
The look of pure shock was absolutely priceless. Daryl had the confidence to make a sale, but he was an absolute leech who needed to be put in his place. The secret touches and glances down women’s blouses were borderline sexual harassment, but he had finally taken it too far.
I could see him fighting to control his face as he opened his mouth to try to salvage his offer for a date.
“Ronnie, I-”
“It’s Veronica… and the next time you try and touch me, or ask me out, I will file sexual harassment with personnel,” I crossed my arms, legs shoulder width apart, and gave the best menacing look I could muster, “Now Fuck…Off.”
Daryl looked like he had been slapped. I was probably going to get an earful from Ted Monday morning, but his nephew had overstepped. Being the boss’s kin had been the only thing saving this punk’s ass. Good thing I was officially off the clock of caring. He left through the front doors, shaking his head.
“Holy shit, that was epic,” Stacey fangirled as she grabbed her purse, speeding around the desk to pull me into a side hug. “That deserves a shot. To the bar!”
Yes, to the bar indeed.
