Homecoming

The air was calm on the cool May morning. No cars moved on the elm lined street of the quiet suburb. The birds sang their usual morning greeting to the sun as the squirrels moved quickly through the trees. The sky was clear and there was an obvious sense of tranquillity.

On the corner of this peaceful street stood a modest, two-story house. A pristine white picket fence lined the outer edge of luscious green grass. There was an apple tree in the front yard and a bed of yellow, white and lavender flowers along the house. Broad wooden steps connect the cobblestone path way to the huge porch of the house. On the ledge of the porch were a few potted plants and a hanging fern over the cushioned bench. The house is a pale shade of blue, that could be mistaken for white at first glance, with blue trim. The house was the perfect picture of tranquillity - from the outside.

Inside, the house was filled with quiet chaos. A woman in a floral dress rushed about the kitchen, frantically cooking. The table in the adjoining dining room was set with the best china. The woman had a youthful glow to her this morning that defied her forty-seven years. Her hair pulled into a loose bun on the top of her head so that it would not get in the way as she finished her cooking and last minute cleaning. She had been up since dawn and still had not run out of energy or things to do.

A man in only a bath robe wandered sleepily into the kitchen, seeking a cup of coffee. He moved groggily about the kitchen, gathering the few necessary items needed to make the perfect cup of coffee. A minute later, the woman returned.

“Get out of the coffee, David! You that is for Tim,” she said shooing him from the hot liquid he desired.

“Well, I don’t see how he will notice one cup of missing coffee, Mary,” David whined as he made another failing attempt at the coffee pot.

“Tim has been eating that horrible Army food for the past pour months now. I am sure that when he walks through that door this morning he is going to want his favorite breakfast, made the exact same way I made it before he shipped out,” Mary demanded. “And if you really want something to drink, we have plenty of water.”

She returned to her cooking. David came from behind her and wrapped his arms around her this frame. He leaned in and gently kissed her cheek. He held her for a moment, it seemed like it was still the first week of their marriage. Then he thought of Tim and smiled proudly.

“It sure will be nice to have Tim back in the house, won’t it?” He asked softly.

“Yes, it will be nice to have our boy back,” she replied.

“I wonder if he has changed much. You know how they say people change when they........”

“I know that I want to get this cooking finished before he gets here. Now, leave me alone and go take a shower. Goodness gracious. It’s getting to where a woman can’t even cook a meal around here anymore,” Mary said mock annoyance as she wiggled out of her husband’s grasp.

Mary smiled as she watched David walk out of the room. There was a pleasant feeling in the air. She thought that things were going to get better now that her baby was coming home. Mary just knew that things were going to be alright now.

“So this is where you live?” The older man said.

“It sure is, Sir. I have spent almost my entire life in that house,” The younger answered.

Both men were dressed in uniforms. The older wore several bars of colorful ribbons on the left side of his chest. Each ribbon signifying an act of honor or bravery. To the right of his polished buttons dangled several shiny metals that had a tendency to clink when he walked. His face seemed weathered, like it had seen Hell and lived to tell the story. He kept an emotionless expression that seemed to match the stiff uniform.

The younger of the two wore a smile, the same khaki pants, brown jacket and stiff brown hat. The only difference in the uniforms was the amount of ribbons and medals that adorned his chest. There was only one bar of ribbons and two medals. One medal was to honor his bravery, while the darker of the two was to make up for the pain and loss he had endured.

“So what are you going to do now, Tim?” The older man asked and smiled for the first time since getting off of the plane.

“Well, if I know my mother, I am going to go in there and eat the biggest breakfast I have ever seen in my life. What about you Captain?”

“I think I will go home and take my wife and boy at to breakfast. My Doris was never too great of a cook. You take care of yourself boy. And if you ever feel like talking about old times, look me up,” the captain said as he closed the door to the taxi. He instructed the driver to his next destination and waved good bye to the young soldier about to re-enter normal, civilian, life.

Tim turned to face the house he knew so well. He lifted his shoulder to adjust the position of the duffel bag which hung from it. With two long strides he was at the gate he had kicked open so many times as a child. Again, he kicked it open and proudly made his way down the cobblestone path. Taking the stairs two at a time, he was at his front door within seconds. Slowly, he opened the front door.

“He’s here!” Mary announced.

“What?” David asked.

“Tim, he’s home.”

“How do you know?”

“I just heard the front gate being kicked open. You know that Tim is the only one that does that. Our boy is home!”

Mary leapt out of her chair and started toward the door. As she made her way though the house, she made past minute adjustments to thins that looked out of place. Her excitement could no longer be contained as she reached the door. She could see the familiar outline that she had been expecting through the white lace curtains that covered the glass. Mary pulled the door open just as time as Tim had put his foot down to hold the screen door open.

Mary stared at her son for a moment. She was so happy to see that he was finally home. He was no longer carrying a gun and crawling through battlefield mud. He was no longer a killer for the military, out hunting the Japanese on an island somewhere in the Pacific. No. Her baby was home, and she was never going let him out of her sight again. She only stared at his face as Tim let the duffel bag fall onto the porch.

“Hi Mom,” Tim said with the same child like smile he had when he left.

Mary now knew that her son was back and had not changed. She jumped into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. Tears of complete joy flowed down her cheeks. Tim closed his eyes and squeezed his mother tightly. Then he opened his eyes to see his father standing proudly in the doorway. It was his father who first noticed.

“What did they do to you?” David questioned as his proud smile quickly faded into a look of shock and astonishment.

“Nothing. Our Tim has come back exactly the way he left,” Mary answered, finally loosening her hold on the boy and backing away. Her hands moved down his arms. Mary wanted to hold the hands she held when he was a child and look at the man that now stood before her.

Her hands reached his elbows and she realized something was wrong. His arms didn’t feel right. For the first time since she had laid her eyes on her son, Mary took her loving gaze from Tim’s face. She had to examine what she felt.

Her fragile looking hands reached the end of the fabric of the uniform just as her gaze reached the same place. She cringed back in shock. The strong hands her son had left with were gone. In the place of each hand was a cold metal claw.

“I am lucky all I lost were my hands,” Tim stated with a comforting smile. “Some of the other guys lost an entire arm or leg, and the lucky ones lost their lives.”

Tim held up the metal extension to his arm. It was nothing more than two hooks joined at the base with a spring. It was designed so that Tim could still lift most things and open doors.

“It is taking some getting used to though. I had to practice opening doors for about a week before I got the hang of it. The biggest thing, though, is being very careful when I have an itch,” Tim said, still wearing the optimistic smile. He was beginning to feel a little awkward.

He could see that his parents were very uncomfortable. He had told he had been injured and that was why he was being sent home. But, he had never told them how severe the injuries were. Tim was now wishing he had.

“I am fine, Mom. And, I’m hungry. Do I smell bacon cooking?” Tim asked trying to get his parents to stop staring at him with such terrified looks. He leaned over to pick up his duffel bag.

“I’ll get that,” David said, forcing a smile.

Tim stood up. He leaned in and gave his mother a kiss on the cheek as he whispered, “I’m not that different now.”

Tim walked into the house, leaving his parents by the door. Mary turned and hugged her husband tightly. Tears of sadness now running down her face. The idea that everything was going to be just the way it was before the war, was gone.

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