The truck turned the corner and headed up the
familiar street to the house that Trey had spent most of his life. He didn’t
like the circumstances he was coming home to, and felt like a failure for doing
it. He parked his black truck next to the mailbox and looked through the
passenger window at his childhood home. The familiar door looming in the
distance gave him the feeling he was sixteen again coming home from a long day
of baseball practice.
The
porch light was on even though the sun was still setting. The grass had been
freshly cut. Trey smiled, moving back in with his parents wasn’t what he had in
mind but he looked forward to seeing his parent’s everyday. Maybe it wasn’t
going to be as bad as he originally anticipated he. Home cooked meals, family,
familiarity, but most importantly quiet. He hoped returning home would help
with his insomnia.
He
grabbed his bag from the passenger seat and walked up the front steps. They
were wet and had grass stuck to them. His dad must have just finished cutting
the grass, something he always complained about but when Trey would offer to
help his dad would make up an excuse for him not to help. He liked being
outside alone and as Trey got older he enjoyed the same thing his father did.
Trey rang the doorbell and waited.
“Who is it?” Trey recognized his mothers
voice over the barking dog. He had forgot about their dog Buddy. A little white
maultese.
He smiled. The good thing about being home
was seeing his parents on a daily basis. “It’s your wonderful son.” He said.
She
opened the front door and couldn’t contain her excitement. He was wrapped in a
hug that caught Trey by surprise. She kissed him on the cheek and scolded him
for not eating nearly enough.
“Ed!” she shouted up the stairs. “Your son is
here.” Kathy grabbed Trey’s bag and walked him into the kitchen. It was exactly
how he remembered it. The refrigerator was the first thing on the left when you
walk in. White tile spread across the entire kitchen. A light blue booth with a
wooden table attached was in the right corner. The countertop spread across the
back of the kitchen with brown cabinets on top and bottom.
Trey
slid into the booth and listened as his mother recounted all that has taken
place since he’d been gone. Friends married, neighbors moving on, and the
Musker’s ever growing presence in the area making it harder for families to
live in peace.
“These peace officers have the right to come
into our homes and search our belongings to make sure there is no tie to the
Alphas.” Kathy said as she finished making a sandwich and placing it in front
of Trey. He couldn’t believe they would do that. Trey had never experienced
such things where he was living. He never understood any of the hardships
people had taken on. He was isolated in his bubble content on living his life
and not focusing on anyone else. He took a bite of the sandwich and there were
a rush of feelings coming back to him, the soft bread, and the smell of the
familiar kitchen, it smelled like freshly baked cookies all the time.
“They just walk right in the house?” Trey
asked with a mouth full of roast beef.
“They leave most of us alone but in the one
case where they believe someone is working with the Alphas then they…” she
didn’t finish.
“They what?” Trey asked. He could see how
visibly upset this made his mother. He thought better of pushing the subject.
He grabbed his mother’s hand. “It’s really great to be home mom. I’ve missed
you and dad a lot.” Kathy began to tear up. “ I mean I am going to love having
home cooked meals and laundry service.” She smiled and hit him on the shoulder.
“You’re going to be helping around the house.
Your dad is really excited to have you back.” Trey finished his sandwich and his
mother cleared his plate.
“He’s had a hard time with the empty nest.”
She began. “When Kelly left it was hard, but when you left he didn’t know how
to spend his time. He would sit for hours in your room looking out the window.
You should have come around more or at least called.” She was right. Trey had
been nonexistent in his parent’s lives for the last few years. He would go home
for holidays, stay a day or two, drop off elaborate gifts then head back to the
city. He never realized his parents missed him, or his father would be so upset
he wasn’t around. His father never showed any emotion or attention, he was very
reserved with his emotions and often distanced himself from Trey.
Ed
walked into the kitchen and Trey got up to give his dad a hug. Ed paused for a
few seconds looking at his son before gripping him in a hug that made it seem
if he were to let go he’d never get a chance to hug him again. Trey
reciprocated the gesture and couldn’t help but smile. It felt great to be back
in his childhood home. For the first time since he was fired he felt everything
was going to be okay.
A
few hours after dinner Trey sat with his father on the couch in their living
room watching TV. The living room was all dark brown tile with a black and
brown rug that Trey’s dad had fought to keep out of the living room. Stains
littered the rug, and the matted felt made it feel warm and welcomed. The TV
was set in the back right corner of the room with a fire crackling to the left
emitted a warm glow. Pictures of Trey and his sister lined the walls. The dark
brown couch was centered in the middle of the room and connected to form an “L”.
Ed sat with his feet up in his recliner which faced the TV and was connected to
the couch.
“How have you been pops?” Trey asked. This
was the first time they were alone together. Kathy was in the kitchen cleaning
up. She was humming songs as she finished cleaning.
“Good.” He said. Not taking his attention
away from the TV. Trey and his dad never really expressed their feelings and
tonight wasn’t any different. He began to wonder if his mother had made up that
story about his dad. He continued to force conversation.
“Anything exciting going on?” Trey asked. He
didn’t know why he asked, he knew the answer before it was even given.
“No.” Ed answered. Trey got up from the couch
and walked to the kitchen to help his mother finish up. Talking to his father
was like pulling teeth, he always seemed upset with Trey or resented him for
reasons Trey couldn’t even fathom. He stood between the kitchen and the living
room, listening to two televisions blaring two completely different shows. Trey
couldn’t help but smile, he loved being home with his family.
“Need any help in here?” he asked.
“No sweetie, I’m just about finished.” She
replied. She looked to be in a trance cleaning the stove. Trey smiled, he
remembered back to his childhood when his mother would tell him and his sister
to clean then stop them half way through cleaning because they were doing it
wrong.
“I love you mom.” Trey said and headed to his
room to figure out what his next step was.
His
room was completely different. His old bedroom had been remodeled. His dark
blue carpet and white walls were gone. Light brown carpet covered the floor and
light green paint spread across the walls giving the room a tropical feel. It
didn’t hurt that there were paintings of palm trees and oceans on every wall.
The bed was pushed against the back wall of the room with the dresser at the
opposite end. He slid open the closet and still hanging were his baseball
uniforms, exactly how he left them.
He
flopped down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling. He laid there for a few
minutes soaking in everything that transpired, two weeks ago he had everything
he wanted, but he grew a conscious made decision that helped two hundred people
keep their jobs. He was fired lost his home and his girlfriend. But just as
sleep was about to over power him, he smiled. This wasn’t where Trey pictured
himself at the age of twenty-five but he didn’t care for the first time in a
very long time he was able to close his eyes and fall into a deep sleep.
