The ship was carrying 300 people on the trip home, which included the crew, the host couples, the newlyweds, and some of their families. The trip would take two weeks to travel back to Zodar, which was in a different solar system. The planet was almost identical with Earth, and in fact, if you didn’t know you were on a different planet, you would think you were still on earth.
It was as if the two planets were identical copies of each other, the only difference being, Zodar had the epidemic. It was still a great planet to live on, as it had less pollution, less crime, less prejudice, and less poverty, which were all good thing to have less of on your planet. The landscape resembled Earth, with its mountains, plains, desserts, swamps, and as well as its cities and farming areas. Zodar even had the same types of wildlife as Earth had.
The part of Zodar where the ship was headed for landing was like Missouri, especially the Kansas City area. The city was called Diamond City, because diamonds were first discovered in this area hundreds of year ago.
The next two weeks went by fast for the newlyweds, and in about an hour, they would be finally landing on Zodar. Sara was excited and was so nervous she couldn’t even eat all her lunch. What would happen if Toby didn’t like her? Travis tried to comfort her by telling her everything would work out fine and figured she would have to just wait and see.
Finally, it was time to leave the ship. Everyone had all their belongings packed and was anxious to leave. People were starting to make their way out of the ship, and the mood was high. Fathers were excited about being home to see their children they left behind, the new brides and grooms were nervous about starting their new life together, the women all prayed this would be a better life for them. The whole trip had taken five weeks, two each for travel time and a week for retrieving the women and performing the weddings.
Sara was happy to have her good friends in this new world, but sad to see the time had come for them to part ways for the time being. She promised to see them soon as she hugged each one of them, then each went their separate way.
As Travis and Sara left the ship, Travis took hold of Sara’s hand, gave it a light squeeze, and smiled at her. “Are you ready?”
Sara shook head yes, “I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
“We will have to hire a taxi because my parents dropped me off.”
All at once, they heard a little boy’s voice calling, “Papa, Papa.” Then they saw a little boy running in their direction as fast as his little legs could carry him. Travis knelt to greet his son, and as the little boy ran into his arms, in the process he knocked Travis down onto his backside.
Travis let out a peal of laughter as he hugged his son to his chest, as he had missed this little fellow more than he thought was possible. This was the first time they had been away from each other for this length of time. Occasionally, Toby spent a night or two away with his grandparents, but never this long. Toby wrapped his arms around his father’s neck and gave him a big wet kiss on the lips. “I love you, Daddy.”
“I love you, Toby.” Travis said, standing with Toby’s arms still wrapped around his neck.
An older couple came forward and the lady took hold of Sara’s hand and quickly shook it. “Welcome, to Diamond City. I’m Melissa Hays, and this is my husband, Tom.”
Mr. Hays reached for Sara and engulfed her into a big bear hug, then quickly stepped away, as if he was embarrassed by his show of affection. “We hope you will be happy here,” Tom said as he smiled at Sara.
Sara felt a little overwhelmed, surprised to see that they both seemed genuinely happy to meet her. “Oh, I’m sure I will be and thank you for this warm welcome.”
“Toby couldn’t wait for his father any longer at home, so we decided to come down to meet you. I hope you don’t mind?” Melissa eyes looked for approval from her son-in-law.
Travis walked to her and gave her a hug, with Toby holding on tightly to his neck. “No, this is fine,” he muttered, worried how Sara was going to react for his ex-in-laws being here.
Everyone just stood there staring at her, no one was moving or saying anything. Sara wasn’t sure what to say to these people, as she was taking their daughter’s place in Travis and Toby’s life. “We want you to know you are always welcomed to see Toby, as he is part of your family.”
A teary-eyed Melissa hugged her. “Thank you so much. Tom and I was worried you’d be one of those brides that didn’t want the first wife’s family in their grandson’s life.”
“As I told Travis, a person can’t have too much love. I’m sure Toby will be better off with his mother’s family still in his life. We must all keep her alive for him.”
Travis took Toby over to Sara to introduce him to her. “Toby, this is your new mama.”
Toby reached his little arms out to Sara and she took him into her arms. As soon as he was there, he gave Sara a wet kiss on her lips. “Hi, new mama.”
Everyone laughed and the tension was finally broken. Sara continued to hold Toby as they all made their way to the parking lot. They didn’t have to wait as their belonging would be sent out to them later.
The airport reminded Sara of the terminal at the KCI Airport. People were going in all different directions, people calling out someone’s name to get their attention, and children who hadn’t seen their fathers for over a month were hollering for their attention. The noise level was more than Sara could stand and was glad when they finally reached the door to the outside. With everyone in tow, they gradually made their way to the car.
Toby was talking nonstop about all the things he did with his Grandpa and Grandma while they were together. Sara was surprised to hear how well Toby spoke for a two-year-old, she couldn’t understand every word he was said, but the others seem as if they did.
Suddenly he put both of his little hands on either side of Sara’s face, started talking to her, telling her about anything and everything, especially about all his toys at home.
“Toby, slow down, Sara isn’t going anywhere. You don’t need to tell her everything about your toys now.” Travis said to his young son.
“It is all right, I don’t mind.” Sara gave Toby a big hug. “We are going to get along fine, aren’t we?”
Travis smiled, because he could tell she was already falling in love with his young son.
Sara’s first sight of Zodar was breathtaking as their planet was simply beautiful. The sky was dotted with blue with big puffy white clouds, the temperature was warm, and everywhere she looked, she saw green.
The day reminded her of a beautiful July day at home, feeling as if she was still on Earth, because everywhere she looked, it looked just like home. They stopped next to a van, which was identical with some of the ones on Earth. In fact, all the other automobiles in the parking lot looked familiar too. This didn’t surprise Sara since Travis told her there were many Earthlings now living on Zodar, who had brought with them their culture and belongings. Everywhere you looked, you could see the same items as they had on Earth. She figured she would see more and more things that would remind her of Earth.
Travis drove with Sara sitting up front with him. Melissa sat in a middle seat, while Tom and Toby sat in the back, with Toby sitting in his car seat. As they drove to the house, Sara saw a Sam’s Restaurant, which cause her to laugh. She wondered if they would have her favorite sandwich, the Chicken Fried Chicken Sandwich, and would have to check out their restaurant as soon as possible.
As they pulled into the driveway, Sara took one look at the house and her mouth literally fell open, but quickly closed it as she stared at the house in front of her. She couldn’t believe it, as the house was exactly the style and color, she always dreamed of having, a split tri-level, blue, with burgundy trim.
Toby had fallen asleep during the fifteen-minute ride to the house but woke up as soon as they all started piling out of the van. When Travis got Toby out of his car seat, he handed him to Melissa, Sara was slightly hurt, because she thought he was going to give Toby back to her. A tear appeared, slowly making its way down her cheek, but she took her hand and quickly wiped it away, as she didn’t want Travis to know how his actions had hurt her.
Travis opened the front door, quickly picked Sara up into his arms, and carried her over the threshold. Sara let out a little squeal of surprise as she hadn’t been expecting Travis to do this wedding ritual, but it made her happy he did. Paul had refused to do it, because he thought it was a stupid tradition. She now realized why he hadn’t given Toby to her, she smiled at her new husband and briskly kissed him on the cheek.
As Travis carried her into the living room, Sara looked away from Travis and noticed a couple watching their every move, each with a smile a mile wide on their face, causing her to turned red with embarrassment.
“Travis, please put me down, you have company.”
Travis sets Sara down next to the couple. “Sara, this is my mother, Betty McBride, and my father, Chris McBride. Mom, Dad, this is my bride, Sara.”
“It’s nice to meet you, but embarrassed you saw Travis carrying me.” Sara hastily covered her redden checks with her hands.
Betty McBride touched Sara’s arm, moving her hands away from her face and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Don’t be embarrassed dear, it’s tradition. Besides we are family now.”
“Congratulation and welcome to your new home. We hope you will be happy here.” Chris McBride said as he gave her cheek a hurried peck.
Travis’s parents had prepared a wedding reception for them. On the table sat a beautiful wedding cake, a dish with mints, mixed nuts, and bowl full of a foamy punch. They spent the time visiting and becoming better acquainted with each other.
It was surprising to Sara that both set of parents treated her as if she was their child instead of a stranger. Toby crawled into Sara’s lap as soon as she sat down and stayed there during the party. Later Travis gave Sara a tour of the house, with Toby holding on tightly to Sara’s neck. It was as if he was afraid, she would leave him, and not come back to him, as his mother had done. The only word Sara could think of to describe the house was ‘Perfect’. She wouldn’t change a single thing in the house, not even the items that had once belonged to Allie or Jean.
It was late now, and both set of parents were finally gone. Toby was asleep in his bed, and the newlyweds were ready for bed. Sara and Travis had tucked him in together and then Sara read Toby a bedtime story, and he was asleep before she could even finish the story.
Travis took Sara’s hand and together they walked into their bedroom. She was so happy with her marriage and new home; all were a dream come true. She had no doubts now that she had made the right decision in marrying Travis.
Kayla couldn’t believe they were almost to Zodar. Tomorrow afternoon she would be seeing the planet for the first time. She had trouble falling to sleep, her mind was busy thinking about her life on this new planet she was going to soon landing on. Finally, she gave up trying and woke Alex up. They talked for a while, made love, and afterwards, Kayla snuggled in Alex’s arms and soon she fell into a deep sleep.
Since they had all rode to the airport together, Alex’s parents were going to give them a ride to Alex’s apartment. Once they were settled, they would start looking for a house, and she could hardly wait to start house hunting.
As they walked to their car to wait for his parents, Kayla looked all around her at all the many different sights, thinking she couldn’t believe this wasn’t Earth. They didn’t have a long wait because Kevin and Emily arrived shortly after the newlyweds.
“Well, Kayla what do you think of our planet?” Kevin asked as he unlocked the car.
“It’s beautiful! I already feel at home here.”
They all piled into Kevin’s car and as they drove through the town, Alex pointed out certain places of interest to Kayla. She saw a Sam’s Restaurant in the distance, and laughed, as she had been going to Sam’s as long as she could remember, their tater tots were her favorite food.
Alex knew Kayla needed just twelve more hours of college to finish her Accounting degree, as all her class credits would transfer from Earth. Now that she was pregnant, he wasn’t sure of her plans. They hadn’t discussed their plans that included a baby yet, as they were somewhat still in shock.
Alex pointed out the college as they drove by.
“Oh, Alex, do you think I can go to school this fall and work on finishing my degree? I probably won’t be able to finish my degree this semester, but maybe later, when the baby is older I could. I hate the thought of going to school with a new baby to take care of.”
“Don’t worry sweetheart, you will be able to finish before the baby comes. They have accelerated classes; the semesters are just nine weeks long and you’ll be done before you know it. Look, there’s my old grade school.” Alex pointed as they drove by the school. “Depending on where we live, our children, could go to school there.”
As the car continued its way to Alex’s apartment. Emily started telling Kayla stories about Alex, almost from the day of his conception. Kayla learned several new things about Alex, such as he hated cabbage and loved German Chocolate Cake. Emily said that he hadn’t like naptime as a child, but Kayla knew he didn’t hate them now, especially naps with her.
“Kayla, have you thought of baby names yet?” Emily asked as she turned in her seat to see Kayla better. “Alex was named after my father.”
“No, we haven’t talked about names yet. We have so many other things to do first.”Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
“Like what?” Emily asked.
“First, we need to find a house, and I want to enroll in school for next semester.”
“Emily, quit asking Kayla so many questions,” Kevin said as he touched his wife’s hand. “She will be around for a longtime. You don’t need to know everything today.”
Emily looked hurt, “I’m sorry Kayla. I’m so excited about finally having a daughter that I got carried away.”
Kayla smiled at her new mother-in-law. “Thank you for thinking of me as your daughter. I hope we will be close. My parents have been gone several years now, but I still miss them. I also want to thank you for giving Alex my wedding ring. It’s beautiful,” Kayla said as she admired her wedding ring.
“You’re welcome. I was worried you might not want your mother-in-law old ring.”
“No, I love it.” Kayla said sincerely.
“What kind of house will you be looking for?” Emily asked.
“We want a house with three bedrooms and plenty of room for a growing family. We haven’t decided on anything else.” Kayla looked over at Alex and smiled.
“I know of a house you could buy.”
As if Alex knew what his mother was thinking, “No, Mom, we aren’t buying the house next door to you and Dad.”
“It would be perfect.” Emily stated.
“Dad, do something about Mom.” Alex pleaded.
“Alex, your mom is right about the house. The Williamson’s house is in great shape and the price is way below the market. It would be a great bargain for you and Kayla.”
Alex looked over at Kayla. How would she feel living right next door to her in-laws? She smiled at him, the kind of smile, which said, she liked his parents and wouldn’t mind living next door to them. “Are you sure?” he asked.
“Yes, it sounds great.” Kayla said as she sensed the question Alex was asking her, “We will have handy baby-sitters right next door.”
“After we drop you off at your place, come over and I’ll have Martha show you the house. Kayla, you won’t hurt our feelings, if you don’t buy it. The Williamson’s have remodeled the house many times over the past ten years and it looks younger than it really is.”
“Mom, if it is all right with you, can we look at the house tomorrow? We want to get settled first and we need to plan on where Kayla’s belongings are to be delivered. I don’t want to move them twice if we don’t have to. It has been a big day for us, and I want Kayla to rest this afternoon.”
“That’s okay. I will call Martha and tell her you will be over tomorrow. She will have more time to straighten up the house that way.”
Finally, they arrived at Alex’s apartment and unloaded their few bags.
“Kayla, why don’t we lay down for an hour or so? Later, I’ll take you out to dinner, take a drive to see some more of the city and stop at a grocery store for some supplies for the week.”
“Sounds like a good idea.” Kayla yawned, “I’m tired, and a nap sounds great.”
“You go on ahead and lay down. I’ll be there after I go through my mail. Mom has been checking it, but I know there are some bills I need to pay today.”
Ten minutes later Alex walked into the bedroom, Kayla was under the covers and was sound asleep. Alex took off everything except his underwear, crawled under the covers and snuggled up against Kayla without waking her. As he placed his hand on her stomach, his thoughts were on Kayla and their baby. He couldn’t believe he was going to be a father. Would he be as good of a father as his father had been to him? He sure hoped so.
Slowly Alex became aware of his surroundings. Someone was touching him all over his body. It was a light touch, so light he could feel goose bumps rising on his arms. At first, he thought maybe, he was dreaming, he didn’t remember being in bed with anyone. Slowly he opened his eyes and saw his beautiful wife smiling at him.
“I’m hungry!” she stated.
“I can fix that problem.” Alex said as he grabbed her.
“Not for sex, silly. I want food.”
“Well then, let’s go eat.”
Later in evening, the newlyweds were lying in bed, with Alex’s arm around Kayla and her head on his shoulder. They started discussing some of the decisions they needed to make.
“Alex, have you thought of any babies’ names yet?”
“Yes, I like the names Cameron for a boy and Annie for a girl. They were my maternal grandparent’s names. What names have you picked out?”
Kayla sat up quickly, “You won’t believe this. Those are the same names I have picked out.”
Alex laughed, “Yea, right. You are just trying to please me.”
“No, those were the names of my paternal grandparents.”
“What a small world we live in.” They laughed. “Good, the baby’s name has been picked out. Tomorrow, we will enroll you in school and go look at houses. I’ll call my friend who is a realtor and have him show us several houses in the location we want so you will have several choices and not just one to choose from.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me.”
Maggie waved good-bye to her friends one last time. “Come on,” shouted Ryan and Cole as they pulled her away from the other couples. They were all excited about going home, as Cole told Ryan he had a surprise for him at the house, and Ryan couldn’t wait to find out what it was. Matt went on ahead to retrieve the car so they wouldn’t have to carry all the bags out to the parking lot and was beside the car waiting when they exited out of the building.
Maggie sucked in her breath as she looked at him, he was so handsome and just looking at Matt took her breath away, and he was all hers. Maggie though Matt was a romantic man and he made Maggie feel she was all woman, which caused her to think of last night’s lovemaking, which made her blush.
Matt looked at her just then and saw the blush. Maggie just smiled at him as he wiggled his eyebrows at her.
The past two weeks had been wonderful for her. Maggie had enjoyed the special time with her new family, for when they returned home, Matt would be at work each day instead of being with them. They decided Maggie would stay-at-home with the boys instead of working outside the home.
Matt helped them all into the car and made sure everyone was buckled up before starting on their trip home. Matt and Cole pointed out different places to the two newcomers as they drove home. Even though everyone had told her Zodar looked like Earth, but she thought they had been exaggerating the fact just to get her to come here, Maggie was surprised how much it reminded her of home.
“Mommy, look a Zappy store.” Ryan pointed to one of Maggie’s favorite stores. “Can we go there now?”
“Not now, Ryan, I want you and your Mom to get settled in first, maybe we can stop by later this evening. Don’t forget about your surprise waiting for you at the house.”
Soon they were pulling into the driveway of a beautiful blue ranch style house. Matt pushed a button and the garage door opened, slowly pulled in and parked the car.
Everyone piled out of the car and the boys started towards the house, but Matt called to them before they could open the door. “Boys, come back here and help unload the car.”
The boys moaned as they came back to the car. At the sound of the moan, Matt grinned at Maggie over the top of the car.
They hauled the bags out of the car and into the house, dropping everything in the middle of the dining room floor. After every belonging was in the house, the boys took off like a gunshot down the hall, with Cole leading the way. They could hear the children running down the hall and then there was silence. Suddenly Ryan started yelling for Maggie.
“Mommy come here. Hurry, Mommy, hurry.”
Maggie dropped the bag in her hand and ran as fast as she could down the hall. She stopped in the doorway to the room Ryan was in, expecting the worse. Her mouth dropped opened as she entered the room, “Oh, my!”
The room held all of Ryan’s belongings, everything, even the picture of Jack, Ryan and herself, which sat in the exact spot on the dresser as it had at home. Tears glisten in her eyes as she turned to Matt who was behind her. “How?”
He saw the tears and read her emotions in her eyes. “We transported it all here for you. It’s to help Ryan feel more at home. We brought your belongings here also.”
“Thank you.” She gives her new husband a big kiss.
“Let me show you our room.” Matt looked at Maggie, giving her a grin, as the words sounded strange to him. He wondered if she thought so too. When he saw her expression changed, he knew his words had affect her as well.
Maggie grinned, “Sounds a bit strange, doesn’t it? There have been times during the past two weeks I felt that this was all a dream. Ryan would have been taken away by his grandparents and you and Cole would have never existed to us. I want you to know how happy you have made us.” Maggie felt those darn tears starting again, so she quickly turned away from Matt, as she didn’t want him to see her crying.
Matt turned her back around to face him. “Don’t be afraid for me to see you cry. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, as I’m your husband now. I want to comfort you when you need it.” He took her hand into his. “Come on, I want to show you our room.”
They walked into their bedroom and Maggie smiled as she looked around the room. She thought the room was simply beautiful. There was a queen-size bed on the middle of one wall, and a bedside table on each side of the bed, and a dresser on each side of the room. Maggie could tell which side of the bed was hers because on the dresser laid some of her personal items. Also, on her dresser, sat two pictures, one was of Matt and the two boys together, and the other was of her and Matt, taken on their wedding day. She walked over to their wedding picture, picked it up and smiled. These pictures brought back wonderful memories of their wedding day. “How did these pictures get here?”
“I had them transported here from the ship. My parents set everything up for us so the house would be a surprise for you. My parents will be by later today, they wanted to be here when we arrived, but I asked them to wait a few hours to give you time to get settled.” Matt walked over to Maggie. “I want you to know the bedroom furniture is all new, none of it is from my first marriage, as I wanted us to have a fresh start.”
“That was thoughtful of you, but it wasn’t necessary.” Her voice slowly died away.
Matt looked away from Maggie. “I don’t want you to be surprised when you see them, but Cole has pictures of his mother in his room.” His voice had a touch of melancholy in it, and quickly cleared his throat.
“Matt, you don’t have to walk on eggshells with me about your first wife. The boys should have pictures and other things that belonged to their deceased parent. Cole will want to remember his mother, just as Ryan will want to remember his father.” She gently touched his face, moving his head until his eyes met hers. “They are both dead and we shouldn’t let their memories come between us.”
Matt quickly took her into his arms and gave her a big kiss. “Maggie, you are a good woman, and I love you.” He was surprised by his own comment, as he hadn’t realized he felt this way until he had spoken the words. Could one fall in love in two weeks?
Maggie smiled at him, “I think you are a wonderful man and I love you too.”
Matt started kissing Maggie again, but before they could become too serious, they were bombarded by two rowdy boys, who want to be included in the hugging and kissing. Soon they found themselves all on the bed. Everyone was laughing and trying to tickle each other, but the doorbell ringing broke up the game.
Cole jumped off the bed and ran out the bedroom door with Ryan right behind him. “Grandma and Grandpa are here,” he yelled from the other room.
Matt shook his head, “They are early, as I didn’t expect them for another two hours. I’m sorry that they’re early.”
Maggie smiled. “They have missed you and Cole.”
“It’s not that, they just want to meet you and Ryan. Come on.” Matt pulled her off the bed, “Let’s get this over with.” His expression changed to one of annoyance.
Maggie laughed at his expression, “I’m sure it won’t be that bad.”
Matt shook his head. “You don’t know my parents.”
When the newlyweds reached the living room, Matt’s parents were sitting on the sofa with a boy on each of their laps. They brought each of the boys a present, which was now ripped open and the torn paper laid abandoned on the floor. They each had a new toy truck in their hands, different colored, but the same type of truck.
Matt introduced his parents to Maggie. “Maggie, this is Jeff and Katie Adams. Mom and Dad, this is Maggie.”
Maggie put out her hand out to shake her new father-in-law’s hand. Jeff took Cole off his lap, grabbed her, and gave her a bear hug. “We are family now, so that deserves a hug.”
Maggie laughed, “I don’t think I have ever been hugged as much as I have these pass two weeks.”
After Jeff hugged her, Katie stood up and gave Maggie a hug, then took Maggie’s hand. “Come and sit next to me, I want to get to know my new daughter-in-law.” Katie sat back down on the sofa, waiting until Maggie sat down to her before she continued. “I’m sorry we’re early, it’s my fault. I just couldn’t wait any longer to meet you. I hope you don’t mind?” Katie waited expectantly for Maggie’s response.
Maggie shook her head, “No, I don’t mind. We were just horsing around together on the bed.” When Maggie saw Katie’s shocked expression by her comment, she blushed. “What I meant to say was that we were all on the bed together playing. As the boys wanted to be included in some hugging and tickling. The boys have become inseparable these past two weeks, and to think I had been afraid they might not hit it off, but they put my fears to rest.”
They visited for about an hour, then they decided to go out for dinner. Katie wanted to take Maggie to her favorite restaurant, Sam’s Restaurant, which of course was Maggie’s favorite too.
After saying good-bye to their friends, Luke, Brianne, Austin, and Amy went to find Luke’s parents, who were coming to pick up the travelers. As the crowd slowly began to thin out, Luke was able to spot his father in the distance and waved his hand up in the air to get his attention. When his father finally saw them, he waved back, and they head towards them.
Luke and Austin quickly hugged both of their parents.
“Mom and Dad, this is Brianne, my wife and her sister, Amy. Girls, this is our parents, Emily and Jacob.”
Luke’s parents took turns hugging each of the girls.
“Welcome to Zodar. We’re so glad you decided to come to our planet.” Emily was holding one of the Brianne’s hands in hers. “The boys were so excited when they found the two of you and was all they talked about for days.”
“Mom, you don’t have to tell them all of our secrets.” Luke said to his mother, with a mock of seriousness in his tone.
Everyone laughed at Luke’s comment.
“That’s what moms are good for, didn’t you know?” Emily turned to Amy, she looked seriously into Amy’s eyes. “So, Amy, have you agreed to marry Austin?”
“Yes, I have. We haven’t decided exactly when, but it will be sometime after my senior year of high school. I want to go to college next year, but I don’t know if it will make a difference on when we get married or not.”
“You’re both are too young to be getting married right now anyway. You will have plenty of time to decide before you have to get married.”
The travelers picked up their luggage and headed towards the parking lot.
“Brianne, what are your plans?” Jacob asked.
“Luke said I could work at his company to help him out around the office. I can flirt with the boss, take long coffee breaks, make long personal phone calls all day and no one will dare complain to the boss about me.” Everyone laughed, “That’s one of the good things about being married to the boss.”
They arrived at the Baker’s station wagon, which reminded the girls of the one the many cars their father had own when he was alive. The guys sat in the front seat, while the women sat in the back together. Emily started telling stories from the boy’s childhood. Soon everyone was laughing at all the trouble these two men had gotten into when they were younger, and the girls shared some stories about each other. Soon they arrived at Luke’s house and everyone quickly piled out of the car and began unloading the necessary luggage.
Brianne and Amy hugged Mr. and Mrs. Baker good-bye. Amy walked over to Austin, thinking no one was watching, hurriedly gave him a kiss. Turning back towards the others, she saw four pair of eyes watching their exchange, and she blushed.
“Do you guys mind?” Austin asked shaking his head. “How’s a guy supposed to get some privacy around here?”
Suddenly the rest of the family turned their backs on the young couple to give them the needed privacy.
“Okay, Mom and Dad, I’m ready to leave now.” Austin said as he headed to the car.
Luke, Brianne, and Amy watched as the car started away down the road, each deep in their own thoughts as the car disappeared around the corner. They slowly picked up their luggage and entered the house.
“Amy, I’ll show you to your new room first. I hope you like it, my mom decorated it, but you can change it anyway you want to.”
Luke led the way down the hallway. As they reached the room, Luke moved out of the way to allow Amy a full view of her new room.
Amy gasped as she stepped into the room. “Yellow! Brianne, can you believe it?” A soft gasp escaped her. “My new room is yellow.” Emotion filled her voice. “However, did Emily know yellow is my favorite color?” she asked in surprised awe.
“We know a lot of things about you two, probably more than you would like us to know.”
Amy walked over to the bed and picked up an old worn out stuffed yellow bird as tears appeared in her eyes and she gave the old stuff toy a hug. “My mom bought this for me many years ago, but I never had the heart to throw it away.” She continued to look around the room. “How did all my belongings get here?”
“We had it all transported here. It’s to help you feel more at home here.”
“Thank you, I can’t tell you how much this means to me to have my belongings here. I guess Scott and Dirk will never find our things now.” Amy walked over to her new brother-in-law, put her arms around Luke’s waist, and gave him a big bear hug, then lightly kissed his cheek.
Luke was embarrassed with this show of gratitude and quickly stepped away from Amy. “Come on, I’ll show you the master bedroom.”
The girls followed Luke to the other room. The room had Brianne’s belongings lying throughout the room, but none of the furniture from her old room was here. “Brianne, if you worried about your bedroom furniture, it is in the spare bedroom. Since your bed was a twin-size, I thought we could use your furniture for our children.”
Brianne smiled at Luke, “That will be fine. Thank you for the wonderful homecoming as this place already feels like home.” She kissed her new husband, not on his cheek as Amy had, but on his lips.
“I’m glad you both like your new rooms. Austin and I did all the painting, while Mom arranged the furniture.”
“If you two don’t mind, I think I’ll go lay down for a while.” Amy said as she headed out of the room.
“You go on ahead. A nap sounds good to me too.” Brianne said just before she yawned.
“Later, I’ll take you both out for dinner.”
Amy returned to her room and quietly closed her door, leaving the newlyweds alone for the first time since breakfast. Luke shut their bedroom door and locked it. He reached for Brianne and lightly touched her breast. He put his arms around her, bringing Brianne’s body tightly against his. He kissed her passionately, showing her with his body language he wanted her, she responded, telling him with her body, her answer was yes.