Home

By Megan Neumann, OMSII

My footsteps tap on the cold concrete of my parents' porch. I shift my bags so I can reach the handle of the screen door. The screen door opens with a low moan, and I glance at the bay window to see if Millie noticed.  

Millie lifts her head on the other side of the glass. I know the moment she spots me, because she leaps off the window into the living room, barking like mad. Her bark is so high-pitched I can barely hear it. Her "my people are hooooommmeeee!!!" bark, that only comes out when family is at the door.  

I prop the screen door open with my shoulder and reach for the door handle. As I turn it, I hear loud thumps coming from inside and a moment later the door is pulled out of my hands.

"Hey, Meg!!" My brother grins at me as he tries to keep his balance - Millie is dancing around his legs, trying to reach me.

"Hey, Bro! Millie, move!" I push my way into the hall so I can set my stuff down. Millie promptly steps on my hands and licks my face.

"Need any help, Meg?"

"Yes, please!" I say as I fend off the dog. "There's stuff in the trunk - yes, Millie, I love you too - honey, I need to move -"

The screen door bangs shut as Aaron heads out to grab stuff from my car.

"Hey, Meg!" A voice like Aaron's, only deeper, greets me. "Aaron getting stuff out of the car?"

"Yup!" I say, grinning up at my dad as I pet the dog. Same words, almost identical posture as Aaron. The older Aaron gets, the stronger the resemblance is.  

"Hey, sweet-girl!" Mom thumps slowly down the stairs towards me. She's leaning on the banister & the wall - her "stupid ankle" is causing problems again, but the pain doesn't dim the sparkle in her eyes, or the sunlight that comes from her smile. "It's good to have you home! Daddy and Aaron can help you bring things in!"

"Oh gee, thanks," Dad drawls, rolling his eyes. Never mind the fact we both know he was going to help me anyway.  

"You're welcome," Mom says overly-sweetly, and Dad looks at her, and I can see it in their eyes -

"Aaronnn -" I not-quite-shout dramatically, "They're flirting again!!"

"Sorry, can't help you," Aaron says, fumbling to handle one of my boxes and the screen door.

I snag the dog by the collar and pull her into the adjacent living room, out of the way of Aaron and the box, which he takes care to "accidentally" bump Dad with on his way to the basement - the default storage location for all of my stuff, since it smells like air freshener and wouldn't all fit in my room anyway. 

"Gordon, go help your daughter," Mom says as she finishes making her way down the stairs. "Here, Meggie, I'll take the dog."

I pass Millie off to Mom and pick myself up off the floor. Dad holds the screen door open as I troop past him towards the car.

"Wait for me!" Aaron skids down the hall, trying to make it before Dad shuts the door. Rolling his eyes (and Dad wonders where I get it!) Dad reopens the door, and Aaron bursts out past him.

Dad closes the door gently - rather than letting it bang shut - and meets us at the car, where I'm distributing baskets of laundry, my pillow, my laptop bag, school books, and everything else I brought home.  

As I heft a basket of laundry, the handle of my laptop bag wrapped around my wrist so I don't lose track of it, I see Mom through the screen door, petting Millie and smiling like stars have lit on her face. Millie whines, her tail sweeping the floor as she strains against Mom's hold on her collar.

Behind me the trunk slams shut; Dad's footsteps pace beside me. From the other side of the car, Aaron's voice asks, "Any more, Meg?" 

"Nope, that's it!" I say, grinning.

It's good to be home.