Coming Home

She stood there, wide-eyed and completely immobilized.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, and she shook her head slightly. He stared at her until understanding washed over his face, followed by a slow smile, and then he reached down and clasped her hand, intertwining their fingers.

“Come on,” he said. “I know my way around down here.”

He stepped out of the elevator, pulling Leah behind him into the darkness of the basement. It was a long corridor, nearly pitch black except for two exit signs at each end of the hallway, which only served to cast an eerie red light in each direction.

Leah inhaled a deep breath, and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

“You’re fine,” he said through a tiny laugh just before a loud metallic banging gave way to a creepy humming noise. Leah yelped, tugging on his hand so that he stumbled back into her.

“It’s just the heat kicking on,” he said with a laugh. “We’re almost there.”

After a few more steps Da

It was a small space, about the size of a walk-in closet, filled with boxes and crates and plastic bins. Da

“Can I have my hand back for a sec?” he said through a barely contained smile. “I need to move some stuff.” Leah nodded before she released him, crossing her arms over her chest as her eyes combed the tiny space.

“Can we hurry? I really don’t like it down here.”

He laughed as he turned from her, lifting a box off one of the piles before moving it to the other side. Leah watched him move two more boxes before he stepped back, wiping his hands down the sides of his jeans.

“Okay,” he said, turning to her as he held out his hand, and she took it as he pulled her gently toward him.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and moved her so that she was standing in front of him. Leah’s eyes sca

And then she saw it.

She gasped loudly as both hands flew to her mouth, and she felt his hands slide down from her shoulders and rub the tops of her arms.

“I hope this was worth the trek down here,” he whispered.

She turned her head to look up at him, her eyes wide with shock and her hands still clamped over her mouth. He smiled gently before urging her forward, and she turned back around and dropped to her knees, her hands falling from her mouth as she ran them over the rough concrete.

She dragged them over the jagged LM that had been etched in the stone. She used her fingertip to trace the CM and SM next to it.

And then she reached the DM.

She didn’t trace it. Instead, she just pressed the pads of her fingers into the grooves, as if she could somehow embed the initials into her skin. Leah carefully slid her hand up until it sank into the indentation of her mother’s handprint.

It was a perfect fit now.

A soft sob fell from her lips, and she was suddenly aware of his hand on her back, rubbing gently as he crouched behind her.

“I repaved that yard last fall because some of the blocks sank in, and there were raised edges all over the place. I was afraid Gram was go

He trailed off, and Leah felt him run his hand over the back of her hair. “It just hit a nerve with me. So I got a crowbar, and I pried it up. I didn’t know what to do with it, but I just couldn’t junk it. I ended up burying it under some stuff in Gram’s basement. She never even knew I did it.”

Leah hiccupped on another sob, and he ran his hand down her hair again. “When you told me about this at The Cheesecake Factory, I wanted to tell you. I really did. But I wasn’t sure it was still there, or if it was still in one piece, and I just wanted to make sure before I got your hopes up. I went down to Gram’s and brought it up here while you were at the wedding this weekend.”

Leah stared at her hand resting in the imprint of her mother’s, and she said the only thing she could think of to say, even though it didn’t come close to expressing what she was feeling.

“Thank you,” she whispered as two more tears rolled over her cheeks.

“You’re welcome,” he said, his voice soft, and then she felt him press his lips to her temple before he stood. “I’ll bring this up to you whenever you want it.”

Leah sat there for another few minutes, letting her fingers meander over every dip, every bump, every line. Da

Finally she stood, turning to look at him for the first time, and his eyes met hers as he ran the backs of his fingers over her cheek, wiping away the remnants of her tears.

“Are you ready to go back upstairs?”

She nodded, and he held his hand out for her to take. “It’s go

She nodded again, and he clasped her hand before he reached above them and pulled the string, submerging them in darkness. They walked the few steps out into the hall, and Leah stood behind him, holding his hand in both of hers as he locked the storage unit before they made their way back toward the elevator.

They rode the entire way back up to Da

They walked to his door in silence, and she stood behind him as he fumbled awkwardly with his keys. She heard him inhale slowly, and she reached forward, bringing her hands to the sides of his waist as she pressed her lips to the back of his shoulder.

His head fell forward as the breath left him in a rush, and his hand tightened around his keys for a moment before he lifted his head and opened the door.

Da

“Da

They stood there, motionless, both staring at the other.

And then he moved.

With three long strides, he was suddenly in front of her, grabbing her face as he crashed his mouth to hers.

Leah’s hands slid up under his arms, gripping the backs of his shoulders and pulling him against her as her heart thundered in her chest.

It was like their first kiss all over again; the second his lips touched hers, a thousand butterflies exploded in her stomach, sending searing tingles down her spine and across her skin.

His hands left her face as he wrapped his arms around her waist, hoisting her up and causing their lips to break contact, and Leah wrapped her legs around his hips as he buried his face against the side of her neck.

“Leah,” he said roughly, pressing her back against the door before kissing the skin just below her ear, and she tilted her head to the side, giving him better access.