“We’re waiting!” Her image wobbled in her excitement, and Carrie smiled.
“I can’t wait to see you.”
“We can’t wait to see you too! Daddy’s been cleaning all day. Rose has a cold.”
“Oh!” she laughed. “I hope he’s not cleaning for me.”
“Yes he is! He said he wants everything to be perfect for you. I even had to clean my room!”
“She didn’t clean it very well,” David said in the background.
“Well, I’ll see you two in a few minutes, okay?”
“Okay, Carrie.”
“Bye!”
The picture faded to black on her phone, leaving Carrie with a grin as she held her coffee with both hands to warm them up. The mental image of Adam cleaning sent a giggle running through her, and she couldn’t stop smiling.
She’d been on a few dates in Wilmington, and she’d had a good time, but no one had affected her like Adam had. They got each other in a way that she hadn’t been able to replicate with anyone else. It was strange because they were both very different people, they had different likes, different temperaments, but when it came to understanding each other, their relationship was perfect. She often wondered about him—if he was dating anyone, if he was doing well—and she couldn’t believe her luck when the job in Richmond rolled around. She hadn’t planned to come back. She’d driven all the way to Richmond to interview, but she didn’t tell him she was there because she didn’t want to see him only to have to leave again.
Snowflakes were falling as she left the coffee shop. It was nothing like that storm last year, but it was nice to see snow again. Barely enough to require her windshield wipers, she put them on intermittently as she pulled the U-Haul down the street toward the Fletchers’. When she arrived, she stopped and stared as she saw the house. Adam had decorated for Christmas. The candles were lit, the greenery on the banisters outside, and she could see the lights of the tree through the window.
She sat for a moment in her car, taking it all in. Excitement tickled its way up her spine like a shiver. She was about to see Adam for the first time since she’d left a year ago. It seemed like yesterday. She’d spent a year getting to know him better over email, which was strange, but being so far apart, they had no other way. Countless times she wished she could just sit across from him like she had in his kitchen and talk until the sun rose. In the last few months, he’d emailed her almost daily. She’d even tried to coach him in writing to make a soufflé. The photo he’d sent over of the final product proved that she really needed to be there to help him out. He was a lost cause when it came to making those. Now, the zinging excitement that she felt at finally getting to be with him, face to face, was making her giddy.
Her phone lit up on the seat in her car. The screen said “Adam,” and she smiled to herself.
“Hello?”
“Is that you sitting outside in your car?”
She laughed. “I’m just admiring your decorating.”
“Well, I learned from the best. Come inside. It’s freezing out there.”
Carrie turned the engine off and got out of the car. For the first time, she could see the green lawn and the perfectly trimmed hedges. The snow was barely falling, and it hadn’t covered everything yet like it had last time. She walked up the steps and before she hit the bell, the door opened and there he was. Exhilaration shot through her limbs all the way down to her fingertips. She tried to get a deep breath to calm herself without making it too obvious. They both stood still for just a moment. It had been a long time. His hair was a little shorter, but everything else was the same. He was smiling, his excitement shining out through his eyes.
“Hey,” she said as if she’d just left him yesterday.
“Hey.” He opened the door wider to let her come in.
“The house looks nice,” she said, chewing on a smile. “It’s very… clean.”
“Mm hm.” He closed the door. He was looking at her, and she knew instantly—as if she’d never left him—that unspoken language of theirs. It sent flutters through her stomach. “It’s so good to see you,” he said.
“It’s good to see you too.”
They both fell silent, as if both of them were taking in the fact that they were together again.
“Did you bring a dress?”
“I did.”
“Allie will be happy to see you. You can meet Zach, Carolyn’s new little brother.”
“I can’t wait!”
David came in from the kitchen. “Hi, Carrie!” he said with more enthusiasm than she’d ever seen from him.