Annie looked up, seeing a woman running across the yard, her arms opened wide. The look on the woman’s face as she threw her arms around Shane burned itself on Annie’s mind. A mother who hasn’t seen her son in over two years. A mother who didn’t know if he was coming home.
As she watched the reunion of mother and son, she felt the raw emotion pouring out of Shane’s mother. Tears slid down her cheeks witnessing the affection war with grief over two years lost on his mother’s face. Pressing her fingers to her lips, she tried to choke down a sob. Shane’s eyes were closed, but she could see the elation on his face. Pure, unadulterated joy. It was one thing to talk about his mother not seeing him for over two years, but to see the agony mixed with joy in person was overwhelming.
Noticing movement on the porch, her eyes swung over to see a young woman and man run down the steps following their mother into the family embrace. Another man, holding a small child with a pre-schooler by his side, stayed on the porch watching the scene in front of them evolve. Not wanting to disturb the reunion , she decided to stay in the truck, still trying to choke back the tears.
Finally, Shane lowered his mother back to the ground as she continued to hold his face in her hands. He wiped his mother’s tears, leaning down to speak softly to her. Pulling her in again, he smiled at his brother and sister over their mother’s head.
Glancing around, he realized that Annie was not there. Twisting his head, he saw her still seated in the truck, tears shining in her eyes. He knew she was giving them their moment. Smiling, he caught her eyes and watched her smile back at him. Sunshine.
“Mom, you’ve got to let go for a moment. I’ve got to get Annie.”
At those word, Shane’s mother jumped back looking into the truck. “Oh my goodness. I’m so sorry,” she exclaimed as she let go of Shane.
He assisted Annie from the truck, then he tucked her tightly into his side as they walked over to the group in the yard. Shane’s mother rushed up to hug Annie just as tightly as she was hugging her son.
“Oh my dear, you must think me to be an emotional fool!”
“Not at all, Mrs. Douglas,” Annie quickly assured her. “I can’t imagine what you have gone through. I just hope it’s all right for me to be here.”
“Please call me Mona and you are more than welcome here. My son has spoken of you on the phone and I know how important you are to him.”
Shane pulled Annie back into his embrace and began the introductions. She assumed correctly that the younger woman and man were his sister, Megan, and brother, Rick. As they made their way onto the porch, she also met Megan’s husband, David. Megan took the smaller child from her husband’s arms so that David could pick up the shy four year old trying to hide.
“Megan, you just had this one when I left,” Shane said in awe as he looked at his nephew in her arms.
“And you, little man. You must be Kenny,” he said to the child peering back at him with big eyes.
Mona ushered them into the house, all settling into the family room. Annie couldn’t help but notice the similarity between the home she grew up in and Shane’s. Warm rooms comfortably furnished and decorated in what her mother called ‘early family’, meaning family pictures covered the walls.
Allowing Shane and his family to have more time to catch up, she looked at the family photos displayed. One in particular caught her eye. An older version of Shane stood with one arm holding a little girl and his other hand resting on the shoulder of a young boy, while smiling at Mona, who was holding a baby. The father was big, muscular, and very handsome. And Shane looked just like him. Her eyes went down to little Shane, seeing the blue of his eyes just as intent that that age.
“Annie,” she heard Shane say. Turning around, she noticed him sitting on the sofa, an empty space next to him. “Come here, baby.”
Smiling as she walked over, she glanced at Mona, who was beaming. “I love your pictures, Mona. My parents have family pictures all over their house too.” Laughing, she admitted, “Even though I only have a small apartment, I decorate in ‘family’ also.”
“No fancy painting adorning any wall is as meaningful as the family pictures in a home,” Mona declared.
“Oh my goodness, Mona, you’ll have to meet my mom. She says the exact same thing.”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Annie blushed. “I mean…if you ever…I just meant…”
Shane pulled her into his embrace, kissing the top of her head while smiling at his family. “It’s okay, baby. They know we’re serious, so it makes perfect sense for the families to meet sometime.”