A Moment With You.

10

Eve before departure, 1935.

It wasn't long before everyone arrived during that dinner. John came in half-withered by the harsh weather outside, snow on his shoulders. Arthur brumbled in with a laugh and some gifts he had brought with him, together with his wife, Veronica. Joseph drove up with the car as he made sure that his presence was noticed with a toot of the car horn. And then, there was the tall and calm Victor with a beautiful wife named Claudia. Come what may, that man never faltered once. My sister arrived shortly after, together with our father and her husband Andrew. Then came the Lloyd couple. Annabelle, my childhood friend, and Becker, her husband. Together with the brother of Elizabeth, too.

"Howard!" Annabelle rejoiced as she hugged me tightly.

"Help, help! I'm being choked!" I teased for the sake of comedy, but she knew I had missed my friends.

"Let me just tighten my grip then. I'm sure you'll run out of oxygen soon, darling."

"How wonderfully murderous of you." I sarcastically replied with a cocky attitude.

"You know me so well," She fired back with sarcasm and joy.

"We grew up together. Come now." I stated.

"We did, we did."

"Howard, here, from my wife." Arthur said as he handed me gifts that he had brought with him.

"Tell Elizabeth we appreciate being invited," Veronica politely stated as they both handed me the gifts before they all sat down. There they were, all together. Victor, Sarah, Claudia, Arthur, John, Becker, Annabelle, our father and even -- even -- Elizabeth's sister. I never knew that company could feel so good, especially people we cherished and cared about.

Some people want a big house, or a fast car, or money and fame with a social status. Some, though, just want a small house somewhere in the mountains, away from civilization, together with someone they love. For me, that was it. That was all I really needed.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking, that's all." I got slapped back into reality as John had approached after he stood up to get some extra plates and checked up on me.

"You've been like this for a while now, since months ago."

"It's the draft. We're gonna have to go back, aren't we?"

"Seems so. You've ...?"

"No. No, I haven't told her."

"You're only going to make this more painful on her, Howard," John stated.

"I know, John. I know."

"Boys! What's taking you so long?" Veronica and Annabelle waved their hands for us to come over. So we did, as John brought the plates and we all sat down to talk, together.

"Dad, how've you been?"

"Working. Three and a half years off the bottle now."

"I'm proud of you, dad."

"You've been three years without drink, Mr. Williams?" Claudia asked.

"Three years, yes. It was foolhardy of me to think liquor could kill my sorrows after my late wife. Thankfully my son and daughter here pulled me out'o tae darkness, they did." Our father's thick halfway British, halfway American accent rung through widely.

"Goodness me, congratulations!" Claudia cheered him on as we both smiled at him as his children, too.

"What about you all?" Elizabeth asked.