Thawing Sarge

Part 1: A Start.

 The snow glistens on the other side of the living room window. I can almost feel the cold radiating off the glass. It's a familiar feeling. I've sat in this window seat to watch the snow every winter for as long as I can remember.

 The trees in the backyard probably used to be smaller, but so was I. A lot was different back then. The whole family used to squeeze onto the bench to watch the snow. I'm the only one who still finds the time. Everyone else fell out of the habit as my brothers and I grew up and spread out. I suppose time seems more precious when your kids are little.

"Wow." My mom says as she walks into the room. "It's really coming down out there now." She leans over the bench to get a closer look. "I hope your brothers get here safely. At least you got home before it really started."

I close the book in my lap before looking up at her and smiling. "Yeah. They can handle the snow though. I'm sure they'll be here soon." My voice remains calm despite the spark of worry I feel for my brothers. Mom is probably worried enough for the both of us. The least I can do is keep calm.

It's pretty normal for us to be worrying about them. All of my older brothers decided to follow in our father's footsteps and join the military, even after we lost Dad overseas. We typically only see them every six to twelve months. They're always home for Christmas though. We're excited but reasonably anxious every time.

Mom settles onto the couch, opening her own book as I find my place in mine. We hear the front door open a few minutes later, both of us jumping up and rushing to the foyer.

 Alex is kicking the door shut behind him when we get there. I run into his arms, barely processing the soft thump of his bag hitting the floor as he catches me. Relief floods my veins, he's home and Liam and Noah are probably right behind him. Nothing ever feels as good as seeing them safe and sound again.

We spend some time asking him how he's been and just catching up in general before the front door opens again. This time Noah walks through the door, immediately getting ambushed by the three of us.

"Hello to you too." Noah laughs. We pull away to get a good look at him."I missed you guys." He continues on but there's something different about him. The spark in his eyes is dimmed. He's left some of himself on a ship somewhere. I should be used to this, to them coming back a little different each time, but it feels like a stab to the heart.

Some little part of him is as frozen as the icicles hanging off the gutters. 

"How are you?" I ask timidly, desperately hoping that he still has the important parts of himself.

He starts to take off his coat before answering me. "I'm okay, it was tough out there but I'm still alive." He turns and hangs his coat on the rack by the door before turning back and continuing softly. "Not everyone was so lucky."

Fear erupts in my chest. "Where's Liam? Wasn't he supposed to be with you?" My words are rushed, the panic audible.

"He's okay." Noah answers as quickly as I asked. A weight lifts off my chest. "He had something holding him up and he didn't want me waiting on him so he booked a later flight. He should only be a few hours behind me." His explanation relieves my panic but triples my impatience for him to get here.

After we all take a moment to lower our heart rates, we move into the kitchen. Even after a year or two apart, we still each sit on our designated stool decided at some point in our childhoods. Mom puts snacks out and it feels just like when we would come home from school to her already in the kitchen, waiting for us to tell her about our days.

I've longed for nostalgic moments like this one for a long time. They're few and far between these days and have been for years. I like to bask in them when I can.