Two Heartbeats on One Page

Chapter 19

Darcey had been asleep at the time of Jordan's call, but he was up only a few hours later, at 4:00 a.m., so nervous about his interview he couldn't get back to sleep despite being even more exhausted than the day before.

He normally wouldn't be up for at least another hour, so he rolled back over and pulled his sheet over his head. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and lay still for a moment.

No. He wasn't getting back to sleep.

He sighed and pushed himself out of bed, pulling on a t-shirt as he headed out the door. Downstairs, he pulled the paper off the doorstep and went back to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. He set up a full carafe so there would be some for his parents when they came down.

For a long time, he quietly sat, sipping his coffee and reading the paper. He pulled out the world events section and folded it up, sliding it to the side for later. When he was done with the comics, he put them aside for Ally and pulled a Walgreens insert for Lexi since she liked to stop by the one near her school with her friends after class.

Fingers of light slowly began to creep through the kitchen window. It was just after 6:00 when soft, light footsteps descended the stairs. Darcey smiled when Jess stepped up behind him and wrapped one arm around his shoulders, like she did every morning he was here at home.

"Morning," he said.

"Good morning."

"I made coffee if you want some. There's plenty for both you and Dad."

"Thanks, hon," she said, but she didn't move away. Darcey turned the page and scanned the article titles, then asked, softly, "Hey, Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you always do that?"

She squeezed him a little tighter and wrapped her other arm around him. Her arms were thin but strong and she smelled like lavender soap, exactly like when he was little. Everyone had gotten older and a lot had changed, but at least he could count on some things being constant.

"When you were younger, you were always up first, too," she said. "Even on the weekends. You were always awake when I came to get you for school, pressing your JROTC uniform or getting your books together or finishing some last minute homework." Her voice was soft and a little shaky.

"Mom?" Darcey asked.

"I'm just so glad you're home," she said. "I'm sorry if I've been clingy since you got back. I'm just so relieved and thankful you're home safe with us."

Darcey's breath caught in the back of his throat and the back of his neck burned with embarrassment and maybe even shame.

"I didn't exactly come home in the most admirable way, Mom," he said softly.

"You did, though. And I'm proud of you. I'm so proud of you."

"Mom," he said softly, but he was smiling and his face was a little warm.

"Sorry," she chuckled. She let him go and walked over to the counter to fix herself a cup of coffee. "I know, I'm such a mom."

Darcey smiled again and went back to the paper. When Jess sat down across from him and said his name, he lowered it and looked up.

"Yeah?"

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

His eyebrows drew together as small pricks of worry crawled down the back of his neck. "Mom?"

She looked at him a long moment, then sighed and shook her head. She smiled and simply said, "When you're ready, I'd really like you to bring him over for dinner. We all want to meet him."