Thin Air (Complete EDITING)

10- Seth

10 Seth May 15, 2020

The unseasonably hot weather made working outside of the office a real doozy today, but the sight that greets me when I walk in the door distracts from the uncomfortable salt stiff shirt stuck to my back.

My oldest daughter, Sydney, is at the table, the kind of laughter that leaves your belly sore filling the dining room. Her hand is clutching the bicep of the nerdy young man sitting to her left. My younger kids, Morgan and Caleb, are across from them, laughing along. While my pillar, my wife, Shannon, stands watching from the kitchen with a dreamy smile on her lips.

My heart softens at the peacefulness she radiates when all of our kids are home. I mirror her position in the doorway, soaking up the joy of my family good-naturedly laughing at Syd's poor boyfriend. In this moment, I fully understand why they're her happy place.

Young love fills the air around Sydney as she listens to her guest retell the story of how they met.

I've arrived in time to find out he sprayed her favorite leather journal with black ink in the middle of an early morning class they shared. Apparently, the poor guy was on the receiving end of quite the ass-chewing until she got a good look at him. He had bitten a pen, and the ink dripping down his chin had stained his face with a devil-like goatee.

"In my defense, that journal was beautiful, and I was exhausted!" Everyone laughs harder when Sydney tries to justify her bad attitude. "Hey! You know how I get when I'm tired!"

"Oh, trust me, we all know." My wife walks over, laying her hands on our girl and her beau's shoulders. "If you two are going to make it, you're going to need to let her get at least nine solid hours every night."

Chuckling, she adds, "We used to flip a coin to see who had to wake her on Christmas morning. While those two were chomping at the bit to tear into their gifts, we'd have to drag this grumpy bear to the tree."

"Those little chocolate orange slices make it worth the early day," Sydney smiles.

Seeing my daughter so carefree sends a ping to my chest. She looks so much like her mother at that age. The last time we were together. It makes me wonder what Erin would look like now. Would she have those little silver hairs at her temples as Shannon does? Or would she have let vanity prevail and kept her hair dark? Her mother, Sydney's grandmother, has had salt and pepper hair since I met her back when I was in high school.

When Erin disappeared almost eighteen years ago, I never dreamed my life would turn out so full despite such a loss.

For years there were candlelight vigils; we combed the woods exhaustively and followed each and every lead no matter how absurd. Every tip was another dead-end. Finally, the day came when I had to accept that my wife was not going to be found.

I didn't intend to fall in love with Shannon but our paths kept crossing, and she was always so genuinely kind. She never treated me like I was broken. It was refreshing when everyone else tiptoed around me like they were walking on eggshells.

We had a long journey from friendship into a partnership and the slow burn into the comfortable love we share now happened naturally. Being near Shannon is like that moment when the sun breaks through the clouds after a week of rainy days.

She was such a blessing in those first few years when I struggled to take care of Sydney on my own and has continued to be the thing that grounds me in the years that followed.

_____________________

Shannon may as well have been an angel when she walked toward me that day at the diner. My father-in-law and I were awkwardly standing near the restrooms, trying to decide the best course of action.