Everything was ready. The tree was up and decorated, there were lots of brightly wrapped presents underneath it, some for all of the soldiers that she would be sharing her home with this holiday. It had been hard, but she had been buying for a long time to make sure they all had more than enough. Money was hard for Janet to come by. She worked at a daycare from six am until five pm, and then four days out of the week she would work from seven pm until one am at a local shipping business, keying things in for them. It was hard working two jobs and living the life of a single woman, having to take care of four soldiers, but Janet thought that it was worth it.
She was cooking the largest meal she ever had, not wanting to run out of food for the four men who would be at her house sometime that day. Janet had no clue when, or what they would look like. She didn’t even know what Zach would look like by now. Her heart was racing, and as she heard the loud slams of car doors outside, Janet’s smile ripped into her face like the grand canyon had rented out the space. Doing her best to hide her excitement, she unlocked the door and went back into the kitchen. Calm down, Janet, she thought to herself, It’s just Zach and his friends. Nothing to be so exciteable over. You’ll be fine. It will all be fine. You just need to worry about cooking.
As the door opened, and she heard the thuds of things being thrown to the ground, Janet felt her stomach do a flip flop. The soldiers were home. They were in her house, and she was in the kitchen and not even greeting them. Cooking. She needed to cook so she didn’t get overexcited and give it away. They couldn’t know.
Wiping her hands on her apron, she slowly made her way into the living room. She was bombarded by her brother, who had her lifted off the ground in a tight hug. “I missed you so much!” he called out before sitting her down. Janet noticed the extra muscle bulk, and how much more mature he looked. Green eyes looked over his shoulder and settled on the other three standing quietly, hands being wrung in their hands and eyes staring at the ground. Her soldiers, home at last!
Stepping over to them, Janet wrapped them all up in a hug at once, at least, she tried to. “I’m so glad you’re home,” she said quietly. Home, she told them it was home, and that was what mattered. Janet wanted them to feel at home. “It’s so great to finally see you all at last.”
The guys were quiet for a moment, and all began talking at once, each one introducing himself and thanking her profusely. Janet told them it was no big deal, it really wasn’t, eyes lingering on each of them. They were all attractive, though there were two that her eyes lingered the longest on. Shaking her head a bit, she showed them to the guest room, and to Zach’s room. There was a futon set up in Zach’s room, and two twin beds in the guest room. “You all can figure out your sleeping arrangements,” she said, “I have to finish cooking.” Smiling, she went back into the kitchen, smiling at Zach who was sitting at the table.
“It’s so good to be home, sis,” he said, watching as she began to add spices to a pot. “The guys are ecstatic too. They didn’t shut up the whole way, all they could talk about is how excited they are to finally meet you. Funny how quiet they are now.”
“Mmhmm,” Janet said, opening the oven to check on something. “I’m glad they’re here. Tell them to come in here and get something to drink. Y’all can watch a movie or something if you want. Dinner won’t be done for another two hours or so.”
Zach smiled, and got up to hug his sister. “Alright, and thanks again. They’re so glad to have somewhere to go for Christmas, you just don’t know.”
“Well, I couldn’t think of them having no where to go. Besides, they’re cute,” she laughed. Zach frowned slightly. He didn’t like the idea of his sister liking anyone. Sure, his friends might be worth it, but that didn’t mean he wanted her to fall for them. Or them for her.
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