Thread: Coming Home [Firm x SYD3RS]

For the first time in a long while Ashley did not reach forward to turn on the car radio. She used to hate the quiet that filled the metal frame when she was all by herself, so she always turned the radio on in order to fool herself into feeling like she was not alone. Music was her faithful companion, providing an adequate distraction from her loneliness without the risk to her safety. But she was no longer the sole occupant of the vehicle. Now she had Steven with her, and she did not need music to keep her company. She had her husband for that, and having the radio on was an unwelcome disturbance to the seemingly peaceful silence going on between them. Ashley did not even need to look his way or touch him to feel his presence, it filled up the car like the very air she inhaled. Having him there with her even made dealing with traffic a little easier. She was pleasantly surprised to find herself waiting patiently, not drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, fidgeting in her seat, or muttering curses under her breath until the cars around her started to move as if they were trying to get away from her. Though traffic had pretty much slowed to a crawl, she kept her gaze focused on the road. Conditions could change without a warning, and she would rather not get rammed into another vehicle because she was not paying attention. Which was why she only spared Steven the quickest of glances when she heard his voice coming from beside her. Uh... The movement of the person in front of her delayed her speech as she pressed her foot on the gas pedal to go forward. Working mostly. I got a job as a kindergarten teacher, which is more demanding than it sounds. Lesson plans were a pain to write, and she spent a lot of time sitting at the kitchen table staring at books full of age appropriate activities, along with binders with standards and codes that needed to be adhered to in order for her to keep her teaching license as well as her job. Thank God the state provided a curriculum for her to follow, or she would have no idea which direction to go in sometimes. Not much of a social life to speak of. Most of the people she had been friends with before were now parents or working hard themselves, which left little or no room for keeping in contact with one another. My coworkers are pretty friendly. At this point she threw another sidelong glance his way before returning her attention to the road. You'd be surprised how many men are in early childhood education. At least she had been. Finally things started moving at a pace faster than that of a snail. She remained focused solely on the task of navigating the highway away from the airport until she took the appropriate exit ramp off and made her way to safer and less populated streets. My oldest brother, Justin, has a first wedding anniversary coming up. My family has been pretty absorbed with that lately. At the red light she finally turned her head to fix the full force of her green-eyed stare on him, another smile curling her lips. Having you there will surely take the spotlight away from them. It already had in a way. Her entire family was looking forward to having Steven back, and that had been the topic of more conversations than the anniversary. There had even been talks of throwing a party for the occasion, but Ashley had talked them out of it. Both of them needed time to readjust, him as a civilian and her as a regular wife instead of an army wife. Oh my God, am I talking too much? The light turned green and she continued her journey. I'm talking too much, aren't I? She gave a short, breathless laugh that dissolved into a soft smile. I'm just so happy to have you back! Ashley shrugged a single shoulder, her cheeks showing a slowly brightening red tint as she blushed sheepishly. I have so much to say yet, like, nothing at all. Ashley wrinkled her nose as she listened to herself speak. That made no sense, did it? Okay, I'm rambling. I'll just shut up now. With that she sank her teeth into her lower lip to stop herself from speaking any further. They were not long for home now. Within half an hour Ashley pulled off the road and onto the driveway of the duplex she had been living in since before he was deployed to Iraq. She turned off the car and simply sat there for a moment, thinking about how today was truly the beginning of the rest of her life. Well, it would be if she ever got out of the car. She unbuckled her seat belt, taking the keys out of the ignition and climbing out of the car. She went to the trunk to retrieve his bag, hoisting the heavy thing onto her shoulder before slamming it closed and making her way to the front door. It took a bit of shifting to keep the strap in place as she unlocked the door, but eventually she opened the thing and stood just inside. Welcome home.