CHAPTER TEN
Family Dinner
Sunday afternoons meant one thing.
Family dinner.
Luke pulled into his mother’s driveway just before one o’clock. The familiar white farmhouse sat beneath a row of towering maple trees, the smell of burgers already drifting through the warm summer air.
Emily smiled as she climbed out of the truck.
“I forgot how much I love coming here.”
Luke slipped his hand into hers.
“My mom always cooks enough for an army.”
“And somehow still sends us home with leftovers.”
“That’s because she thinks I don’t eat enough.”
Emily laughed.
“She’s never seen you around pizza.”
The backyard was already full of family.
His mother stood at the grill flipping burgers.
She set the spatula down and hurried over the moment she saw them.
“There you are!”
She hugged Emily first.
“It’s so good to see you.”
“You too,” Emily replied.
Luke’s mom looked at her son.
“And you.”
Luke smiled.
“Hi, Mom.”
She hugged him tightly.
“You’ve been working too much.”
“So I’ve been told.”
Emily grinned.
“Every day.”
After everyone filled their plates, they gathered around the long picnic table beneath the shade trees.
Conversation bounced from work to weather, vacations, and funny childhood stories.
Luke found himself laughing more than he had in weeks.
It felt good.
Normal.
Comfortable.
Halfway through lunch, Luke’s mother looked across the table.
“How’s the job search going?”
Luke swallowed his bite before answering.
“I had an interview last week.”
Her smile widened immediately.
“Oh, Luke, that’s wonderful.”
Emily beamed.
“He did great.”
Luke shrugged modestly.
“We’ll see.”
She nodded.
“I hope it works out.”
“So do I.”
“It’d be nice having you closer to home.”
Luke smiled.
“That’s the goal.”
The conversation shifted again until an unexpected silence settled over the table.
Luke noticed his mother glance toward the empty chair beside her.
His father had been gone for years, but family dinners still carried the shape of his absence.
Emily felt Luke tense beside her.
His mother spoke carefully.
“Has anyone heard from Ryan?”
The yard became silent.
Luke stared at his plate.
Luke slowly shook his head.
“Not in years.”
His mother sighed.
“I still worry.”
Luke didn’t say anything.
Emily gently rested her hand on his knee beneath the table.
She could feel the tension in him immediately.
Finally, Luke spoke.
“I hope he’s okay.”
It wasn’t anger.
It wasn’t forgiveness.
It was simply the truth.
No matter how much time had passed…
Ryan was still his brother.
On the drive home, neither of them spoke for several miles.
Emily finally broke the silence.
“You were quiet.”
Luke nodded.
“I know.”
“You miss him.”
Luke kept his eyes on the road.
“I miss who he used to be.”
Emily understood.
“You don’t have to talk about it today.”
“I’m not ready.”
She reached across the center console and intertwined her fingers with his.
“When you are…”
Luke glanced over.
“…I’ll be here.”
He smiled softly.
“I know you will.”
As they pulled into their driveway, Luke looked toward the quiet little house they rented.
Life wasn’t perfect.
Money was tight.
The future was uncertain.
And there were still chapters of his past he wasn’t ready to reopen.
But with Emily beside him, home didn’t feel like a place anymore.
It felt like a person.
And somehow…
That made all the difference.