A strange and beautiful appearance - Snippet

Back home, mom sat patiently in front of the television. She had a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach, but couldn’t put her finger on it. She didn’t know what was going on, and wasn’t aware of why she felt the way she did. She flipped slowly through channels on the TV in front of her, attempting to find something to ease her mind and keep her occupied. She flinched at the few cars that passed by the house. And when one pulled into the driveway, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

She ran to the door, swung it open, and flipped on the front porch light. By that time, the person in the car had turned off the engine and the lights. Mom stood staring into the darkness trying desperately to see the driver of the vehicle.

A tall, dark man appeared slowly out of the driver’s side door. "Theresa?"

"Who’s there?"

The mysterious man walked quickly to the light of the front porch. When he got to a place where the light barely showed on his face, she gasped. From head to toe, she thought the man in front of her was a dream. His bald head glimmered slightly in the porch light. She traced his contours with her eyes, noticing every detail in the muscles bulging out of his arms. He was dressed in a nice, fitted, plaid short-sleeve polo shirt. His jeans were fitted yet boot cut at the bottom. They had a few tears and worn out areas in the front of the jeans that looked as if they were made that way. He was wearing light brown boots that tied. With one hand, he fiddled in the front pocket of his jeans. With the other he smoothed out the slight facial hair that highlighted the contours of his mouth and chin. To her, he was beautiful – a strange man.

"Tony," she asked in disbelief.

He smiled. "It’s me." He slowly approached her, his face becoming more visible in the light. He stood about a foot or so taller than her. "Goodness, Theresa, you’re even more beautiful than what I remembered."