Alex sat on the couch and watched his mother talking to his dad. His heart started to beat madly in his chest when he saw the corner of her mouth turn into a small smile. He hadn't seen his mother smile for a long time and he knew that it was good. He already imagined what he would do at first as soon as he would arrive at home. He would call his friends telling them that he was back and that he'd been in Egypt visiting his aunt.
Sarah continued on playing with her dolls. Sometimes she looked up and watched her mother, not really realizing that this call would decide about the next time of her life and if she would spent it in a far away country or at home. But she saw the slight smile as well and it caused a warm feeling to flood into her stomach. For the first time since long weeks she felt save again, now that her mother wasable to smile again,everything would get better.
Evelyn opened her mouth to answer to a question when she noticed Alex who stared at her lips, waiting for her to speak even more. She couldn't help but smile by that sight,Alex was just as curious as his father. "Alex, Sarah.. could you wait outside, please. There are a few things that I have to talk over with your father", she said and pointed at the door.
Sarah nodded and took her dolls, she didn't even think about objecting but Alex did. He opened his mouth to protest, he didn't want to leave now. This was his life, and his family, they were talking about after all. But then he saw the firm expression his mother carried and groaning he left the room.
Evelyn sighed deeply and turned back. "Okay, Rick". He again asked something and she stayed silent for a moment. She took a deep breath and thought about what to answer now. She knew that this answer decided how her life would be for the next few weeks. And not only her life but that of her children's as well. Would Alex be here, he would know exactly what to reply. He loved his father and it didn't matter to him that he had made mistakes. The love he felt for his father was unconditional and nothing could disturb this love, nothing at all.
She loved Rick as well but she was responsible for her children and she had to do what was right for them. God, how much she missed Rick and all she wanted to do was go back to him, kiss him and wrap her arms around him. She knew that these wounds she had, wounds that he had caused her over the past year, would need time to heal but he had made the first step to make her feel better again. She realized that he deserved to have them back, not only her but his children as well. He had worked so hard to change, to become a better husband and father and he fully deserved to be forgiven.
But she just couldn't tell him that. She hadn't control over her mouth and it worked on it's own. "Rick.. I thought about it... I think we.. especially you need some more time. I think maybe it's the best for our children to stay here a while longer. You have to understand.. bad things happened to them and the last they need is getting a heap of hopes on only to get disappointed again", she said quietly.
She held her breath while she waited for him to response. She expected him to get angry and disappointed. She thought he would yell at her, telling her that she wasn't being fair, that he had changed and that she was mean to held their children away from him any longer. But nothing like that happened. His voice was calm and soft and he completely agreed. He said something about being sad that they weren't going to come home but that he would fully understand her decision. He said he would use this time to go fully dry and that her would call her twice a week to tell her about his progresses with Doctor Booger.
She sighed again and realized that she had made the right decision. Rick could use a little more time alone to get himself under control. She couldn't expect this to happen in one week. She smiled slightly.
"I.. I..", she began, not knowing how to say this. She wasn't used anymore to the sound of these words she wanted to say. They sounded strange and weird, like something she hadn't said before.
But she didn't even have to say it because Rick understood her anyway. And he seemed completely overwhelmed and happy about it. A few years ago, it had been the most normal thing in their life but now it was something that meant the world to both of them. "I don't know how to thank you for giving me a second chance Evy. And I'll do my best to not disappoint you or our kids again. But I need you to know that I....", he said but she interrupted him.
"I know, Rick, I know. Call me in a few days alright and tell Doctor Booger I said hello", she said and her voice was soft and calm. God, how much time had passed since the last time she'd been able to talk to him like that? Calm and serious, without being scared that he could freak out or run away. It made her heart so much lighter and the relief she felt was greater than anything else. "Bye", she said and then she hung up slowly, knowing that this was it. This was what she had waited for so long. Her family would get fixed, somehow, not in the near future but some day. But to her some day didn't seem so far away anymore.
A few hours later:
Alex laid in his bed, tears streaming over his face. Sarah sat by his side, her eyes worried and confused. She softly caressed his back when her brother wept. She could fully understand why he was so upset.
After talking to their Dad, their mother had told them that they would stay in Egypt a while longer. She said something about, everything would get aright but their father still needed time and so needed she. But all these things didn't matter to Alex or to Sarah, all they bothered about was that they wouldn't get home to see their father. He would call, and they would be able to call him as well but that didn't help at all. Hearing his voice wasn't enough anymore, not since they almost reached the point to see him in flesh and blood.
Alex curled up into a ball and whipped his eyes, trying to get control over his emotions. He didn't like crying, his father was never crying, he was strong and brave. His father hadn't even cried when the baby died. But know he had acted like a wimp, he had allowed Evelyn to stay away even longer. Alex couldn't get this. The Dad he had known would get in his car and would drive up all the way to Egypt to get his family back home. But he knew that this time it wouldn't happen that way, Rick had been agreeing with his mother about them staying in Egypt. He shook his head, what the hell was wrong with his dad? He had thought that now everything would get the same again, that Rick would turn into his old self again. Okay, he now was the responsible and caring father and husband again but that was just one side of him,there was still a part of him missing. The part that loved adventures, that was stubborn and hardheaded, that thought that you could solve every problem with a gun and a few bullets. The part that Alex loved the most.
He thought a moment and suddenly an idea formed in his mind. He quickly stand up and almost pushed his sister of the bed with doing that. She looked at him surprised and when she saw his eyes flashing she realized that he was hatching a plot.
He smiled and took her hand. "I know something Sarah.. I know how to get our Dad back, the whole Dad not just a part of him and while doing that we get our parents back together", he whispered quietly and excited.
Sarah watched him confused when he jumped up, racing to his wardrobe. "Come on, go and pack your clothes", he ordered.
She nodded slightly and did so. She still didn't know what his idea was but she trusted him. He was her big brother and she couldn't remember that he'd ever made a wrong decision. He pulled everything in his backpack until it was full and then he helped his sister do so as well.
He looked outside into the clear dark night and he could feel his heart beating madly in his chest. This would be his adventure, his own little adventure. And after that he would be a hero just like his father had been one. "Grab your warm pullover Sarah, the nights in Egypt are really cold".
"Where are we going"? She finally asked and he looked at her; his eyes shining with pure excitement.
"We're going back to the pyramids where I was with Mom and Dad a few years ago. They are great, you'll love it", he said and she smiled.
"Wow", she breathed. She had always wished to see how a pyramides looked like on the inside. She just knew the things their parents and Alex had told her about their adventures. She 'd always been a little bit jealously that she hadn't been with them but now Alex would show her the world of the pharaohs and mummies. She would see it all in real. "Mom is not coming with us, isn't she"?
Alex shook his head. "No, she isn't. And because of that we have to be real quiet, alright. She mustn't hear us, she mustn't know where we are and that's the whole plan actually. As soon as she find us missing she will call Dad and he will get here. And while looking for us, they will fall in love again. And as soon as they're together again, they'll decide that they can't bear to ever be separated again and for finding us Dad has to find the missing part of his soul again. Do you understand? If he wants to have us back, he has to turn into the wild, brave and heroic gunfighter again. And then everything will be aright again, our family will be just like it had been before the baby died Sarah. Don't you want that too"?
Sarah quickly nodded. Oh yeah she wanted that as well, maybe she was a little to young to remember everything in the past but she still knew a few things that she missed. She missed their journeys in far away countries, she missed the Saturdays when their father used to take them into the woods to teach them how to survive in the nature. Or how the whole family went shopping in London.
It made sense to her what Alex said, well maybe not everything. Especially not the part of her Dad's missing soul, but she realized that Alex knew what he was doing. He would get their family back together and she would help him, even if that meant that she had to leave their mother for a while. She was a little bit scared when she thought of being alone out there, in the desert but then she looked at her brother who was so brave and powerful and the fear disappeared. Her would watch out for her, of that she was sure.
She laid her tiny hand in his and together she carefully crept out of the house and into their biggest adventure.