This is a short chapter, but one with a surprise ending. The next chapter will be longer though. Please enjoy!

Chapter 2: Changes (Sarah's POV)

I carried two hot plates of food from the kitchen, and set them down in front of Moses and James. Moses and James both whispered a quick thank you. I went back and got my plate, before sitting across the table from James. Moses sat at the head of the table.

"Dinner looks very good Sarah. Thank you for cooking," said Moses as he looked over the plate before him.

"You are welcome, but if I may say I enjoyed cooking dinner again, just like I used to," I replied.

Moses smiled. "Well I can say I am very happy you cooked. While you were gone James did most of the cooking. He nearly burned down the print shop!"

Moses let out a loud laugh. I looked to James and saw a faint blush on his cheeks. He had changed some since the last time I had seen him. He was taller than me now, so much so that the top of my head just reached his shoulders. He had gotten broader in the shoulders as well. His arms and legs looked more built too. But his hair was still long and blonde like the sun; and his eyes still shined that sea blue they always had.

I took a deep breath and looked up to see Moses holding out his hands to say a grace. I took his large, dark, calloused hand. James took his other hand. We then glanced at each other, knowing what came next. James held out his hand for me to take. I slowly set mine into his. His hand easily surrounded mine, and held on tightly. His hand was warm, but a bit rough. Not as rough as Moses', but not soft like mine.

We all bowed our heads as Moses began the grace, and usually I would close my eyes as he spoke. But tonight, for some reason, I could not. Instead, I looked across the table at James, who had his eyes open as well.

As our eyes met, a smile crept onto James' face. His sea blue eyes still held that gleam that they had before, and his smile still made me smile along with him. Oh how I had missed him! James had been my best friend since we were fifteen, and the last few years had been dreadful without him. So much had happened since then. We'd both changed. We'd both grown, physically and mentally. Yet as we stared into each others eyes, it was as if no time had passed at all. It was as if we were still fifteen, and still traveling around America reporting on stories about the Revolution.

But times had changed. Nine years had passed and we were both older. He was taller. I was wiser. He was broader. I was more developed. He was more handsome…

"Amen," said Moses, interrupting my thoughts.

"Amen," replied James and I.

Moses let go of my hand and began eating. James, on the other hand, held onto my hand a moment longer. He squeezed my hand before pulling his away, and letting our fingers slip from each other. I kept my hand there, caught in the fog of my thoughts while James began eating.

After dinner I went up to my room. I closed the door quietly behind me and walked over to my bag. I opened it as quietly as possible, and took out a worn and yellowed envelope. I held it in my hands for a minute, hesitant to open it once again. But eventually, I carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the letter that was inside. I sat down on my bed, and took a deep breath.

I slipped my finger into the letter and unfolded it gently, as I had done a hundred times before. My heart began to ache as I read the first line:

To my dearest fiancée Sarah,