Luke's feet stood on American soil at O'Hare International Airport after an eight and a half hour non-stop flight from Frankfurt, Germany. After going through customs and gathering his luggage, an hour and a half later, he stepped outside. He took in a deep breath of cool March morning air in Chicago.
"Home," he said out loud to himself with a smile on his face.
Luke didn't care that he was about to fall on his face from exhaustion as he got a cab. He hadn't been home in over three years. He began studying abroad during his sophomore year of college and fell in love with Germany.
He chose to transfer to The University of Hamburg and finish his degree. It wasn't that he didn't like the university he attended originally. His freshman year was excellent. But, once he went to Europe, he didn't want to come back.
Luke directed the driver to his parents' house on the North side of Chicago. As he rode in the car, he realized how thankful he was for where the house was in relation to the airport. The traffic shouldn't be terrible and the sooner her got home, the sooner he would get much needed rest.
He rested his head back, closed his eyes, and scratched through the two day scruff on his face. He kept his mind busy so he wouldn't fall asleep.
If he kept his eyes open, he might have thrown up. He unluckily and got one of the many erratic cab drivers that sped their way down the highways of Chicago, weaving in and out of lanes at random.
His eyes opened again as the cab slowed down, exiting the expressway. He got cash out of his wallet as they entered into the residential area. Luke was ready to get out of that death trap as fast as he could.
He promptly paid the driver and fished his luggage from the trunk. He looked at the house he had grown up in from the sidewalk for a few moments. He took note of the St. Patrick's Day window clings on the bay window and the hedges in front of the windows that were replaced with rosebushes.
It was nothing out of the ordinary for the area. All of the houses were densely squished together, fitting as many on each block as possible. His parents had added on a second story when he was a child to make more room for their growing family.
They did a lot of work on the house, which took several years to finally complete. When it was all done, it was officially their dream house.
They took out a wall between the front room and what used to be his parents' bedroom to expand the space. His room was moved upstairs next to his soon to be sister's room. His parents took his. The back bedroom was turned into a formal dining room and the kitchen counters were expanded. The basement was always a recreational area.
He smiled fondly at the memories of his childhood, and how he was able to help his father with some of the demolition work. He probably shouldn't have let him Luke play with a sledgehammer at his young age. However, it was fun.
Luke bounced up the stairs and caught his reflection in the glass door before opening it. He hand brushed his windblown short brown hair. He didn't want his mother to criticize him for un-kept hair so quickly after such a long absence.
He opened the storm door and held it open with his hip as he unlocked the front door.
Luke was welcomed by the familiar smell of his family home. Nothing had changed except for the giant flat screen television. The same light oak wood floors and soft green walls greeted him. The front room and hallway were decorated tastefully with family portraits taken every year of his childhood and adolescence. The more recent ones, he was missing from. Paintings his mother had collected over the years also donned the walls.
The family dog, a loving yellow lab named Penny, nearly pushed him over as he was welcomed home with happy dog kisses all over his face.
"Phil, you're home rather early, did something happen at the office?" his mother's voice rang from her upstairs office.
"No, Mom, nothing happened at office," he said back smiling, placing his luggage against the wall by the door.
Kathryn hurried out of her office and looked down over the railing, at her son. She was pleasantly shocked.
"Luke, that can't really be you, is it?"
He smiled up at his mother. "It's me."
She hurried down the stairs and wrapped her arms tightly around her baby boy. She pulled away and looked him over, grinning wide. Her hands squeezed his arms, making sure that he was real.
"I can't believe you're here," she said with glee. "What are you doing here? How are you? Are you eating enough over there? How was the flight? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"
His mother flooded him with questions and Luke just smiled, nodding and trying to speak, but she was incessant.
Her blonde hair was pulled back in a bun, as always. Loose strands of hair fallen around her face. Her eyes were bright blue, same as his and his sister's. She kept her figure fairly well over the years.
Kathryn held his face in her hands and looked adoringly up at her son as he spoke.
"I'm great, Mom. Everything is great. I had about a month off in-between semesters and had saved up enough money to come home. I wanted to surprise everyone. I hope that's okay."
She kissed both his cheeks repeatedly, not stopping to talk, "Of course it's okay! I'm just shocked. I'm incredibly happy and shocked."
She pulled away and tentatively released him from her motherly embrace.
"You look exhausted," she said genuinely.
Luke chuckled. "I am. I'd love a nap on my favorite sofa."
"You know where that is," she said with a wink. "Do you want some lunch beforehand? Amy will be home from school in a few hours. She is going to flip out. You had better rest up, because she won't let you sleep once she gets home."
"No, I'm good. I ate on the plane. I know you're right about Amy. I better get some shut eye while I still can," he said, and then kissed her cheek. "Don't let her know I'm here, okay?"
Kathryn nodded, unable to stop smiling.
Luke dragged his feet to the burgundy over stuffed leather sofa and collapsed down on it. He pulled a crocheted blanket, made by his mother, over him. He fell asleep almost immediately. Penny curled up next to him with her head on Luke's legs.
He was woken up from his blissful sleep by seventy pounds of dog pouncing off of him to greet his sister at the door. Luke sat up and rubbed his eyes. He remained silent on the sofa, waiting for Amy to notice him.
He heard her familiar voice gabbing on her cell phone as she closed the door behind her.
"No Way! Mister Rhodes told you that you have to re-do all of the flyers and tickets for prom just because of that?" Amy's voice echoed through the house.
She passed right by Luke in the living room. She dropped her backpack on the floor, going through her normal daily routine with Penny as her shadow.
"That's absolutely insane! I'm so sorry," Amy said as she made her way into the kitchen. "I'll go to the printing place with you on Saturday to take care of it."
Luke stayed quiet with a smile painted on his lips, awaiting his sister's realization of his presence.
Amy got herself a Diet Coke from the fridge and went back to the front room, listening to her friend on the phone.
