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Maggie didn’t know the gentleman at her door, and she knew almost everyone in their little town.
He was tall and handsome in a rugged sort of way. But why on earth the poor soul wearing long sleeves especially in this weather?!
The poor boy must be so hot.
Still…she opened the door…just a crack.
“Hello?” She said as she peeked through the door.
“Ms. Moore?” The man said.
“Yes?”
“Do you know a Sam Wilson?”
Her heart dropped into her stomach. She swung the door open so hard that she could hear it hit the wall with force.
“What is wrong with Sam?! Is he hurt?” She said in a panic.
The man blinked for a moment and stepped back away from the door.
“No ma’am. He’s fine,” He said.
She sighed in relief. That boy is going to give her a heart attack one of these days even more so than her boys.
“Then what brings you here, sweetie?” She asked.
“Well…huh….I wanted to give you this,” The man said as he handed her a envelope.
She eyed the envelope then him. Nothing good came from these things. Slowly, she reached over and take the envelope. She opened it.
With great pleasure
Sam Wilson
and
James “Bucky” Barnes
invite you to join them
at the celebration of their marriage….
Instantly, she stuffed the invitation back into the envelope. She looked at the man in front of her.
“I take it that you are Bucky,” She said.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“….Was this your idea or…?
“We had you and your family on the list. I thought that it would be better if I asked you myself. I…Sam talks so highly about Riley and your family.”
She stared at him…long and hard. This boy was a soldier. She has been around enough military men to know the look, stance, and the body language.
Poor thing thought that she was going bite. She wasn’t that mean.
This Bucky was willing to come to her doorstep and invite her to their wedding.
She wasn’t going to cry…yet.
“Oh, look at my matters. Come in, dear. Would you like coffee? You must tell how you met Sam. Lordy, it is better be better than when Riley set up Sam on a blind date…lordy…I am not sure how he found Bri, his wife. Probably because she has more sense than him. Honestly, I felt so sorry for Sam,” She said as she waved the man inside.
She hurried off toward the kitchen. Maybe, Bucky would like cookies with his coffee. She had those cookies that she has hidden in her bottom cabinet by the sink.
“No, ma’am. Riley set Sam up on a date?”
“Dear, lord, yes. A terrible one at that. Poor dear. Does Sam have the same address? Every time I think about it, I want to send him flowers again.”
Poor boy looked like that he should laugh or be polite and not laugh. Oh, he is such a polite young man. He was much nicer than she was about the whole thing.
She laughed her ass off.
“So, how did you and Sam meet? You must tell me everything.” She said as she busies herself in the kitchen. Now, where were those cookies?
“Uhh…how much have you been listening to the news?”
“Enough to know that it is bullshit. Honestly, politicians and fools. Your life wasn’t your own for a long time, sweetie. Bless their little hearts when Sam is done with them.”
“He already has. It was great. I think that I made one piss his pants when I stared at him.”
Bucky’s face broke into a smile.
Ahh…love.
She smiled.
“So…..”
“Well, we were trying to escape. I really didn’t get to interact with him until we had to share a car together. We just started bickering. We didn’t cut each other any slack. It drove Steve nuts but I liked it. Everyone at this point had treated me differently. But Sam? Sam didn’t. I did ask him later about it. He gave me that look. He said there is time to treat people with kid gloves and other times, you don’t. He just knew.”
“And?”
Oh, that boy began to blush.
She laughed.
“Oh, sweetie. Love makes us do crazy things.”
“I don’t think that it was love back there. More like attraction.”
She hummed.
Maybe, in the beginning….but her mom’s sense kicked in….
“What do you love about him?”
“I love his smile and his sense of humor. How he doesn’t mind binge watching Golden Girls to Get Smart with me. He doesn’t mind my nightmares because he has his own. I steal the last bit of orange juice but then he steals last of the cereal. We laughed together. It doesn’t matter if it is cute dog videos or Steve’s educational videos. I love it when he flies. He loves to fly and sometimes, I think that he could be a bird. His face lights up when he is in the sky. He doesn’t mind that I don’t know how to cook. He has the patience of the saint when he tried to teach me. He…He is Sam.”
She wasn’t going to cry. Nope, she wasn’t.
“What does he love about you?”
Bucky seemed taken back by the question.
“Oh, sweetie…love goes both ways.”
“He said yes for one. So….I think that it is a good indicator. Also…he didn’t mind that I didn’t say love you for a while. We turned I hate yous into our I love yous. He makes me extra pancake or waffle when I only ask for 2 because he knows me. He doesn’t ask about my nightmares unless it is really bad. So, we binge watch whatever is on Netflix in the middle of the night. He hates doing laundry. So, I do instead it. I always get a kiss for that. He also…uh…”
“You have a nice ass, sweetie,” She said with a smile.
Bucky laughed.
“Why thank you. I can imagine those words got your husband.”
“Sweetie…that was my lasagna”
They started to laugh together.
“Who propose to who?” She asked.
“I did…before the first fight. He said yes. I wanted to wait but…”
“End of the world,” She said.
“End of the world. So, we started to plan. It was great plans too but…now, it is different. We lost people and we don’t know how to fill in the gaps,” He said.
“Oh, sweetie. You don’t have to fill in the gaps. You just have honor them. When my Riley died, it was hard. Gaps were there. They were at birthdays, Christmas…they were everyday…and every phone call. I learned to say that my boy is always near. When I make my coffee in the morning, I can hear his voice calling three sugars and no milk. Sometimes, I make that extra cup. When I see pictures of my grandson, I see bits of pieces of my boy. You know, what? Those pieces will always be around. I am not to ignore them. I am going to embrace them and drink that extra cup of coffee. Perhaps, you should do the same.”
The sweet boy smiled at her softly and handed her napkin from the table. She was crying.
Damn it….
“I think…You are a very wise woman. Riley was very lucky.”
“I was very lucky to have him.”
Gently, she reached over and took his hand.
“Riley would have loved you. He would welcome you into the family after he gave you the talk. So, welcome to the family, sweetie.”
“Thank you…”
“One more thing….”
“Yes?’
“Can you tell my husband that I was a wise woman? Maybe he would listen!”
End