She was not prepared for what she walked into. She was not ready for his beautiful smile, or his brother's incredible blue eyes. She wasn't ready for the confusion and the heartache and the torture of working so closely to them. She wasn't ready to...
I stepped onto the solid, carpeted ground inside Louis Armstrong International Airport and immediately felt the most incredible sense of simply being home. The familiar scent was one of the many things I'd associated with New Orleans and I breathed it in like I'd been absent for years. The Arrivals gate was always exciting, loved ones reunited and friends greeting friends. I found myself smiling just thinking about seeing whoever was picking me up. It had been so long since I'd seen any one of my family members, aside from my Mamie, of course. To my absolute pleasure, my eyes found my mother, father and sister at the same time that they saw me. I began bobbing and weaving through the crowd of people and I jumped into them.
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My sister, Lucy caught me first and I swung my legs around her hips and held on like my life depended on it. No words were spoken, at least none that were coherent. Just a lot of laughing and tears and body crushing hugs. When I finally let go of Lucy, my mom was ready to embrace me with open arms.
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"My baby, my baby...oh you're finally here!" She cried and I clutched on to her tightly.
"I'm here, mama." My dad stood by, smiling, with tears welling up in the corner of his eyes. This was probably the most he'd ever cry, and really, it couldn't be totally classified as crying. The tears never actually left his sockets. But that was besides the point. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and he lifted me up.
"Hi dad."
"Hi baby..." I had missed the smell of his cologne. "Oh, comment nous vous avons manqué..." His native french tongue made me homesick for what was right in front of me.
"I've missed you guys too...so much."
"But you're home now, and it's almost Christmas!" I squeezed Lucy's hand and something suddenly caught my eye. I held up her fingers and gasped loudly.
"What is this?!" I screamed, not caring who was around to hear me. She jumped up and down and I joined her.
"I'm engaged!" She squealed loudly and I smacked her arm.
"Why am I just finding out now?!"
"Because, it happened last night and I wanted to tell you in person!" I was literally so happy for her, I could barely stand it. Her boyfriend, well, now fiancee was wonderful and he loved her so much that I shouldn't have been surprised.
