Returned

A man in his mid-thirties sat in a car, trees whipping back as he pushed the gas pedal—accelerating to seventy.

Soft music played on the radio as he neared his new home. He sighed. “Moving’s never easy…” He gently pressed the brakes, bringing the car to a smooth stop, and turned into his new driveway. “Get yourself together, Noah. You need this.” He parked his car outside his new home; the house was a stunning sight, made from polished logs with a deep green-colored door, a vast window on the left side, and two windows placed from where the attic lay. It also had ten acres of land and a blue barn centered in the middle.

Noah placed a hand on his forehead. “I just moved from South Dakota to California!” He inhaled deeply and entered the log cabin.

The cold air greeted Noah as he looked around the place. Undoubtedly, the people he was renting from took good care of the house, and he dropped his bag at the bottom of the counter. Climbing on top of the counter, he thought Not bad. A ding came from his phone, and he pulled it from his pocket. It was his sister. “How’re you doing? Did you make it?” the text said. Noah chuckled.

“Just made it!” he sent back, and his sister replied with many excited emojis. Noah chuckled and placed the phone back in his pocket. “Better get used to this place. I’ll try the attic first!” He slid off the counter with a thud and walked to a door. Noah turned the door nob and slowly opened the door, and a dusty smell hit him. This must be it… He thought and traveled up the stairs.

The attic was dark, so Noah flipped on a light switch. Many empty boxes lay on the floor. As Noah scanned the room, the boxes began to move and shove themselves sideways. “What is that?” Noah backed away, and a man emerged from the crates.

“Ya’ landlord!” the man screamed. Noah yelped and crashed onto the unsanded floor. “Wow, easy there, mate!” Noah shook his head.

“Who are you!?” he reached for his phone, which flew a few inches away when he crashed.

“Easy boy! I’m not a criminal. I’m ya’ landlord!” he yelled. Noah grabbed his phone and stood up, dusting himself off.

“Okay, what-what are you doing here?!?!…”

The man reached out his hand as he walked towards Noah. He gestured as if to shake hands. “Pleasure to meet you. I’m Bill Lucas.” Noah stood dumbfounded and reluctantly shook his hand back.

“Wait… You helped me get this place,” he pointed out. Bill clapped his hands, overjoyed about something.

“Yes, I did! And now it’s your turn to help me, mate!” Bill jumped up and down.

“‘Help you’? Help you with what?” Bill slapped a picture onto Noah’s chest. There was a man on it.

“That’s me brother. I found his picture tucked away in here. I have no idea why… But you used to work with him, right?” Bill asked. Noah stared at the picture, trying to remember him.

“I think so… He looks familiar. Wait, yes, I did work with him!”

“Then you know where he lives!” Bill exclaimed.

“Yeeeesss…” Noah looked at Bill, who was now close to tears.

“I need you to take me to him… We had a family crisis, and he broke off…” He closed his eyes and sighed. “I need to make it right with him… So I need you to take me to him, mate!” Bill laid a hand on Noah’s shoulder. Noah shook his head.

“But I just got here!” Noah exclaimed. Bill nearly fell over.

“GOOD JOKE!!!” he laughed raucously. Noah sighed.

“No, I am not going! I won’t drive for three days again, never mind paying for lodging again.” He gripped the bridge of his nose and then looked at him. “My money is running low…” Noah murmured.

“I can pay for that, mate! Now, no dilly dallying come, let’s go!” Bill ran down the stairs. Noah sighed and followed.

Warming up to the idea, Noah said, “I didn’t unpack the car, so there are still snacks.” Bill squealed and jumped up and down.

“I call shotgun, baby!!!” he screamed into Noah’s ear. Noah blinked with anger and closed his eyes.

“Okay, cool! You better hop in the car now,” he said. Bill nodded and walked out the door. Okay… I’m going back to South Dakota to help my landlord find his brother, my former boss… Noah sighed. “Let’s go…” He grabbed the keys and turned on his phone.

Once he reached the car, he tapped for a few minutes on his phone, tucked it away, put the car in drive, and left his new house. “Okay, I found an Airbnb,” Noah said. Bill looked at him.

“Already?”

“The person who owns it is a close friend. I told her what was happening, and she lent it to me,” Noah explained. Bill chuckled and started looking around. “What are you looking for?”

“Food…”

“You’re hungry? Already!?” Noah exclaimed.

“Well, I didn’t get breakfast on account that I was waiting for you!” Bill dramatically scoffed. “It took ya’ ages!” He pointed a finger at him. Noah laughed, and so did Bill.

He rubbed his eyes and then stared at the road, the yellow lines going on forever. “But are ya’ sure you’ know where we’re going, mate? Just by looking at a photograph?” Worry laced Bill’s voice. Noah gripped tighter on the wheel.

“He was… My best friend, it would be crazy if I didn’t.” He turned the wheel, and then a ding came from his phone. He pulled it out.

“Who is it?” Bill asked. Noah chuckled and smiled.

“My sister, do you mind just texting ‘doing good’ with a thumbs up?” Noah asked. Bill nodded, took the phone, texted mostly what he said, and returned it to him. Noah read it and groaned. “You said, ‘Doing good but going on a road trip.’ Why did I trust my phone to you?” Bill was so busy belly-laughing that he couldn’t answer. Noah sighed and couldn’t help laughing a bit.

 Two Days Later...

Bill was looking for food again, so Noah grabbed some beef jerky and handed it to him. 

“Thank you! So how is it going with the Airbnb?” Bill asked. Noah was about to answer but then slapped a hand on his forehead. 

“Dang it! I forgot to book an Airbnb for today…” he groaned. “Well, at least we’re South Dakota,” Noah said. Bill fidgeted with his hands. “Worried about your brother?” Noah asked. Bill nodded.

“And me parents… The thing is that the reason we drifted apart was because I got married. My wife wanted to move to California, and my brother got mad and left… I want to make it right…” Bill groaned.

“Hey… It isn’t your fault. Why did she want to go to California?” Noah stopped at a red light.

“Her Mother and Father were there… And I would do anything for her.” Bill sniffled.

“We’ll get to your brother!” Noah started driving again.

“And after that, I’m letting you keep the house. I’ll give you some money, and you can buy it! The house is not that expensive!” Bill chuckled.

Noah was taken aback. “Really!? Thanks!”

“Of course…” Bill’s words faded as a sign said, ‘Welcome to South Dakota.’ They drove in silence as Noah navigated the familiar small town with turns much more familiar to him than the home he left behind in California.

“This is it…” he said, turning into a rocky driveway with a quaint little house at its end, rolling hills beyond its terrain. Bill opened the car door once they parked and walked to the house’s opening. “Do you want me to come with you?” Noah asked.

“No thanks, I’m good. You should go visit your sister.”

“Are you sure?” Noah asked. Bill nodded.

“I’m sure.”

 “Okay. Good luck!” Noah hopped in the car and drove away.

Bill knocked on the door, and a voice called out.

“Coming!” Bill recognized it…

“Brother……” He whispered into the air. The door opened, and Bill saw him, and he saw Bill.

“Bill…”

“Liam…”

Tentatively, Bill embraced his brother. “I am… so. sorry…” After only a beat, Liam returned his brother’s hug.

“Bill… No, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have overreacted… You just wanted to follow your wife… I get that now. Come on in!”

***

Meanwhile, Noah made it to his sister’s house, and even without ringing the doorbell, his sister opened the door and embraced him.

“I missed you so much!” She said. “I thought you were kidding about the road trip thing.” Noah chuckled softly and hugged her back.

“I missed you too, Luna…” She let go of him.

“Why are you back?” she asked.

“Had to help a friend… in fact, I have to go pick him up in a little bit.”

He sighed. “And I forgot to book the Airbnb…”

“Don’t you dare stay at an Airbnb. You can stay for the night! The kids would be more than happy. You can stay for however long you like!” Luna said.

“Thank you so much, Luna. Bill will be relieved, too.” He turned to leave, but his sister’s voice stopped him.

“Wait… Is that the friend?”

“Yeeeeaaaahh…” Noah turned and looked at her.

“Is his name Bill Lucas?” she asked

“Yes.” Noah scratched at his beard. “How do you know him?”

“A man a few blocks down talked about him.”

“Huh…what does he say about him?

Luna got a strange look on her face. “I don’t really know, except he sounded pretty angry.”

“Honestly, I can understand that! He takes some getting used to!” laughed Noah. “Anyway, thank you for letting us stay at your house!”

“Of course!`” Luna gave him another hug, and then Noah left.

***

“It was so nice to see you again!” Bill hugged his brother.

“I missed you so much…” Liam closed his eyes. Just then, Liam’s wife called his name. “You should go now, Bill.” And with that, Liam let go and walked to the door. “Come back, okay!”

“I definitely will!” Bill walked down the porch steps and texted Noah. He then strolled down the roadways, thinking about all that had happened as he waited for Noah to arrive, and just then, he did.

“Right on time!” Bill screamed.

“Hi, Bill! How did it go with your brother?” he asked in a low voice.

“I’ll tell you in the car…”

“Alright Bill, guess what? We’re staying with my sister tonight!”

“Perfect!”

As they drove off Bill told him how it went. “He apologized to me about leaving and how now, since he’s married, he gets why I wanted to move to California.”

“Oh, good! I’m so glad it worked out. Listen, I know you probably want to stick around for a little while, but we’re only staying at Luna’s place for a few days, and then I gotta leave.” Noah informed him.

“Mh… I’ll miss you, mate, cuz I’ve decided to stay here for good.” He placed a hand on Noah’s shoulder.

***

Back at Luna’s, she showed them to their rooms. “In that room, there’s a bed, and the second one has one too!” Luna said.

“Thank you, Luna… Really!” Noah hugged her. “Goodnight!”

“Goodnight!” Luna walked away, and Noah strolled into one of the rooms.

“Goodnight Bill…”

“Goodnight, sonny…” Bill walked to the other room. Noah slipped off his shoes, laid down on his bed, and shut his eyes.