The Journey Home by Michael Baron Read Free Book Online Page B

the menu, but didn’t reopen it. “A turkey sandwich works for me.”
    Joseph screwed his face into an expression of disbelief. “Really? With all the other interesting stuff they have here?”
    Will shrugged. “Food’s not that big a deal to me.”
    Joseph found that sentiment baffling. How could food not be a big deal? Everybody loved food, didn’t they? He could imagine this becoming a problem between the two of them if they stayed on the road for any length of time. Joseph decided right then that he’d take charge of every one of their meals while they were traveling. Life was far too short to eat badly.
    Joseph ordered his smoked pork and Will his turkey sandwich, and the waiter promised to get their meals out to them as quickly as he could.

    When the waiter left, Will took a sip of his drink and then leaned toward Joseph. “Okay, tell me everything about her.”
    â€œAbout who?”
    â€œYour wife.”
    Joseph lowered his eyes. “You know as much about her as I do.”
    Will became more animated. “No, I don’t. You know tons about her. Dig down and pull something out.”
    Joseph had no idea what the kid was getting at. Did Will think that Joseph had been holding out on him, that he’d been spinning some elaborate yarn about losing his memory? He threw an accusing glance across the table, but what came back at him wasn’t provocation. It was encouragement. Will was trying to goad him into figuring things out. The kid had some surprises in him.
    Dig down? Okay, he’d try. Staring at his lap, Joseph tried to get his mind to cooperate with his desires. She was in there somewhere. Did he have the strength to bring her out?
    He closed his eyes and tried to reach out for the wisp of her he knew was always there. As he did, she became somewhat more palpable. Flexing open his right hand, he felt the satin of her upper arm. The warmth and smoothness, colored by a tiny mole. The subtle contour of her upper bicep. The curve of her perfect shoulder that led to her long, regal neck whose skin was almost impossibly smoother.
    He parted his lips slightly and felt hers. The way they yielded to and at the same time embraced his
had been a breakthrough for him the first time they kissed. Before this, he had never known that a kiss could be both pillowy and firm. It drew him to a need to kiss her that extended far beyond attraction and passion. It was as though he had discovered something necessary to his welfare, some secret thing that allowed him to live his life at a higher and now completely essential level.
    His chest warmed and he could feel her skin on his, molded with his as they lay in the night. Joseph knew he’d be able to sense her heartbeat if he were still enough, if he let himself melt into her. Yes, there it was, issuing its subtle throb into his own pulse. Joseph sank into the rhythm of it. This was something absolutely, uniquely hers. It bore her essence. It would take him to her.
    But while he continued to feel her heartbeat, his journey toward his wife ended right there. He implored his mind to go deeper, to go beyond touch, to offer the same fullness of experience to his other senses. As he did so, though, the throbbing of her heart lessened. His skin grew cooler. His lips and his fingers touched nothing but air.
    He opened his eyes and looked across at Will, who stared back at him as though waiting for the next detail in an incredibly enticing story.
    â€œYou had something there,” the boy said. “Didn’t you?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œNothing?”
    â€œNot enough.”
    Will slumped, as though someone had let the air
out of him. “It sure seemed like something was going on.”
    Joseph shook his head slowly. “Something. Just not anything that makes where we’re trying to go clearer.”
    Will ran a hand through his hair. “That sucks. You got my hopes up for a second