After two long and painful months and two weeks, Gabriel and Joyce are driving back home. Silence is so hard for them. They have always enjoyed each other’s company and friendship, but all of a sudden there is not much to talk about and yet there is a lot .

Gabriel decides to take a different, quiet road—the one they often took at night years ago when their children were cranky and too tired to go to bed.

The trees on both sides of the road look much taller to Joyce, and the red sun sinking down into the blue lake and making the many little waves shine red like ruby bring fresh memories to her and old memories to Gabriel. He puts a CD on in the car of their favorite song they both liked before they even met and became later on their wedding song . As they listen to their wedding song, the words flew around both of them and like an embrace brought them close together. They begin to find their way back to their life together: “Around the world, I’ve searched for you; I traveled on, when hope was gone, to keep a rendezvous. I knew somewhere…sometime…somehow…, you’d look at me and I would see the smile you’re smiling now.” They look at each other and smile.

When they arrive home, Joyce is so glad to see that they kept the same house. She cannot imagine selling it, thinking of all the memories embedded inside it. Hope filled her heart that her home will help her to find the missing pieces of her memory.

As she enters her home, she sees that it is so tidy! There are no papers stuck on the refrigerator door: pictures with big happy faces and very long thin legs, the drawings her children used to give her as gifts. She runs into the baby’s room…no crib, no toys on the floor. She rushes to a drawer where she always kept drawings and big unreadable words drawn and written by her children and given to her by them as a gift or a surprise. She opens the drawer and sees that some of these precious papers are still there. She presses them tight to her bosom, and two tears fall from her eyes.

“Are you alright, Joyce?”

“Yes, Gabriel, I am fine. I just need some time to get used to the change in my life, our home… Do not worry, I feel fine, but I need some fresh air. Let’s go outside.”

Going to the backyard, they pass through the music room; many vases were there, and each vase was full of many flowers of every kind, color, and smell. One green vase was filled with nothing but red roses. She looks at Gabriel, he tells her: “This one is from me, but all the other flowers are from the children. They are just very happy for your recovery and your coming home.”

Joyce looks around, amazed. There are balloons everywhere, declaring, “Welcome home,” “We love you,” and “Happy Mother’s Day.” She looks again at Gabriel, he reminds her: “Tomorrow…Tomorrow is Mother’s Day.”

“I came back just in time.” She smiles. “Thank you so much, my heart is very touched.” She continues walking toward the door.

Arriving into the back yard, Joyce looks at the huge tree that she remembers as a small tree. She even remembers the day when Michael, Gabriel, and Christelle nailed four wooden steps on it. How much fun they had climbing on that tree and those steps.

“Where are the steps?” she asks.

“What, honey?” Gabriel answers.

“The steps the children nailed on the tree and used to climb on them,” she explains.

Gabriel smiles, closing his eyes as if trying to relive those happy memories.

“Oh, those steps… Probably they fell down a while back; it has been many years, and I actually don’t remember what happened—”

“Look, Gabriel,” she interrupts him as she points up high to one thick branch. They look at it and both laugh at the same time, for up there on the branch was the remains of one wooden step, all withered, with broken edges. But it is still there with few roots growing over it and keeping it in place.

“Now I believe that it has been twenty years…” Joyce declares jokingly, looking at his loving eyes.

He kisses her, still grateful that she is back with him, “Let’s go inside; it is getting chilly out here.” Putting his arm around her shoulders, he turns her toward their home.

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