5:13 Mi Mancherai (Il Postino)

As much as she wanted to stay and wait for Philip to return, she knew she couldn’t. They needed the apartment for a new family moving to the base.

She looked around the apartment then at her dad. “I’m ready to go.”

“Do you want to stop and see your friends before you go?”

She shook her head. “If I did, I would be able to leave.” She also knew that seeing them with their husbands who had just returned from the assignment that Philip had been on would be too hard.

Andy put his arm around his daughter and walked to the car with her.

“Your sister and grandparents are excited to see you. Your grandmother wanted to have a welcome home party, but I told her that probably wasn’t a good idea right now.”

“Thank you, Daddy. I don’t think I could have handled that at the moment. Not since the reason I’m going home is Phi….”

She cut off with a small cry. 

Andy pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back. As soon as she was calmer he helped her into the car.

Nakusa hugged her sister then stepped back looking at her.

“I got your room ready for you. I put clean sheets and blankets on the bed.”

“Thank you.” Shelby walked toward the stairs just wanting to be alone for a bit.

Nakusa looked at their dad. “Is she okay, Daddy?”

Andy shook his head. “No. She’s trying hard to pretend she is though.”

He sat down with his youngest daughter.

“We need to not pretend that we know what she is going through. We don’t. We just need to give her time alone if she needs it, and be there with her if she needs someone to talk to or to just sit there with her. She is still convinced that Philip is coming home.”

Nakusa frowned as she listened to her dad. “Daddy, we both know that probably won’t happen.”

Andy nodded and sighed. “I know. But right now, that is what she wants to believe. If that is what is keeping her going every day and taking care of herself and the baby, then let her keep believing it for right now. Eventually she will realize what the rest of us already know. Then she will need us to be there for her again.”