Jean was waiting for him on the front porch when his taxi pulled up before the house. She tore down the steps as he opened the car door, and he jumped out and caught her in his arms. For several minutes neither said a word.
“Oh, Jeannie,” Ralph muttered, holding her close to him. “Jeannie, my darling!”
Jean burrowed her face against his coat and murmured. “Ralph, it’s been so long!”
He held her away from him. “Let me look at you,” he said tenderly. “Gee, if anything, you’re more beautiful than ever!”
She crept close to him again. “Don’t let me go,” she pleaded lightly. “I’m going to stay right here for the rest of my life!”
He stroked her dark curls. “You won’t find me difficult to deal with on that score,” he laughed. Then he became serious. “I’m not going away from you ever again, Jeannie. It isn’t worth it. Everywhere I went, everything I did, I kept wishing that you were with me to share it all. Jeannie, you’re with me now, and you’re here to stay!”
“That’s right.”
Arm in arm they walked up to the house. “How is Jack?” Ralph asked as they entered the front hall. “I was beside myself with worry when you wrote about him.”
“I’m fine,” Jack called from the front parlor. Ralph dashed into the parlor where the family was waiting for him.
“Welcome home, son,” Mrs. Craig said, embracing him. “We all missed you very much.”