As they pulled into the driveway of the Sander’s two story home, Andrew could see that a lot had changed since he had been gone. The houses on the street were more modern and had new looking coatings of paint. He saw couples walking along the sidewalk whom he did not recognise. It would definitely take some getting used to. 

As they got out of the car, Ella went to get her father’s bag, but Susanne stopped her. Before Andrew could intervene, they had a few whispered words and Ella placed the bag on the ground. 

“I'm so sorry daddy, but I have to go. I’m running late for a tutoring appointment, but I’ll see you tonight. I’m so happy you’re home,” Ella embraced him tightly before getting her bike and hopping on. Andrew was left with the view of her accelerating down the road as he turned back to the house. 

“Well, come on in,” Susanne suggested, heading for the door. Andrew picked up his bag and followed her into the house. He was immediately struck by the mess: pizza boxes, chinese food containers, wrappers, dirty clothes, all littering the living room floor around the pulled out sofa bed. Andrew cringed as he noticed a pair of extra large panties over a corner of the box TV, the smell of sex and sweat hung in the air.

“What happened here?” Andrew asked.

“What happens here, is our daughter has turned the living room into her own bang room,” Susanne spat.

“Isn't Beth in college?” Andrew asked in surprise.

“Why Andy, aren’t you proud of our 21-year-old stay at home daughter?” Susanne cooed, hiding her accusatory tone.

At that moment, a couple walked into the room, more than half naked. The man was grossly over weight, dressed only in a pair of boxers and a  stained sleeveless vest. He looked from the disappointed mother to the militarily dressed father and his eyes widened.

“Shit Ms. Sanders, you called the army?!” he exclaimed.

“Oh shut up Brian, that’s just my dad,” Beth corrected. Beth Sanders stood about as tall as her mother, at 5’7”, but what she lacked in height she made up for in size. While her 152lbs  frame had blessed her with ample breasts and wide hips, a lot of fat had settled over her stomach, things and arms. With blonde ringlets falling around her chubby face down to the middle of her neck, she resembled her mother, bar Susanne’s obsession with keeping healthy. 

“Honey, I just got back from a war zone,” Andrew tried, “Can't I at least get a hug from my little girl?”

“Oh so now you want a reward for going of and killing people while I had to grow up without a father at home?” Beth retorted, huffing and turning on her heel to walk back into the kitchen. To his surprise, Susanne gave Andrew a look saying; you shouldn’t have pushed her. 

“You can take your bag up to our room if you want,” she said, headed for the kitchen as well, “We’ll have dinner at eight.”

Less than impressed by his welcome, Andrew stepped around the mess in the living room and upstairs. On the landing there were doors. The central one led to a cramped bathroom with a toilet, shower and sink. Another, bearing the signs ‘BETH’S ROOM,’ and ‘KEEP OUT,’ contained a stale smelling mess. The final door led to Susanne’s bedroom. A plain space with a dresser, wardrobe and double bed. Andrew carried his bag to the wardrobe and emptied his clothes onto a shelf. He would have to stock up on civilian clothing in the coming days. He finished up and decided to go for a quick shower. 

As he cleaned away the sweat from the day of travel, Andrew thought about the state of his house and started thinking about his life. Having been in the military, he was used to having the big decisions made for him, and having steady people around him, all with a common goal; to get home safe to their loved ones. There was no tension, no drama, it was simple. Now, he felt a distance between him and his wife, and his daughter clearly didn’t seem happy to see him. After a long shower, he was still thinking about his dilemma when he walked out of the bathroom. Dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, he walked around the corridor, not wanting to go back downstairs and face Susanne, or Beth.

He strayed into Beth’s room, taking in the heavily poster-covered walls, for boy bands and rap groups. Her desk was stacked with unopened letters; university rejections, blank applications for part time jobs and the likes. Dirty clothes were everywhere, tossed over shoes and handbags. Andrew found a few pictures of Beth in her high school days, from music festivals and clubs. As he walked out of the messy space, Andrew began to wonder, where was Ella’s bedroom. It couldn’t be downstairs, and there were no other doors on this landing. He was walking along the corridor when he noticed the rope handle dangling from the ceiling. 

He immediately remembered the house’s attic. Wanting to check out some of his old stuff, he pulled down the sliding ladder and began to climb it. Making quick progress, his head entered the space and he searched for the light switch. Finding it, Andrew pulled the cord and the attic was illuminated; he gasped. 

The room was only big enough to stand in along the middle, as the roof slanted down on either side. Where there had been a a chaotic mess of boxes, now was an immaculately tidy bedroom. One of the short walls was covered entirely with awards, in the forms of medals, trophies, and laminated certificates. An extremely low table stood against this wall, a cushion sat in front of it. To one side of it was a very short bookshelf held textbooks, organised alphabetically. The opposite wall was covered with photographs, these of sports meets, debates, race, camping trips, and the plethora of other extracurriculars that Ella took part in. Along the far wall however was the sight which caught Andrew’s eye. The small, circular window at the centre of the triangular wall looked out onto the front lawn of the house, and stood over a mattress with sheets and a pillow. On the wall, in neat rows were pieces of paper of varying shapes and sixes. 

Andrew slowly crossed the small room and recognised the papers; they were letters in his writing., birthday wishes and the occasional update when he had gotten a few days off, all addressed to Ella. He counted a grand total of 16 such messages and realised guiltily how little he had written his adoptive daughter in the 13 years he had been away. But on the wall, each one was hung in its own space, the only blemishes being the folds he himself had made when sending them. At the centre, stuck on the window itself, was a small photograph of him from just before deployment. It was framed and also in pristine condition. 

Stepping back from Ella’s shrine to him, Andrew turned to leave when he saw some open letters on her desk. Thankful for the cleanliness of her daughter’s room, he decided he could bare to stay a little longer and crouched down as he moved into the concavity of the attic. 

In two piles were opened letters and the envelopes that they had arrived in. As Andrew approached he almost couldn’t believe his eyes. Early acceptance letters to Harvard, Yale and Princeton among other large universities glowed with praise for his daughter, commending her on her acceptance for entry at age 17. Upon closer examination of her wall, Andrew could understand why she had earned them; medals for triathlon and trophies for soccer, awards for academic excellence, and a shield for membership of the school’s honour’s society wee among the prizes that decorated the room. 

The sound of the stairs to the room dropping open made Andrew jump and the man hit his head against the ceiling, coming to land on his rear.