They hugged and Susan said, “I love you.”

“I love you.”

She pulled back and looked him in the face and with determination said, “Let’s go meet Melissa.”

Jimmy had printed step-by-step directions to Melissa’s house. Both David and Nate poked fun at him for not using the GPS on his phone, but Jimmy told them he preferred the old-fashioned way.

“If you let your phone tell you where to go, you never use your brain.” He tapped his forehead.

As they drove past cornfields and then through the small town, Susan pointed out the quaint streets and stores with awnings.

“Dude, you could have grown up on the set of It’s a Wonderful Life,” Nate said.

Jimmy took a wrong turn and pretended to be sightseeing, which only added to the stress in the car and the call to use the GPS. Nate had been shooting video from the time he came down the elevator and seemed intent on getting all the material he could.

When they turned onto the road where Melissa and Shawn’s home was, Jimmy looked in the rearview. “David, what makes you most nervous?”

“To see what they’re like. To see what traits I may have gotten from them.”

“Environment plays a very big part,” Susan said.

“But hey, I need to know where my good looks came from.”

Nate laughed. “What good looks?”

“I’ll give them your good looks, but that’s about it,” Susan said.

Jimmy checked the sheet. “Okay, it looks like we’re almost there.”

The home came into view. It was green and white and set in a wooded lot. It seemed to fit perfectly with its surroundings. Jimmy turned onto the gravel drive and slowly pulled forward.

“It’s really happening,” Nate said, training his camera on the home.

Inside, Melissa continued to pace. Shawn and Courtney had left her alone and moved to the kitchen to work on a puzzle.

Melissa had changed her outfit three times before she settled on her jeans and her red blouse and, of course, the cross necklace Shawn had given her after they were married. She wasn’t sure if she should try to cover a few of her tattoos, but she had come to the conclusion that she was done hiding things about herself. She was who she was with all of the scars and experiences, mistakes and hurt.

She was glad to be alone in the living room, watching through the window blinds for any sign of the Coltons. Her heart beat wildly with any car that passed. Then a blue minivan slowed and turned in to the driveway.

She couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe. She managed to open the front door and then retreated from it. Shaking, she went back to the window and watched as the car came to a stop and a side door opened. A young man in shorts got out and studied the house.