Wrong number. (Completed)

Epilogue

MAY 16, 2023

NICK

"You see this beautiful face?" I showed my fiancée's picture to the guy next to me on the airplane. "Been dating her for the past three years just about. Yeah, she waited. I mean. She went on a mission and got back in December. Yeah, I left a month before her but she got to come back five months earlier. Not really fair if you ask me, ha-ha." I nudged the guy and he looked irritated. I knew he didn't care about a return missionary or his love life. Missionaries weren't supposed to have one. But I did.

I didn't care if the man didn't care. I was going to show off my future wife's picture to everyone.

I soon found sleep and slept the whole way from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. No overlays. Thank goodness. I just hoped that there was someone waiting for me at the airport.

On the mission I heard stories of how families forgot that their sons and daughters were coming home and wouldn't be at the airport waiting. I repeated over and over again on email and FaceTime to my mom and James to pick me up on May 16th at 5:45 a.m. I wasn't particularly expecting my girlfriend to be there or any of her family. She would be up at school. She should be up at school. She decided not to go to BYU-Provo. Mostly because I couldn't get in. But BUY-Idaho accepted me and so she transferred to that school for my sake. I hated making her follow me when I promised to follow her. With James' money I probably could have been able to get into a better school in Utah to be close to my girlfriend but I didn't want anything to do with his money.

What if my girlfriend has found someone else? BYU-I isn't nicknamed 'BYU I do' for nothing!

There wasn't a day that thought didn't run through my mind. My girlfriend was to be up at school for Winter and Spring Semesters. We both are. That is how we started off school and that is how we plan on ending it. She's already in her third year of college and I only have a year done. She would have two but she's just incredibly smart and passed a lot of AP courses in high school.

I hate her.

I got off the plane still dressed in my black suit, missionary tag pinned to my jacket, slicked hair, and a skip in my step. I hoped and prayed that my girlfriend wasn't here. I specifically told my mom not to tell her when I got back. I myself even told my girlfriend that I wasn't going to tell her and just make it a surprise.

"NICKY!!!" I smiled big and waved to my mom as I made my way down the escalator in the airport. James, my step-father, was holding a sign with 'Welcome back Elder Cam' on it and my mother was holding a camera. I ran up to her dropping my backpack and carryon and hugged her, lifting her off the ground about a foot. "Nicky! You grew!"

"About four inches!" I smiled at her. I looked to James and we embraced. "I'm taller than you, old man." I commented.

"And you've gained some weight. I wonder how your fiancée is going to feel about that." I just laughed. I was so happy to be home.

"Nick, how's your Spanish?" James asked as we loaded the car with my suitcases.

"I talked to you guys a lot in Spanish during the mish on FaceTime."

"Yeah, yeah, let's hear if you weren't just lip syncing another companion's voice. I laughed and spoke my mission native tongue. We climbed into the car and I was asleep again.