Mae descended the stairs smiling. Winnie was such a sweet girl and she had brought back memories that Mae had nearly forgotten. Not that she would ever truly forget, but sometimes it was hard to remember Tuck as he had been back then. In the midst of her memories Mae heard the voice of the very man she had been thinking about. "Mae?" Tuck asked breathlessly. He had looked up when he heard his wife coming back down the staircase and was speechless. She was wearing the dress she had worn the day he proposed. He would never forget it. She had been so beautiful.

"What is it?" Mae was taken aback by the curious look on Tuck's face, until she realized that she had forgotten to change back into her normal clothes. "Oh, I'm sorry,' she said flustered, "I… I'd better go change."

"No," Tuck said quickly, grabbing her arm as she tried to dash from the room, "you look beautiful." Tuck continued to gaze at his wife. Mae looked back at him and blushed.

"I was just going through some old trunks with Winnie, and she pulled this old thing out. I forgot to take it off," Mae said.

"The day I asked you to marry me," Tuck smiled remembering. Mae was speechless for a moment.

"You remembered," she said. Mae couldn't believe that, after all these years, he remembered this dress. He barely looked at her anymore and yet he remembered a dress from a century ago.

"Of course, I remember, Mae. That was one of the happiest days of my life. You were so beautiful. Still are," he said with a shy grin. Mae looked at her husband curiously for a moment, before deciding that she didn't care how this change had happened, but that she was grateful for it. She stepped toward him and tentatively slipped her arms around his neck. He returned her embrace with gusto and lifted her off the floor in the process. For ten years he had sat on that couch, never bothering to get up or even dress. He just let life pass him by. Let her pass him by. She had tried so often to get him to get up and do something, anything, but it never worked. When Winnie had gotten such an enthusiastic response from him, she was thrilled to see the life in his eyes, but she was jealous too. Jealous that a young girl could bring such joy and life back into him when his own wife couldn't. Of course, she knew it was the novelty of a visitor as well as having the boys back, but that didn't make it hurt any less. Yet here he was, telling her she was beautiful and remembering things she would have never expected him to spend his time thinking about. As she embraced him, she struggled with feelings of anger, exasperation, and love, all pulling at her thoughts. She settled with saying,

"Where has this Tuck been for the past ten years?" As she said it a tear rolled down her cheek. Tuck pulled away and looked at her sadly, brushing away the tear.

"I'm sorry Mae. I've been a fool. I was angry at the world, not you. I didn't mean to hurt you in the process." He looked down at the floor. In all honesty, he hadn't even been thinking about Mae. He had only thought about how unfair it was to have to watch everyone else go by while he was stuck, never belonging. He thought a lot about himself. About how unfair it was for him to lose everyone he knew, even his boys. Well, not everyone. He never really thought about Mae. Sure, he heard her shuffling about, keeping busy, but he easily dismissed her restless behavior. He didn't understand why she tried. Nothing would ever change. It couldn't. But now, looking into his wife's teary eyes, he realized how much he had hurt her. She too had lost friends and missed the boys, perhaps more than even he did. And all he had done was ignore her, letting her roam the house like a ghost: unseen and unheard. Unwanted. Tuck couldn't find enough words to apologize, so he just held her close and stroked her hair. Mae took a shaky breath as she clung tighter to Tuck. This was all she had wanted for so long. She had nearly given up hope that he would ever speak to her again. All she wanted was his touch. The comfort of his arms. Mae relished in this moment and as Tuck leaned down and kissed her, she knew that somehow everything would turn out alright.