Welcome

She stands staring out the window that overlooks the backyard, watching the setting sun when the sound of the doorbell brings her attention back to the room. Oh, it must be John, she thinks to herself. She moves quickly to the front door and thrusts the door open.
“Oh, your not John,” she says. Standing before her was a short, bald, husky man. He looked up at her and said, “No. My name is Norm.”
“Sorry, I was expecting my husband, John.”
“I could never be so lucky. Miss.” Norm paused waiting for her to introduce herself.
“Oh, sorry. I'm Terry Albert. I mean, Dossey. I'm just married, I need to get used to my new name.”
“Congratulations, he is a lucky man,” Norm replies.
“Oh, thank you! Can I help you?”
Norm looked up at Terry, his bright blue eyes catch Terry off guard. “Yes, Miss Dossey. May I please have a minute of your time to show you the latest thing in home décor?”
Norm reaches behind him and pulls forward a large suitcase.
“Well, I don't have much time. I am cooking dinner for my husband and he has asked that I don't let anyone in the house, because of the horrible attacks the past few nights in town.”
“Miss Dossey, you are in luck. What I have to show you goes right here on your stoop and it will only take a second of your time.” Norm snaps open the case and pulls out a small woven blue and green carpet. Embroidered on it was the word Welcomein black.
“What is it?” Terry asks.
Norm smiles, “This is a beautiful, handcrafted work of art. It is made from the finest wools from my home country of Romania. Made by the children of the Orphanage in my home village.”
“Oh! It is beautiful! What do you do with it?” Terry asks.
“You place it on the stoop, here in front of your doorway and it warmly welcomes your friends and neighbors into your home. But that's not all! When Mr. Dossey works in your lovely yard, he can wipe his feet on it so he does not track dirt into your clean home, and let's not forget the children, after playing outside all day!”
“Oh, we don't have any kids yet.” Terry interrupts.
“Well, I am sure you will have many lovely children,” Norm replies.
Terry smiles, “I hope so. But I am not sure I can afford such a nice...” Terry searches for the word.
Norm interrupts, “Did I mention that $1.00 of the $2.00 cost goes to help the children?”
“$2.00? Well, that is reasonable, and it helps the children!”
Norm grins from ear to ear. “Yes, a good deal indeed and the children will really appreciate the help.”
“Hold on. I''ll get my purse.” Terry quickly walks back into the house and returns with $2.00 in hand. “Here you go,” she says.
Norm smiles and hands her the mat. “You just place it right there, in front of your door.”
Terry puts it on the floor right in front of the door. She smiles, “I like it. Thank you, sir.”
“It has been my pleasure. I hope you and your husband have a good night and good luck with your new life together.” Norm turns and walks quickly toward an old beat up car. Terry watches as Norm gets into the car and drives off.
Norm looks back at her and for a quick second Terry is fixed on his face, his eyes filled with a deep sorrow. As the car rounds the corner, Terry snaps back. Oh, dinner! Terry closes the door and heads back to the kitchen, where she busily works on dinner. Time had passed and still no John. Terry sat at the table looking over her dinner as it gets cold. She cleans the table off and put all the food in the refrigerator and heads to the front window to peer out to the street. The sun has set and there is an eerie glow from the streetlights. Terry thinks to herself, Where are you John?
Two hours pass and Terry sits on the couch and still no John. She moves upstairs to their bedroom and slips into her sleeping gown and crawls into bed. In a short time she falls into a restless sleep.
The creak of the door opening wakes Terry up. Oh thank god John, Terry thinks to herself . She gets up and heads down the stairs. As she reaches the bottom of the steps, Terry calls out, “John, why are you home so late?”
That is when her eyes meet with a familiar face. “Oh, Norm. What are you doing here? Wait. Why are you in my house?” Terry shouts out.
Norm answers quietly. “You invited me in, Terry.”
“No. You had better leave. My husband is home and he will not like you in here.”
“Terry, please, you know he is not here and he will not be here. But it is okay. You will not be sad long.” Norm quickly moves toward her.
3 months later 
A young lady kisses her husband goodbye. “Have a good day at work!”
He smiles, “yes dear, you have a good day, too.”
She watches him drive off and waves goodbye. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a beat up old car parked just up the road. The young lady thinks nothing of it and closes the door. A few minutes later, she comes back out with a broom and sweeps clean a beautiful, hand crafted, wool welcome mat .