Anthony was suddenly all smiles when Padma opened the door. All of his worries went away. She was alright, and so was he, and for the moment, everything else was alright as well. The future was the future and it wasn't even guaranteed to happen in the village, right?
He stepped into her arms, returning the hug. "You haven't changed a bit in twelve years, Pads." He looked her over quickly, making sure that that remained a true statement. He was going to feel like an arse if she suddenly had a wooden leg or something. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. "It seems like it's been forever!"
And truthfully, it sort of had been. He'd written of course, but face to face meetings with his best friend had been rare. "So?" He moved them both into the house, his hand at the small of her back. It was still nippy outside with the cold weather.