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“Up here,” he called out

“Dahlia here?” I couldn’t read Darragh’s tone

“Yeah”

Blood rushed in s for the first time in nine years

Nine years

How could it have been that long? It didn’t feel that long

“Fuck,” I bit out

Dad squeezed my shoulder “Like a Band-Aid, Bluebell Best to pull that thing off quick”

Over the years, Dad had sent me photos of my family and kept me up-to-date with their lives in our weekly phone calls Darragh was thirty-seven and a sports writer for the Boston Globe Lucky bastard had met the Pats, the Sox, the Celts, and the Bruins multiple tih and his wife Krista (I’dwent to shit and had liked her a lot) had bought a nice house in Everett a few streets over They had two sons, Leo and Levi I’d closed the shop when they were both born, heartbroken I couldn’t be there Devastated I’d never h Dad, and I did that for their Christs Dad always passed along their thanks, but I didn’t know if they said that The gifts were never returned, as far as I are

Davina was the second eldest at thirty-five She had a busy and very successful career as a corporate investment banker I didn’t knohat that was, but it e apart the nine years of our estrangement to a man I’d never o,sister came out to my family

She moved in with Astrid, a woe It hurt my heart that my sister had loved her friend for years but hadn’t been able to admit it Dad said Davina was happier than ever, but I had sosister when she needed s I feltfree of o to Davina when she came out

I was re there for my family, but I experienced it particularly intensely over h Derhteenolder brother, whereas Darragh and Davina had been more than that

My parents’ careers h and Davina to look after us younger kids My big brother and sister had helped raise me, and I adored them

I was terrified to see theust

Frozen, I stared at my feet “Dad, I don’t know if I can do this”