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Bea

“Bea, go get the door!” Mom calls from the kitchen currently filled with scents of all kinds of sweet and savory things My legs trudge down the stairs in heavy footfalls I pause halfway down as raphs on the wall: My parents at proraduation My brother’s birth, and taking his first steps before I ca my brother, Deacon, who isn’t home this holiday

“Beatrice Nicole, get the door!” It also has Mo this Thanksgiving with a girl and her family before my mother has met her

Another step down and mypumpkin cheesecake bites I have to hand it to my mom—she kno to coaxI almost feel bad about my thirteen-week funk, but she made an extra pumpkin pie I don’t have to share with my cousins…so maybe not too bad

“I got it” Skipping down the stairs, I wonder why I’ the door every holiday It’s not like there aren’t plenty of other people in the house perfectly situated to open the door I bet it’s one ofa free aht That theater-sized screen ton, North Carolina because we all know my Uncle Arty is a cheapskate

A hard knock sounds outside and I shout, pulling the door open wide, “Jesus, Evan, it’s not like you haven’t been here…before” My botto I notice are the shiny boots peeking out from a set of military dress blues My mouth dries up as oodbye thirteen weeks ago and returned looking like…I gulp in an unsteady breath…athe seams of his crisply pressed uniform

Son of a…

My eyes ave up hope that he’d call, text, write, or send a freaking carrier pigeonme The uniform only enhances the newly bulkedht under a fullwith the stars in the dark sky I force myself to shake off the memories and reiving Day

“Oh hell” I push the door shut as quickly as I opened it, squeezinga whi hi and fine, as if the last three oodbye The worry that soht have—could have—happened to him churns in my empty belly

The sneaky shots of mulled apple cider I took withup toward my broken heart

A hand with neat-clipped nails curls around the wood doorframe “Awe Honeybee, don’t be like that At least let me come in and explain” He sticks his booted foot with the blinding black shine in the door, having expected this reaction fro the door steady despite my best efforts to slam it in his cocky face

I strain to dislodge hiuy is that he’s real good at waiting me out From the day we met, he seemed to understand what made me tick better than I did myself I’ll exhaust every effort before he even thinks about giving up Fro circles around each other

I hate it

I’ et under my skin in every way possible I could closeto see his I felt while he was gone

The aunts dubbed it puppy love