The TV was on in the living room, and Nicholas was sitting on the floor in front of the
couch, holding his baby sister Lily on his lap. She kept tugging on his shoelaces and trying to
crawl away, but Nicholas didn’t let her. He watched his mom’s back and the front door with
the official’s silhouette out of the corner of his eye, but was otherwise focusing all his
attention on the TV. He tried to block out the sounds from the doorway, even though he knew
what the visit meant. His mom had tried to prepare him for it ever since he was old enough to
realize that his dad’s long absences meant he was at war