Thanksgiving was one of Lina’s favorite holidays, but as the day approached, the separation from Phil served to temper her normal enthusiasm. It was Phil’s family traditions that made the day special. They would start the day with a touch football game at Jeanie and Mike’s, followed by a recorded viewing of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which would inevitably prompt groans of protest from the males in attendance who, nonetheless, sat down for the supposed torture year after year. Next they would watch football and snack on light appetizers before partaking in a traditional Thanksgiving feast that gave way to watching more football and finally, after the sun went down, a competitive family-against-family game of charades.

Although it broke her heart, Lina made the kids go to her in-laws’ without her, politely declining invitations from both Jeanie and her mother-in-law, feeling her attendance would make the day awkward for everyone else. She’d planned to spend the day with Alice and her sisters, which is what she told Logan when he was worried she’d be alone. But when the day arrived she couldn’t bring herself to do anything, afraid spending the day away from her children would be hard enough without adding a dose of Julian and Shiloh to the mix. So she feigned a headache, which actually materialized midafternoon, effectively alleviating any guilt, and spent the day in bed cuddling with Knight, watching football and feeling sorry for herself. As the game came to an end, she realized how much she associated watching football with Phil and how much she missed it.

A late-day shower did little to alleviate the sadness that had been consuming her all day, so after slipping into her most comfortable sweats, she poured herself a large glass of wine and curled up in the corner of the couch, hoping she could find something on the television to snap her out of her melancholy.

As she reached for the television remote, her eyes focused on a framed photograph of Phil and the kids taken at least ten years prior. Phil was sitting in the grass, laughing while a four- or five-year-old Logan clung to his neck, and Megan and Katie stood behind them, throwing leaves in the air. It had been taken the day before Thanksgiving. Lina remembered seeing them through the kitchen window as she stirred the filling for a pumpkin pie and grabbing the camera so she could catch the moment. It occurred to her then why people became depressed around the holidays—it was the memories of better times.

The chime from her cell phone pulled her from her reverie, and an instant later she was reading a text from Phil. Happy Thanksgiving. And then, before she had a chance to respond, Katie and Logan are on their way home. Megan wants to spend the night with me. Is that okay?