Page 3 of Every November

“I could never—” he starts, but Lily smacks his chest with her hand, effectively shutting him up. She always plays defense with him, at least around me, and the worst part is I don’t even think she’s doing it for my benefit. Sean tips his beer back and chugs, and I try to hide my dislike of him, but my face has always betrayed me. Or so I’ve been told.

Mom must take that as her cue to start drinking, too. She sets a wine glass on the table and grabs a bottle of white wine from the fridge. “So, any updates with the wedding invite list?”

I’m grateful for the change in subject. Despite agreeing to hang out with Josh at nine, I think I need to get out of the house sooner.

“I’m going to go hang with Josh. I’ll be back later,” I say.

“But your sister just got here,” Mom sighs, but it’s not really a protest. It’s a performance because she thinks this is what a happy family does, but it’s impossible to be a happy family when she actively disapproves of my life choices.

“It’s fine. I’ll see him all day tomorrow,” Lily dismisses, and I give her a small nod in appreciation. It’s probably just easier for everyone when I’m not here.

“Fine,” Mom concedes before taking a sip of her wine. “It’ll be good for you to see everyone. Are you going to be out late?”

“Probably. Don’t feel like you have to wait up. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Alright. Don’t drink and drive,” she warns.

“Never do,” I assure her, because I don’t. I’ve done a lot of dumb shit growing up, but drinking and driving has always been a hard no for me.

I shut the door behind me and finally feel settled as the chilly air hits my lungs. I walk over to my car, which Sean thankfully didn’t park behind, and call Josh before I even get my seatbelt on.

“Sup, man?” he says in greeting.

“Hey, you free now?”

I can hear the unspoken question in his pause: What happened this time? but he lets it go. “Yeah, come over. We can hang out before we head to the bar.”

“See you soon.”

CHAPTER 2

Evan

“Holy shit, it’s packed,” I mutter as I take in all the cars parked outside High Top.

“Same shit every year,” Derek notes as he kills the engine and grins at me with the same big smile he’s had since we were kids.

“I can’t wait to see everyone.”

“Let’s get inside then.”

We climb out into the nippy air and cross the parking lot, passing a group of people huddled by the door smoking cigarettes. Derek pulls open the wooden door, and we step out of the cold straight into a wall of noise and body heat.

It’s nearly as packed as last year, and as I slowly take it in, Derek begins scanning the room.

“There they are!” Derek shouts over the noise, waving to a group of our friends from high school. I follow him, weaving between bodies and am immediately pulled into hugs by people I haven’t seen since last Thanksgiving.

“Evan! Oh my god, you’re here!” Katy says, wrapping her arms around my neck.

“Sure am.” I laugh, hugging her back. “It’s good to see you.”

“You too! How’s Seattle? Are you still in love with it? Are you going to stay forever?” The questions come rapid-fire, with no breath between them, exactly as I remember.

“It’s incredible. I don’t know about forever, but definitely no plans on leaving anytime soon.” I’ve been gone for over two years now, building my life across the country, but this place will always be home. I never knew where I’d end up, but Seattle truly feels like the perfect spot for me, even if being 2,000 miles away is hard with how much I miss my family. But when I got the job offer as a design engineer at an outdoor gear company, there was no way I could possibly turn it down.

“He’s set on abandoning us,” Derek teases, even though I don’t think it’s really a hardship on him. Derek stayed in Bloomington. Right after high school, he started his Boilermaker apprenticeship, and now he’s a journeyman. We’ve grown apart over the years since high school, but he’s still the person I text when I’m back in town.

“I haven’t abandoned you. I just can’t hang out all the time.”