Preparation

Tahnee was greeting a new guest, when a brown car pulled up. She watched as a tall man unfolded from it. A smile spread across her face. Tadi had made it after all.

Her older brother looked around until his eyes landed on his sister moving toward him. She still looked great. He kicked himself for having waited so long to come back home to see her. They had been so close growing up. When he had left for the Marines, he never came back. Home was the last place he had wanted to be.

The days before he left, he had spent running with the pack in celebration of his joining the military. He had loved it. The last night, one of the elders who had been in the Marines during World War II had pulled him aside to give him some advice.

“Tadi, we’re all very proud of you stepping up to serve your country.”