Lauren Hicks

The Finding

“You can smell them before you see them,” my brother said matter-of-factly. He puffed on his e-cig nonchalantly and fixed his eyes on the horizon. We sat idly on the porch swing in front of Great-Aunt Lucy’s house and a comfortable silence fell over us as I pondered what he said. It was Thanksgiving, again, and both of us being single were guilted into spending it with our extended family; we were the youngest there and both in our late twenties. This is why people get married young and start their own families, I thought.