I rode to Sunny Pines Trailer Park in Grant’s truck.

It smelled like dog and armpit and piña colada thanks to the scent tree hanging from his rearview mirror.

“You nervous?” he asked.

I was watching the houses go by. In every single one, people lived there.

People who talked to each other and fought with each other and ate macaroni and cheese with each other.

People who watched TV and went on bike rides and braided each other’s hair.

In every single house there were things that were good and things that were bad. And there were families. All kinds of families that tried their best to hold each other together.

“I’m okay,” I said.

When we pulled in, to my surprise, there was a huge WELCOME HOME, OLIVIA sign and an elephant and a helicopter throwing out confetti and a TV camera and forty-five dancers from the hit TV show So You Think You Can Dance doing a modern number about love and reunion and a hundred boxes of Totino’s frozen pizzas.

~

But really, there was Berk in the middle of the street. And Mom. And Melody. And Carlene.

And everyone.

And I ran to Berk and I held her and I said, “I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry.”

She just hugged me and hugged me and hugged me and I hugged her right back.

And then I hugged Mom and she hugged me and she said, “It’s going to be okay,” and I said, “I know,” and then I hugged Melody and Mrs. Sydney Gunnerson and Delilah and Paul and Grant and Carlene and Tandi and Chip and everyone. I hugged everyone because I was home.