04 When You Least Expect It - Finally Home Series (MP3)

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With hopes, I suppose, of earning some extra cash, my dad once took a three-month assignment to New England. I was ten-years-old, about midway between training wheels and pimples. I thought much about baseball and bubble gum. Can't say I ever once thought about Bangor. Until Dad went there, at least.

Mom used his pending return to both comfort and caution us. She could do both with the same phrase. With soft assurance, "Your dad will be home soon." Or clenched teeth: "Your dad will be home soon." She circled his arrival date on the calendar and crossed each day as it passed. She made it clear: Dad's coming would be a big deal.