"Are you going home for Christmas?" Gordon asked me, as we walked up Michigan Avenue, huddled together in the cold. He wanted to finish his Christmas shopping during our dinner break, when everyone and their sister seemed to be doing the same thing.

"No."

"Why not?"

"There's nothing there for me in Pittsburgh. I haven't been back since I lived in Florida. I don't like going back."

"What about your family? Your parents? Your friends?"

"My parents go to Vermont for Christmas to see my brother. And I don't talk to many people I grew up with anymore. For various reasons. And I can't afford to fly to Vermont. I might go to Lainey's house and watch movies with her.” I wasn’t feeling completely unfestive. I...

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