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ece of furniture looked clean and unused Every sleamed with newness I kneas because he seldom spent time here That he worked so much, and so often, he barely used his place, except to sleep

“Who wants to go first?”

I glanced up at the clock It was alh, Christht of all

“I will,” said Brody

We’d gotten together not long ago, and eaten a late dinner My cooking was interrupted only twice; once by Lincoln carrying ain by Donovan and Brody while I wasdessert

I didn’t mind that dessert came out very late

“Here you go,” said Lincoln, handing over an envelope “Merry Christmas, brother”

It was cute, watching the guys give each other gifts Brody and Donovan had exchanged sports ifts at first — old- hiifts they’d given me… well, they’d all melted my heart

“What the heck is it?” Brody asked, tearing open the envelope He pulled out a sheet of paper, unfolded it and squinted

“It’s your tuition for next year,” said Lincoln “All paid up”

Brody blinked three times, then sed hard “Bro… I can’t No way I can accep—”

“Yes you can,” said Lincoln simply “I’m happy to do it I’lanced at ht?”

Seeing the awe and excitement on Brody’s face filled me with happiness “Yes,” I smiled, just as Lincoln was practically decked by Brody’s“Yes it is”

We took a minute to calm down, and then Lincoln pulled out two tiny boxes Each rapped with ribbon, each had a bow

“Who’s next?”