She couldnвЂ™t care for her daughter, barely eating or sleeping. I asked where the ambulance was, and he said, вЂYour brother was killed in Iraq.вЂ™ I collapsed in the driveway and started to scream.вЂќДЇor about a month, Manion could barely function, overwhelmed by her grief. вЂњWhen I got there, my dad was with another colonel on the driveway. I asked if they called an ambulance, and they said, вЂJust come home,вЂќ she recalls. вЂњAll I could hear was inaudible screaming. When she called a second time, Manion answered. It was her mom, who was watching her daughter, Maggie, while she dealt with the paperwork. Then, on April 29, 2007, Manion was just lifting her pen to sign the lease on her new retail space in Doylestown when her phone began buzzing in her pocket.

He deflected any discussion about what he was doing, focusing instead on her new baby and impending business growth. On one of their few phone calls during the 4 months he was deployed, Manion says Travis was withdrawn and distracted.

Travis looked like he was totally committed to his mission before he left for Iraq, but Manion began to feel a sense of dread. вЂњIf I donвЂ™t go back, then somebody much less prepared is going to go in my place. ManionвЂ™s husband took him to an Eagles game and joked with him that maybe he should push him down the stairs, so he wouldnвЂ™t have to return to Iraq. Prior to leaving, Manion noticed conversations between Travis and her father were hushed, and he warned his sister that communications would be limited. He was asked to join a group of 12 marines who were going over to train the Iraqis. Meanwhile, the day after Christmas 2006, Travis headed out for a second deployment to Iraq, but this time was very different. She was newly a mom to her daughter, Maggie, working in her Avalon store, finalizing lease space, and gathering inventory. Two years later, she decided to open a second location in her hometown of Doylestown. She had an eye for fashion, and her store had great success, pretty much out of the gate. While Travis served in Iraq, Manion was running a clothing store called Pale Moon Boutique in Avalon, NJ. I could email him, and heвЂ™d email me right back.вЂќ When he was there for his first deployment, he was very accessible. вЂњClearly, men and women were giving their lives, but I had no connection to any of them, so it felt very removed for me.

I didnвЂ™t know one person who had been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan,вЂќ Manion recalls. It felt like that was just what everybody did at the time. Sure enough, by 2005, Travis was deployed to Iraq for the first time. A year later, while Manion sat in an English class, she got a frantic, early-morning call from her mom, letting her know the World Trade Center had been attacked and fearing for the future in which her son and husband would end up in active duty and at war. In 2000, Manion left to major in English at Widener University and play lacrosse, while Travis entered the Naval Academy in Annapolis. They maintained that closeness throughout their young lives, straight through high school-Manion at Central Bucks West and Travis at LaSalle College High School-and into college. вЂњI knew weвЂ™d be moving to a new place, a new school, but I had Travis, so it was ok.вЂќ вЂњTravis was that person for me, he was more than just a brother,вЂќ Manion says. As a Marine Corps Colonel, ManionвЂ™s dad was stationed at half a dozen bases while she and Travis were growing up, which meant the two of them-just 15 months apart-were built-in best friends. Between Camp Lejeune, NC and Doylestown, Pa., where Ryan Manion and her brother, Travis, ultimately landed 11 years later, her family had zigzagged the country from places like Crofton, Md.

The pale moon boutique