Lovestruck Winter

Home Again

"Emma!" Her mom was running across the airport to the pick-up area.

"Hey, Mom," Emma's mom, Barbra, nearly tackled her. "Where's dad?"

"He's making sure the car is warm. Everyone is at home, and we're all going to go out to Eric's Steakhouse tonight," her mom said as she pulled away.

"I love that place," Emma said.

"We know, Bailey suggested it," her mom started holding her hand as they walked to the baggage claim. "Where's Ava? I know you said she wasn't coming, but is she working?"

"Yeah," Emma answered flatly, not really wanting to talk about it. Emma was just glad they were lazy about sending out the 'save the date'. "I wanted to talk to everyone about that when we got home," her mom looked worried.

"Alright. Yeah, we'll all be there. Why don't you catch me up on work?" Emma launched into how everything was going at the hospital. Catching up on her friends, co-workers, and work. They were able to find her green suitcase with no problem, and they walked outside to see her dad, Ernesto, waiting.

"If it isn't my little pumpkin!" He shouted, reaching out for a hug. Emma held him tightly.

"I missed you," she said into his shoulder.

"I missed you too. Come on, let's get you home and settled," he said, grabbing her bag and loading it up for her. The drive from Ekhart International Airport to Glacier took about forty-five minutes, passing through dense, snowy forests along a small two-lane highway. Emma stared out the window at the familiar trees, occasionally seeing the clearings for ice rivers and frozen lakes. Glacier was at the northernmost point of Idaho, a stone's throw away from the Canadian border. All the towns up here had populations of less than ten thousand, nothing but boring backwoods, small towns, and farming communities. She could see the lights before anything else, the wooden sign off to the side of the road trimmed with fake pine needles and Christmas lights, happily welcoming them to the municipality of Glacier.

Main Street was lined with lanterns and shops and cobblestone paths. Poinsettias hung from baskets, and the streetlights were wrapped in Christmas lights and tinsel. More lights were strung across the road from building to building, including a Glacier staple: a full-sized light display of Santa's sleigh and his reindeer, made to look like they were flying. The snow was pushed from the streets and off the busy sidewalks, people milling about and moving from store to store, all of the shops just as decked out as the road. Wreaths hung on every door, lights on every roof and window, and Emma could already see the candy-cane striped sign in the distance for Santa's Village, the massive Christmas tree farm/Christmas-themed winter wonderland. You could get anything there, from lights to trees to cocoa. They even had a few caribou on hand labeled as reindeer you could feed and pet.

Her dad turned off the main road and headed into the neighborhoods, nice houses lined up neatly in rows. They lived inside of the town limits, at least, not having to drive out to the farmlands where her grandparents were. All of the residents treated the holiday like it was the greatest event of the year. Even the one Jewish family in town had their house lit up in blue and white lights, a Star of David displayed on the lawn in gold strands. Her parents' house was no exception, with hardly a spot left unlit and untrimmed on the two-story, white paneled structure. There were a few cars in the driveway: her sister's familiar black jeep and her brother's beat-up old truck.

"It's really nice to be home," Emma said to herself.

"Let's get you inside. I made up your old room," her mom said. Emma nodded and went to the trunk to get her bag, but her dad stopped her.

"No, no, you go inside and relax. Both my daughters are here, and both of you are getting spoiled," Emma affectionately rolled her eyes.

"Alright, alright," she said. Her mom hurried her inside, the snow starting to come down again, and she was immediately bum-rushed by two small forms, both colliding solidly with her legs.