Chocolate Fever

Sarah Finnley

Almost a full year had passed since Sarah had last seen her mom and dad. She tried to stay in touch as much as she could, but life seemed to get in the way with work. A lot of work. Sarah worked for a very well-known publisher called "Now Times". She had all of these scheduled hours working for them throughout most of an entire week it was rare she had any weekends off to herself or for anything else outside of work.  A writer of sorts she was aspiring to be with a hint of journalism involved. There were already a couple of writing projects she was currently working on for her boss.

It was now the middle of November and Thanksgiving was quickly approaching Small Thread Ville. Sarah knew she wanted to be home with the family to celebrate not only the holidays, but also her own ambitions and being a successful writer in the works. This was a time to spend with family and to be surrounded by the ones she loved.

It was cold on that late night that Sarah pulled up to her parents' home by yellow taxi. The car door opened, and she stepped out, but not before handing the cab driver a tip for the drive.

"Oh, no, miss I cannot except this tip. It is too much". The cab driver said. He skimmed through the one-hundred-dollar tip that Sarah was giving him. This month and going into the next were holidays coming up, so she wanted to be generous.

"Please take it sir and enjoy your Thanksgiving with your family". Sarah smiled. The taxi drove off after she left the car.

Sarah stood outside in her purple down, long winter coat with matching gloves and hat. She rubbed her hands together in such a matter to get them warm to briefly cover her ears. Her long brown hair was worn down but wasn't enough to keep her ears warm. 

As she began to warm up her body, she turned to head towards her parents' home where she was dropped off. Sarah stopped walking when she noticed this house looked different. It was dark outside, but she could notice some of the little and big things that have changed. Inside the lights were on, bright but not bright enough. Her green eyes scanned over the home excited to finally be back in her hometown and see her parents. This was a good different she thought as she remembered her home looking slightly run down the last time she left. The mailbox was replaced and the steps up the front porch were painted. The outside of the entire home was fresh as if it were just built on the street. 

The doorbell was rung and immediately she was welcomed with open arms from her father and mother with a warm embrace. An embrace that Sarah has needed for a while. 

"Sarah welcome home sweetheart! You must be freezing. Come in, come in!" Her mother said.

They closed the front door behind her as she scooted herself inside and immediately walked over to the hot fireplace in the center of the living room. Her father took the coat as she removed it, hanging it up on the hooks near the door. This felt nice being home to visit for the first time in a while. It all looked so different with the walls painted blue instead of green, the furniture was new, and they even had a pet it seemed, a cat who stared her down from the hallway.

"Wow, you guys it looks so different in here. I didn't even know you had a cat and that you did all of these renovations to your home." Sarah said.

"Well darling, we weren't going to go through with it until a few months ago when your dad finally landed a job at the new factory that came to town. He works for the Hubble Chocolate Factory now and he landed a full-time position with great pay. Now that we are both working and have some extra income after paying off our bills, we wanted to make our dream come true with a remodeling. A new pet was next on the list since you know Lizzie passed away over a year ago. " Her mother stated.

Sarah walked away from the fireplace and sat down on their brand-new sofa that felt freshly bought from the store. She felt her mother and father sit down beside her with more than enough room to spare unlike the old sofa. 

"Congratulations dad! That is wonderful. I mean, wow you have been searching for a job for so long in this town I wasn't sure if you were going to get one. So, you work for Hubble Chocolate Factory?" She spoke.

"Yes, they moved their factory into our town a few months ago and I thought it a good opportunity to apply. My luck turned around and I got a job! After that, well, I and your mother were so excited that we began improving our home like we've wanted to. It hasn't been just me either, a lot of people here also got hired in town. That factory has turned this town around for the better ever since they opened Sarah. We have been so poor for so long and now given a chance we can get our first leg up we have ever had." Sarah's father said happy and determined. 

Sarah felt happy for her parents that things were finally going their way, but this all seemed to be happening so quickly. She would find out more tomorrow as it was late and wanted to turn in for the night.

"I am going to head to bed now. I am happy to hear that you got a job dad that is fantastic. I would love to hear more about it in the morning. I am just so exhausted from my trip." She stood up from the couch and walked into the hallway."

"Okay dear go to sleep. We know you have had an extremely long day. Good night."