So when the family car finally pulled up at four, she raced outside in the falling snow to greet them.
Her mom was the first to rush out and hug her, and boy, it felt good. Aunt Piper was the cool aunt, but Ali Mason would always be Jenna’s mom.
“Oh, I missed you so much, honey,” Ali said through happy tears.
“Me too, although I didn’t miss you quite as much as your mom,” her dad said while giving her a hug.
Her sisters piled on, with Joy chatting a mile a minute about all the fun they’d had and the presents they’d brought her.
Her dad looked around and frowned. “Where’s Piper?”
Just then, Grandma and Grandpa exited, waving for everyone to come inside out of the cold.
Once the greetings had been dealt with and the car finally emptied, her dad dragged her aside and whispered, “What’s the status on Grant and Piper?”
“I thought it was going well, but honestly, I’m not sure. They both left. Piper had Grandma and Grandpa stay with me yesterday. She texted earlier to say she was coming back soon, probably tomorrow. But nothing else.”
“Huh.” He frowned and shook his head. “So you said you aced the SATs huh?”
“I think so.”
“And Riverdown won the state championship? Wow. I think your whole school is on a roll.”
“I know.” She grinned. “Simon’s going to come over tomorrow, okay? He wanted to say hi.”
“We love Simon. Of course.”
But Jenna could tell her dad was worried about his sister. Heck, so was Jenna.
* * *
The next day, the snow continued to fall, but it was a light blanket, and it made for excellent sledding.
After spending the morning sledding with her sisters, Simon, and some friends at a snow park, they returned home to cocoa and cookies, courtesy of Mom and Grandma. Christmas music filled the air, along with the snap and crackle of a blazing fire and twinkling Christmas lights.
A true white Christmas with family and friends all around. Jenna only wished Aunt Piper were here to share. She’d heard about her aunt’s altercation with that loser, Sam, from a friend outside the cool bath store on Main Street the other day. She wished she could have seen both Piper and Grant scare the poop out of the guy. Simon and she agreed that if anyone ever treated a friend the way Sam had, there would be a private smackdown for sure.
Joy started jumping up and down. “There’s a car here! A car is coming up the driveway.”
Jenna raced to the window, pushing aside the blinds, and watched her aunt and Grant leave the vehicle. They walked hand-in-hand up the driveway with matching smiles.
“Simon! It worked!”
He rushed to the window and grinned, then gave her a high-five. “Yes. Another couple accomplished.”
“We really are good.”
She waited impatiently for them to come inside, and when they did, she couldn’t help from squealing at the sight of matching wedding bands. “You got married?”
Her family gathered around, but Jenna saw the clear love shining in her aunt’s eyes. Finally, all that fear and hurt had been banished to yesterday. Her cool aunt finally had a cool guy to stand by her side.
“You got married?” her grandma exclaimed. “How could you?”
Piper and Grant laughed really hard.
“You have no idea how tough it was to get her to the altar. I was afraid she might ditch me,” Grant said with a big smile.
Her dad pulled him in for a hug. “This calls for a celebration! My little sister, all married and sappy. I mean, happy.”
