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“If Matt got a job over here, we could see you all the time.”

The idea of that filled her with horror, which made her feel even more guilty because she knew she shouldn’t be feeling horror at the thought of being geographically closer to her parents.

“We’ve talked about this before. Matt has his own company, Mom.”

“Exactly. He’s the boss, so he makes the decisions. I’m sure he could do the same thing here that he does over there. You’ve made sacrifices for him. Maybe it’s time he made sacrifices for you instead of it being all one way.”

Brooke’s heart was pounding. Their last visit to her parents had been strained because of this exact topic. Her mother had refused to drop it and even her father had slid a couple of job vacancies under Matt’s nose. It had been hideously awkward and stressful for all of them.

Brooke breathed. She counted slowly. She tried to picture a glass wall between her and her mother so her words wouldn’t penetrate.

But still they penetrated.

“Brooke?”

She blinked. How were you supposed to stay emotionally detached from your parents? How? Their only crime was that they loved her and wanted to spend more time with her.

“You know we can’t move. Matt’s business is going well.” Thank goodness. She knew a moment of panic as she thought of what living close to her mother would mean. It would be exactly as it was now, but more intense.

There was no way that was ever going to happen, so why was she already stressing over it?

Brooke decided it was time to change the subject. “How is the store? I assume you’ve closed because of the weather.” Her parents had owned a bookstore since she was a baby. Her mother had often joked that books had been Brooke’s baby-sitter. After school she would sit on the floor of the children’s section, nestled in a pile of deep cushions as she read her way through the books her mother had left out for her.

“The store has been busy, thankfully. We closed yesterday, partly because of the forecast but also because we thought you were coming. I wanted to make the most of your visit. Do you really think you’re going to be staying with a stranger over Christmas? Where will you sleep? Is there enough room?”

“Yes. It’s a big house. A beautiful house. And Mabel, the owner, seems very kind.”

“Elsie will be anxious. It always takes her a while to warm up to strangers.”

Brooke thought about Elsie following Mabel around as closely as the cats. She couldn’t exactly tell her mother that Elsie thought Mabel was a witch.

A witch, Brooke? I don’t like the sound of that. I’m going to send your father to get you.

“Elsie seems to like her,” she said finally. “And she loves the cats. So does Poppy.”

“Is there a tree? I know how much Elsie loves a tree. Do you remember two years ago when she insisted on sleeping underneath it?”

“I remember.” Brooke’s head was starting to throb. “There isn’t a tree, but we’ll find a way to make it festive.”

“No tree? Did you hear that, Herb? And our tree is looking so pretty …” Her mother’s voice trailed off. “I wish you’d come earlier. Last week. We would have had extra time together and you would have avoided the storm.”

“We booked the tickets last January. We had no way of knowing when there would be a storm. And we couldn’t come last week because Matt was working and Elsie was still in school.” She wondered if her mother had any idea of the pressure she was under.

“But you fly back before the New Year. When are we going to see you?”

“I don’t know, exactly.” Brooke rubbed her forehead. She hoped she had painkillers in her bag. “As soon as the storm clears and the roads are safe, we’ll come.”

“I can’t believe this is happening. I’ve been looking forward to it for so long.”

She couldn’t take any more. Enough! Seriously, enough.

“Me, too, but we can’t change it, Mom, so we have to make the best of it. We’re all safe and warm, that’s what matters. And we have food. Are you and Dad okay? Do you have plenty of food?”

“Yes. Too much. We’ll be eating it until next Christmas if you don’t come.”

“I’m sure we’ll manage to see you before we have to fly home.”

“It’s going to be so quiet without you all here. Christmas won’t feel the same.”