break the window

Here's a little short story that was actually able to keep short (shocking, I know lol)

The Christmas Ornament

“Daddy, look, a got a box from my penpal.” Ephram’s daughter Annabelle, came running into the living room, letting the front door swing open.
Ephram smiling while getting up to close the door, he looked down at her. “How do you know it’s from your penpal?” He knelt down to her level.
“It’s from Everwood, Colorado, do we know anyone else?”

“I guess you have a point.”
“Can we open it or do we have to wait until Christmas?”

Ephram saw the light in her eyes, he grinned. “Go ahead.”

Within seconds, Christmas paper was decorating the floor and Annabelle tore open the box.

“It’s an ornament!”
“It is, we can hang it on the tree.”
“Wait, there’s a note!” Annabelle handed the folded note to Ephram.
“Dear, Annabelle…I wanted you to have this ornament in exchange for the one you sent me. Then maybe, someday soon, we can meet up and exchange ornaments. Bye for now, Aiden.’
“That was very nice of Aiden.”
“Can we please, Daddy, can we?”

They both walked into the kitchen, Ephram starting dinner. Annabelle hopped up on the stool at the kitchen island.

“Can we…what?”
Annabelle rolled her eyes adorably. “Go to Everwood?”
“In the future, sure. Everwood is a small town, it probably won’t be hard to find Aiden.”
“We should go now…like tomorrow!”
“Annabelle, next week is Christmas, it’s no time to travel to a place where we don’t know anybody.”
“But you said it’s a small town, Aiden won’t be hard to find…everyone knows everyone else.”

Ephram forgets how smart his little girl of only eight years old is.

“I’ll think about it.”
“So that means no.” Annabelle hung her head low, getting off the stool.
Ephram walked around he island, kneeling down to his daughter’s eyes. “It meansI’ll think about it.”
Annabelle shrugged her shoulders. “Okay,” and ran upstairs.

~*~

“Mom, can we go to New York?” Aiden propped his elbows on the counter, while Amy was making dinner.
“Wow, New York, why there?”

“The Christmas tree! The Lights!”
“Yeah, but, we have lights here, Denver has really nice lights. Why all the way in New York?”
“I have a penpal there.”
“You have a what, where?”

Rose came sauntering in.

“I’ve been helping my grandson make friends.”

“Mom, he has plenty of friends here…he doesn’t need to make friends ten states away.”
“It’s eight, but that’s not the point. There was a class assignment to pick a state and he picked New York.”

“And why do I not know anything about this?”
“Because you were probably stuck reading the millionth manuscript of the day and not being a mother.”
“MOM!?” Amy raised her voice in complete shock.
“Grandma, she’s just busy.”

“You are never too busy to be a mother, Amy.”
“Grandma…it’s okay…she’s just busy.” Aiden repeated himself.
“Aiden, why not go up to your room and wash up for dinner.”
“I never wash up for dinner.”
“Well, today you do, go on up.”

As soon as Aiden was out of earshot, Amy turned her grim face back to Rose.

“How dare you accuse me of being too busy to care for my son.”

“It got your attention, didn’t it?”
“Then why do you need my attention for?”

“There was a school project last year where students picked a name out of a hat and that’s who their penpal was going to be. He’s been writing to a lovely girl in New York named Annabelle.”
“And why…again, do I not know about this? I’d love to be involved with this.”

“When would you find the time?” Rose shot back.
“When I would actually had been told about this.”

This was the round robin argument between Rose and Amy about Aiden. Aiden’s father, Thomas, was killed in the line of duty when a riot broke out in Denver. Aiden was only a baby, barely has any memories of his father. Amy isn’t sure if that’s a good thing or bad things sometimes. Her own memories of Thomas are practically unbearable…even with his death being almost seven years prior.

“Have you thought about cutting back your hours, not working on weekends.”
“Clients need me.”
“Clients can leave a message and get back to you on Monday.”
“I’ve always told clients they can always reach me, day or night.”

“What about you? What about taking care of yourself. Ever since Thomas died, you have not given yourself one ounce of reprieve.”
“How can I? Thomas did everything! He took care of everything. He made the down payment on the house, he made sure Thomas had the best school in Kent County, he made sure we were taken care of. I didn’t do anything and then what, I wake up one day having to be responsible for the house payment, all the bills and a private school that costs more than most ivy league colleges.”
“And you made it. The house is paid off, Aiden is in a better school that doesn’t cost as much as Harvard. You’re doing a good job.”
“Then why do I have my own mother telling me, in my. kitchen, that I’m failing.”

“I didn’t say you were failing.”
“Yeah, you did.” Amy cleared her throat and folded her arms. “It’s late, order from the new Chinese menu, Aiden’s been eating to eat there.”
“
Amy, I’m sorry.”
“I’m going to go and spend some time with my son, apparently it’s overdue.”

~*~

“Hey, buddy, what’cha got there?” Amy sat beside Aiden on his bed, he was looking at a toy magazine.
“It’s a keyboard, I really like it…think Santa can bring it?”
“We’ll have to tell Santa what you want, we’ll go this weekend.”

“Great, I’ll ask Grandma if she can take me.”
Amy fought back the tears of how her son was programmed to think. “No, Aiden, I’ll take you. We can go to the mall, do some Christmas shopping and then, you know, have some of that really greasy pizza you like.”
“Oh, from the corner pizza place?”

“You’d do that with me?”
“Of course I would…I would do anything for you, buddy.”

“Thanks mom, I’m going to go tell Grandma.”

“Oh, and tell her order double of the dumplings, I’m getting my appetite back.”

Amy’s phone rang, she immediate answered.

Amy, this is Dan Ableman, I’m thinking about investing in some properties west of here and I’d like you to put together a portfolio of how much profit I’d be making. Can I expect that report by morning.

Normally Amy would be at her computer before Dan would’ve finished the sentence, but Rose really struck a cord that made Amy think about how she’s spending her time.

“I’m sorry Dan, but it’s Friday evening and I won’t be back in the office until Monday morning. Please, send me an email with those figures and I’d be happy to have a portfolio ready for you by Tuesday afternoon.”

“Well, that is a done deal, thank you Amy.”

“Yes, have good night.”

Just in one phone call, Amy felt the weight of the world come off her shoulders…taking a drive to New York didn’t seem so bad now. With the way she’s feeling now, Amy just might want to run to New York herself.

~*~

Annabelle came back down the steps, feeling hungry and didn’t find any food on the table.

“Dad?”
“In the garage, come on out here.”

Annabelle rubbed her eyes and thought she might be sleepwalking. Ephram was putting his suitcase in the back of the truck, smiling at his daughter.

“What is all of this.”

“I thought we’d take a road trip. You and I are on Christmas Break and I thought we could do a road trip.”
Annabelle shrugged. “But where would we go?”
“I hear there’s a place called Everwood that’s at the top of the list right now?”
“Really!? We can go?”
“Yep, waiting on you to pack your bags. We’ll be there in three hours.”
“Three hours to Colorado, we don’t have super powers, we can’t…” She looked at Ephram. “FLY!”
“Yep, flight leaves in thirty minutes, get packing.”
“Oh My GOD!” Ephram could hear her screaming when running back in the house. “What do I wear?”
Ephram laughed. “You’re only eight…going on eighteen, but you’re still eight.”

~*~

Ephram opened the door to the bakery.

“I saw your light on, still open…if not…”
Harold welcomed him in. “The light was still on because I still see people in town and I never want to turn my back on anyone. What can I get you.”
Ephram looked down to Annabelle who was rubbing her eyes, he smiled, looking back up at Harold. “I think just a coffee.”

“We have our peppermint spice for the holidays, you interested.”

“Sure, in honor of the festivities.”
“I don’t think I’ve seen you around here, where are you from?”

“I’m Ephram, this is my daughter Annabelle. We’re from New York, our flight just got in.”
“What brings you to our sleepy little town.” Harold place the to-go cup on the counter, punching in the numbers on the register.
“My penpal!” Annabelle suddenly popped up, smiling.
Harold looked at Ephram. “You flew your daughter all the way to New York for a penpal?”
“They’ve been writing to each other for over a year now and it is a nice road trip. We’re both on Christmas break.”

“Are you a teacher?”
“Music teacher for special education.”

“That is a rewarding career sir, I applaud you.” 

“Thank you. My father is neurosurgeon in New York and I started listening to how he’d talk about his patience and the brain seemed interesting. I love music, specifically the piano and music heals people.”

“Yes, it does.” Harold looked over to Annabelle. “Your penpal lives in Denver, I presume?”
“No, in Everwood, right here in town?”

“Who’s your penpal? We tend to know everyone around here.”
“Aiden Scott.”
Harold was almost knocked off his feet. “That’s easy…Aiden is my grandson.”
Ephram was visibly surprised as well. “Wait, out of all the shops in this town, I happen to run into my daughter’s pen pal from thousands of miles away?”

“What can I say, we’re a small town.”
“Undoubtedly.”
“Can we meet him?”
Ephram swallowed his coffee, then spoke. “I think it’s too late and it’s getting cold. Our hotel is waiting for us to check in.”
“That’s the winter darkness for you. It’s barely dinner time. Why don’t you come by; stay for a minute, gives you a chance to finish that coffee.”
“We wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Nonsense, she’ll get to meet Aiden and you’ll get to meet my wife…the mayor.”
“The town gets even smaller.”

~*~

“How much Chinese food did you order?” Amy came downstairs, wrapping her wet hair up in a messy bun. She had convinced herself to take a shower and get rid of all the anxiety she was feeling from her conversation with her mother.
“Your father is bringing two guests, so I ordered enough for an army.”
“Yep, and the army from the next base.”
“You won’t go hungry.”
“I just hope they like Chinese food.”

“He checked, the man’s daughter hasn’t had Chinese food in ages. Apparently her father loves to cook and they don’t eat out much.”
“Wow, that’s like the exact opposite of us. The other day, Raymond at the deli wanted to know if he should put our usual order in the oven.”
“Small town, Amy.”

“He knows my food allergies, mom!”
“Okay, so we order out a lot.”

“That’s going to change too.”

“What, your eating habits?”
“Cooking at home more.”

“Honey, I applaud you wanting to change, but you aren’t very good in the kitchen.”
“Coming from my own mother, that’s pretty bad.”

Harold opened up the door. Cold drafty air filled the living room, having Amy rub her shoulders to get warm again.

“Who is this guest you were bringing by for dinner?”
“Not really a guest. The way Annabelle tells it, she and Aiden are practically related.”
“She’s here?!” Aiden practically ran across the room and gave Annabelle a hug.
“Safe to say they know each other.” Ephram spoke up, breaking the silence.
Harold saw the array of chinese boxes on the table. “Was there a sale going on, Rose?”

“Nope, just wanted to make sure everyone had enough on this chilly night.”
“Yeah, and the next neighboring town.”
“Sounds familiar.”

They all sat down. Naturally, Aiden and Annabelle were sitting next to each other in disbelief they were meeting. Amy and Ephram sat across from them while Rose and Harold sat on opposite ends of the table.

~*~

Ephram helped load the last of the dishwasher and was feeling a little guilt knowing that he and Annabelle had to be leaving.

“I have an idea.” Rose spoke up. “Why don’t Amy and Ephram walk around town a little bit….”

“it’s dark.” Amy interrupted, dryly. “And cold.”
“It will give Aiden and Annabelle time to get to know each other more and.” Rose whispered in Amy’s ear, “give you some time with a man.”

“Mother!?” Amy could feel her cheeks flushing red, looking around feeling that everyone heard Rose’s whispered words.
“Well, now that I’m totally humiliated, let’s go Ephram, make my other happy that I’m spending time with a man.”
“We don’t have to go.” Ephram looked between Amy and everyone else who seemed to be starring at him.
“Ephram, my mother is the mayor for a reason…you won't win this one. Let’s go.”

~*~

The two were now circling the end of town and reaching the bridge which separates the end of the town to the beginning.

“We’ve walked around town and you’ve talked about every piece of history about Everwood and I barely know anything about you.”
“Other than I need to be with a man, according to my mother.”

“My mom might’ve probably said the same thing…have a nice tie with a girl your own age.”
“Might’ve?”
“She died a few years ago, car accident…drunk driver.”

“I’m sorry. Did Annabelle get to know her?”

Ephram nodded his head. “No, my mom died when I was in high school.”

“I don’t mean to pry, but it’s just you and Annabelle…what about Annabelle’s mom?”
“Sadly, that is one thing me and my dad have in common…we both lost wives in a car accident. Different nights, different circumstances…both gone in an instant.”

“Does Annabelle remember her?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.”
Ephram put his gloved hands in his pockets. “I’d like to think she does. But the more I tell Annabelle about her mom, I think she remembers them more of what I told her than actual memories.”
“What was her name?”

“Stephanie.” Ephram sighed.
“What about Aiden’s father?”

“Thomas Scott.” Amy could feel her face smiling again. “He was the sheriff in town. I could tell he always wanted to be in a big city…like New York City, but he loved me enough to agree that raising Aiden in a small town was better. So he took a Sheriff’s job in a small town named Everwood.”
“Where is he now.”

Amy sighed heavily. “You remember the riots in Detroit.” She saw Ephram nod. “Thomas jumped at the chance to reign law and order over Denver. No one can remember how it started, just that they wanted to finish it. Thomas never wanted to go up there and be the hero, he just wanted to go up there and prove to kids and families that they can have a good life, amongst a bad city.”
"What happened?”
“It was a quiet afternoon, no witnesses, Thomas was shot in the back, four times. The fourth bullet, hit him straight in the throat.” Amy was leaning against the railing of the bridge, remembering how she was told of the events. “The way Thomas was shot, he never saw it coming, no idea who it was. Just someone who hated the idea of a police officer trying to instill goodness. That’s what I was told by his commanding officer. Thomas said he would be along.” Amy swallowed the tears. “He went back to get a bag that was left…it wasn’t even his bag. They think he was planning to put it in lost and found for someone to come and claim it. He never made it back. They found him, dead, of course, in the middle of town…no witnesses, yet, it was in a neighborhood with every car parked at a house…no witnesses.”
“Wow.” Ephram sighed. “I’m really sorry, I can’t imagine the pain you went through.”

“Having Aiden helped. I see a little piece of Thomas in him everyday.”
“I see a bit of Stephanie in Annabelle too…I’m grateful to have my daughter.”

“I’m grateful to have my son.”

The snow started falling, in tiny little flakes.

“That’s our cue…better get back before it really gets going.”

“It’s just a little snow.”

“In Colorado, there is no little snow around here. It starts and within minutes, you’re stuck where you’re at.”
“Since you’re my tour guide, what’s he best way to get back to your house so I can get Annabelle and go to the hotel.”

“Where is your hotel.”
Ephram looked at the reservation on his phone. “It’s a B and B, The Mountaineer Inn.”
“Yeah, my grandmother runs it, her name is Edna.”

“And the two keeps getting smaller.”

“Yeah, you get used to it.”

“I don’t think I will, Annabelle and I are leaving tomorrow evening, our flight is at sundown.”
“So you really flew all the way from New York to Colorado just for a penpal?”
“I’d do anything for my daughter.”
“She’s very lucky to have you.”

“I think I’m the lucky one.”
“We’ll walk to the Inn and see how the snow is. If it gets too bad, I’ll just stay at the inn for the night.”
“What about Annabelle?”

“The kids are fine. Plus, my mother was pushing us out the door. I don’t think they’re worried about us coming back.”
“They didn’t look like they’d miss us.”

~*~

Edna came to the counter when hearing the bell above the door sound, she was almost sad to just see Amy coming in, but then saw a guest.

“Amy, and you have a visitor with you.”
“Yeah, Ephram Brown, he has a reservation apparently. I was walking him here from the house, snow started so I might just take a room myself.”
“You’ll have to share with Ephram, we’re all booked?”

“Grandma, you never book this place solid?”
Edna took swung the computer screen around, showing Amy all he rooms are spoken for. “Some are arriving alter tonight.”
“Fine, Ephram you renting two double beds, right?”
Edna chimed him. “He did but with overbooking, we’d had to put him in the suite.”

“The room you only use for honeymoon couples that has a heart shaped tub?”
“That’s the one.”
“No other rooms?”
Ephram took the key from Edna. “It’ll be fine.
“We’re two adults with one room, for one. night, we’ll be fine.”

They started walking, Amy stating, “It’s not that, it just feels like everyone in town wants me to shack up with the first penis that walks into town.”
Ephram cleared his throat. “Now I feel so much better.”

Ephram pushed open the door once it finally unlocked and was blown away by how many romantic elements were in the room.

“I might have to agree with you on the shacking up part.”
“Don’t get any ideas.”
“Don’t worry.”

Amy took her shoes off and got under the covers while in her clothes.

“You cannot possibly be comfortable.”

“No, I am not, but I’m not sleeping next to a stranger wearing nothing.”
“Two adults…a few hours sharing a room on a snowy night and we’ll probably never see each other again, so undress to your bra and…”
“Don’t say that word.” Amy interrupted with a deep stare.
“What…word?” Ephram was reciting the words in his head.
“Bra and other other word.”
“Panties?”
“Yes…it’s so vile and disgusting.”
“What do you call them then?”
“Underwear. The clothes you were [/I]under[/I] your clothes.”
“Panties.”
“Please stop!”
“It’s so much fun…pant…”. Ephram felt the pillow hit his side, he was impressed by her throw. “Nice throw.”
“Don’t try to get my on your good side.”
“So you’re on my bad side?”
“Whatever…I’m actually getting tired, so I am going to lay on my side of the left of the bed and try to get some sleep.”

Amy laid down comfortably but couldn’t quite close her eyes just yet from seeing Ephram undress down to his boxer underwear.

“Trying to catch a peek?”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about, my eyes have been closed.”
“Sure…yeah, okay.”
“Goodnight, Ephram.” She yawned.
“Night sleepyhead.”

~*~

“Morning!” Both Aiden and Annabelle spoke to Rose when she came into the kitchen the next morning.
“Well, what is going on in here?”
“Breakfast,” Chimed Annabelle. “Aiden said you make pancakes, so we’re making pancakes.”
“Who taught you how to make pancakes.
“My dad, he’s a great cook.”
“These look pretty good so I’ll take your word on that one. Are any of those ready to eat?”
“Yep!” Aiden slid plopped three pancakes on her plate with a spatula. “Syrup’s on the table.”
“Alright, I’ll just sit over here and enjoy my breakfast.
“What sells good!?” Bright came into the kitchen, scratching his head, blinking his eyes to make sure his eyes were deceiving him. “Did we start auditioning for Chef, Jr.?”
“They do have talent.”

Bright mouthed to Rose…”Who’s the girl?”

“Annabelle, this is Bright, my son.”
“Want some pancakes, Bright?” Annabelle was mixing more batter.
“Actual pancakes?”
“Yep, on the griddle, uncle Bright.”
“Sure, I might never see the opportunity.”
“I make breakfast every morning for guests.”
“Yes, guests it’s all gone by the time I come in.”
“Breakfast is served until eleven, you don’t usually come downstairs until noon.”
“Yeah, there’s that.”

They were all sitting at the table eating their breakfast, Annabelle dropped her fork, startling everyone.

“I need to call my dad, make sure he knows where I am.”
“He knows where you are.” Aiden spoke up. “He left you here.”
“Oh, yeah, but I should call him anyway.”
“There is a phone right around the corner, next to the sofa.”
“Cool, be right back.”


~*~

Ephram reached for his phone on the nightstand. “Good morning.”
“Hi daddy, I wanted to call and check in.”
“That is very responsible of you, I’m glad you did.”
“When are you coming back?”
“In a little while. I’m going to take a shower here and be on over.”
“Is Amy still there with you.”
“Yeah, she is, she’s still sleeping though.”
“Let her know Aiden wants to talk to her when she’s awake.”
“I will do that. Have you been good for Mr. and Mrs. Abbott.”
“Yep! I made your famous pancake recipe, they all loved it.”
“Okay, I’m gad everything worked out and I’ll see you later on in the morning.”
“Bye, I love you daddy!”
“I love you too, pumpkin.”

Ephram reached back over to lay his phone back on the nightstand. He slid further back down into the covers inviting Amy cuddle back next to him. He kissed her forehead.

“We should get going soon, the kids are expecting us.”
“The Kids, sounds like we’re really together.”
“Well, last night felt like we were.”
“I don’t know what happened.” Amy sat up, keeping her naked body covered with the sheet. “I haven’t been with anyone since Thomas and I kind of feel guilty about it.”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t feel like I’m cheating on my husband?”
“Yeah, just like I’m not cheating on my wife.”
“You know how wrong this is, right?”
“What if it isn’t?”
“Ephram, you’re visiting from New York with your daughter and you leave tomorrow, how does that spell anything but one-night-stand?”
“Because this didn’t feel like a one-night-stand?”
“Then what did it feel like for you?”
“Like the beginning of something.”
“How can it begin? You just up and move to a small town in Colorado.”
“Yeah…it can be that simple.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?”
“Pretend we have a future, when we don’t.” Amy was getting dressed, thinking about what to say. “It’s not just you and me, it’s two kids who aren’t young enough to just accept everything that we tell them, they’re going to have questions.”
“Yeah, you’re right…I’ll get dressed and we’ll go.”

~*~

“You don’t want to go, do you?” Rose asked Ephram as they were cleaning up breakfast.
Ephram nodded.
“What happened between you and my daughter.”
“That’s what I want to figure out. Amy isn’t just someone you spend a few hours with and go back to normal life. She is the most normal thing I’ve had in a very long time.”
“Tell her that.”
“I live in New York, Mrs. Abbott, it’s not a quick drive around town.”
“But at dinner you said you can work anywhere, that your talent sticks with you.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“It looks like your daughter and my grandson are inseparable right now. I’d say you have a really big decision to make.”
“But to move Annabelle’s entire life because she found a penpal and I found…”
“Love?” Rose interjected. “I can tell there is something going on between you two and it’s not because of a couple of penpal letters exchanged between a couple of eight year olds.”
“You sound like my mom.”
“What would she say to this right now?”
Ephram was silent before answering. “She died a few years ago, Annabelle never got to know her grandmother.”
“How old were you when she died.”
“Fifteen.”
“You’ve been on your own for a while considering the women in your life.”
“Seems like it sometimes. I never thought me and my father would have something like this in common.”
“What does your father do?”
“Dr. Andrew Brown. He’s the top neurosurgeon in New York.”
“Yeah, Time Magazine did a cover story on him a few years ago, I think it may have been right after your mother had died.”
“He did the interview a few months before she died. That’s why there’s a bit an ego in there. He was The Great Doctor Brown before it all changed. He had me and my sister to raise, entirely on his own.”
“I see he did a really good job.”
Ephram smiled. “Thank you.”
“Do you see yourself and Annabelle building a life here.”
Ephram looked outside, the snow still falling, the roads closing. He looked at the message alert on his phone. “I might get the chance to try it out. Our flight’s been delayed.”
“I think that’s someone upstairs trying to tell you something.”
“Is it such a crazy idea to pick up everything and move to a town I’ve only spent less than 24 hours in?”
“Would it be crazy not to?”

~*~

“Annabelle is sure happy the flight was canceled.” Amy nudged Ephram and they both looked at the kids fast asleep on the couch while a Disney movie was playing.
“She is happy here.” Ephram put the dried glass back in the cupboard. “Your mom asked me about staying here.”
“Really, why? Your life is in New York.”
“As I thought about it, the more I think that my house is in New York but my home might be here. My home is where my daughter is.”
“Aiden would definitely love that. THere’s not many kids his age around here that he likes to hang out with. I think Annabelle is about the only person I’ve seen him want to be around.”
“The more I think about it, the less crazy it sounds.”
“We still haven’t talked about our night together and what It meant.”
“What did it mean to you?”
“I think we were both looking for comfort in someone and found it in each other last night…as soap opera-esk as that sounds, that’s how I think.”
“At first, that’s what I wanted, but then second time, I just wanted you because I could feel your passion and your heart.”

Amy pulled Ephram into the side pantry.

“We had sex once—”
“Well, more than once, actually three times.” He started to giggle.
“But it was one night…can we build a life off of one night?”
“When’s the last time you felt something real like we had last night?”
“I know what you’re saying—“ Amy stood up straighter, letting the kiss go deeper.

Their lips parted, they both smiled and kissed again, both giggling, ending the kiss again.

~*~’

Annabelle sat beside Ephram, sighing heavily.

“what’s wrong?”
“The snow is melting.”
“Yeah, and?”

“The snow is melting, all the airports will be open and we’ll have to fly back to New York.”
“Well, Annabelle.” Ephram put his arm around Amy. “What if I told you that we weren’t going to leave.”
“Like today or ever.”
“We’ll have to leave to get our stuff from New York, but I thought we might…stay.”
Aiden ran over… “Annabelle can stay?”

“Yeah, if Annabelle wants to stay in Everwood. It’s your call sweetie.”
“YAY!” Both Annabelle and Aiden were dancing in the living room.
“I think that’s a yes.” Amy nodded in agreement.
“Oh, and I made the offer.”
“On the house on Mason.”
:”Yep.”

Rose looked around. “An empty house, again.”
Harold saw Bright come through the front door. “Not entirely.”

~*~