Page 3 of Let it Snow
“Good afternoon, Luce.It’s getting right chilly out there,” he told her, shivering as if to illustrate his point.
Lucy stepped to the side to usher him in with the grocery delivery he brought twice a week.Brent was the town’s resident Jack-of-all-trades, serving as manager and delivery driver for his family’s grocery store, dungeon master for the local D & D group, and the occasional rideshare whenever called upon.
She scoffed at his insistence that the weather was taking a turn.“Feels like a typical December day to me,” she replied.After closing the door, she silently held up her tea kettle in offer, turning on the hob to heat up when he nodded.“There’s always talk of a storm, and then it turns out to be nothing more than a light flurry.”
Brent shook his head at her.“Not this time, I suspect.Mark said they’re calling it the storm of the century.”He pulled her groceries out of the box he had brought in.“It’s a good thing you stocked up because you’re likely to be stuck inside a fair bit over the next few days.”
Lucy looked outside at the mostly clear sky.“All my guests canceled because of this so-called storm of the century and it looks like summer outside.I guess I can’t blame people for not wanting to take chances a week out from Christmas.”She picked up a bag of flour and moved it to the pantry.“Even though you’re not braving a storm, I thank you for bringing the order all the same.”The tea kettle whistled, and she fixed him a cup, filling the to-go mug he carried with him at all times, knowing that any home he stopped into would offer him a fresh cup of tea if not a whole meal.
“Of course.Anything for my best girl,” he told her with a wink.When Brent came out, Lucy was the first person to hug him and offer him her support with anything he might need.It turned out he didn’t need much since the whole town loved him and all but cheered when he finally came out publicly, but the two of them remained close regardless.Brent was probably the closest thing she had to a best friend now that her mother was gone, and she was grateful for him.Brent’s eyes wandered over to the tray of biscuits and he looked at them covetously.“May I?”
Lucy nodded.“Take as many as you like.Just know they’re not anywhere near as good as they need to be.”Hopefully they would be soon or she would really be up a creek without a paddle.
Brent bit the head off one of her ginger people and moaned.“Are you taking the piss?This is the best biscuit I’ve had in ages, Luce.”He walked over to her and pulled her into a side hug.“You always were a bit of a perfectionist.”
Lucy scoffed as she leaned into a hug.Her disheveled appearance and the messy kitchen said otherwise, but she wasn’t going to spend her time arguing.She had another batch of biscuits to make.“I’m not sure that’s true, but I’m glad you find the biscuit suitable enough.”She poked his stomach, eliciting a giggle from his lips.“Maybe you’re just that hungry.”
Brent’s head shook as he looked at her affectionately.“No.I’m telling you, these biscuits are top-notch.”He grabbed three more and backed away toward the door.“Stay warm, Luce.”
“You too, Brent.”She waved him off and went about the business of unpacking the rest of her groceries.As she looked out the window into the clear sky above, she rolled her eyes at the idea of the storm of the century.If she did get snowed in, things wouldn’t be so bad.She would have more time to work on her ginger biscuits, but she would be all alone.Being stuck inside would be much more fun if there was someone special to help keep her warm.Lucy snorted at herself before getting back to cleaning up the kitchen.There was about as much a chance of that happening as there was of the snowstorm.
CHAPTER THREE
Max
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The journey back homeended up being more of a production than Max had anticipated.When he called his parents to let them know not only would he be coming home for Christmas, but he would be staying for three weeks, they were ecstatic and insisted on forgoing their usual celebrations at their London home and instead had booked a house in Scotland for the holiday.They also planned on inviting a few aunts, uncles, and cousins that were not otherwise engaged, for a large family party.Max hadn’t seen these relatives in quite a while, so he was all for it.
What he wasn’t up for was the fact that there were no flights directly to Edinburgh from New York, which meant that what could have been a quick jaunt across the ocean was now a bit more complicated.After taking the train from New Haven to New York City, the subway to LaGuardia Airport, and a plane to Heathrow, Max was now sitting on another train that would deposit him in Scotland where, hopefully, he would be a short car ride away from his family’s rental and a warm, comfortable bed to rest in.
Once the lights of London had faded into the night sky, Max was able to look out the window to try and appreciate the view of the English countryside.If only it weren’t snowing, like Mother Nature herself had something to prove.White powder blanketed the ground and just about everything else he could see through the sheets of thick flakes making their way down from the clouds.Living in Connecticut, Max saw his fair share of snow, but there was something different about the way it looked now.The pastoral scene in front of him was far more familiar and comforting than when Sunset Cove was covered in white.The sand from the beach and all the cars pouring down Main Street made the snow look a bit dirty, whereas the snow here was as pure as he had ever seen.If he were outside right now, he would be tempted to scoop up a handful and take a bite.
Max’s head leaned against the cool window of the train, his eyes drooping heavily with the weight of exhaustion after his long journey.The trip hadn’t been easy, but he knew it would be worth it.Not just because he would be getting to spend time with family, but because he was in a place as familiar to him as almost anything else.There was just something about being in the land he was born and raised in that settled him.
The feeling came over him like a warm blanket, and he realized the question of whether or not he would be moving back to England anytime soon had basically been answered.Max could easily see himself building a life in London or somewhere near there.Now all that was left to figure out was what he was going to do for work.That was a bigger question to ponder, and Max was too tired to think of anything but the possibility of getting a little rest while he waited for the last leg of his pilgrimage to be over.
