Page 7 of Surprised By Love

WelcometoSunsetCreek,population 2248.

I haven’t seen the big green sign in almost ten years. Putting on my signal, I drive up the right-side ramp into the small town. I wonder if the place has changed much since I’d been home last. Exiting the ramp, I make a right turn onto Main Street.

“Amelia, sweetie, put your things away in your backpack. We’ll be there in a few minutes,” I say to Amelia, who’s playing a game on her tablet.

Everything looks the same. As I drive down the street, I pass the police station, library, corner store, the deli, a small hardware store, a flower shop and a bookstore. I wonder if the same people still run them. Driving past The Miller Family Diner, I smile. My great grandparents opened the diner in the fifties, and all of us girls have worked there at some point, and I can’t wait to step inside it again. It seems like forever.

I get to the fork in the road, and right in front is the town park with the large pine tree the town decorates every year at Christmas. The tree is enormous. I figure it must be forty feet tall by now. I make a left, then a right, driving along the length of the park.

“Mommy, look!” Amelia gasps at the playground in the middle of the park.

“I know. We’ll come to the park in a few days, alright, kiddo? We need to unpack and get settled first.”

“Kay,” Amelia says.

I look in the rearview mirror and see Amelia’s face pressed against the window, and I chuckle to myself.

It’s one p.m. by the time Amelia and I arrive at my childhood home. I pull into the double car driveway beside my sister’s black minivan.

The house looks exactly as I remember. A white picket fence encloses the big front yard and its lush green grass. Pink, yellow, and red flowers trail all along the walkway, and the big green pine tree sits right on the left of the yard.

I love that tree. I remember as a child my dad would bring out the big ladder and string outdoor lights all the way up to the top.

We would help by putting the big ornaments on the lower section of the tree. They were so pretty, the metallic pastel colours that shimmered just right when the lights on the tree were lit. I giggle to myself, remembering how big they were; they were almost the size of our little heads.

“Are we here?” Amelia says, looking up as I turn off the car.

“We are, pumpkin.” I smile. She already has the seat belt off and is bouncing in her booster seat with excitement. I lift her up and out of the car when the front door to the house opens up.

“You’re here!” Vicki squeals as she runs down the steps, opening her arms wide. Amelia runs right into them. Vicki lifts her up and spins her around in circles, giving her a few kisses before placing her back down.

“Let me look at you!” she says, holding Amelia out at arm’s length. “Boy, oh Boy. Look how big you are!”

“I’m big!” She puts her hands on her hips. “I’m six now!”

“Yes, you are!” Vicki laughs.

Vicki has only seen Amelia a few times since she was born. Derek, disliking the small town, had put his foot down whenever I asked to go for visits. We did video calls a lot, but I’m sure Amelia looks much bigger since the last time she saw her in person.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, you’re soaking wet!” Vicki says, turning her eyes towards me.

“Long story,” I say with a sigh. “I’ll tell you later.”

I grab a few of the plastic totes from the back and head towards the house.

Stopping right before the stairs, my eyes skim across the porch. On the left side are two wooden Adirondack chairs with a small table between them. On the right, two rocking chairs, one of which Amelia has already claimed, and a porch swing with matching cushions.

“You haven’t changed a thing.” Smiling through the thickness in my throat. I look back at Vicki, who is pulling two suitcases behind her.

“Well, they aren’t Grams, but they are pretty close to it.”

“Wow, I’ve missed this place.” I grin.

“Drop everything in the entrance, for now. Once we get everything in, we can take them up and get you both settled.”

“Which room is mine?” Amelia runs up the stairs.

“You’ll be able to tell once you see it,” Vicki laughs. “Someone’s a little excited.”

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