Cleo thought she’d be upset or concerned when her father told her not to worry about coming by today. But instead, all she felt was relief. Her mom was in good hands and, while she knew this didn’t eliminate all of her responsibility, or even more than a little of it, it did allow her […]

It was freezing in the backyard and the snow was packed down enough that his feet only sank into it slightly as he made his way toward the small path at the edge of the property. He wasn’t wearing shoes, he realized, and his thick wool socks were quickly soaked. He passed the stone wall, […]

Andrew woke up on the couch, where he’d fallen asleep last night. Before he was fully conscious, the date was in his head. December twenty-sixth. One year. He’d been in New Winslow for one full year. One year ago, at this time, they’d been getting ready to leave New Winslow. He was putting his small […]

Cleo got home about two hours later, pulling into her parking spot just as the last traces of light were leaving the sky. It was cold, but the lights on the old porch were on, lighting the walkway up to the building. Before she walked into the house, she took a second to steel her […]

It was Christmas Day and Cleo, her mother, and Mrs. Stevenson were all having supper together. Mrs. Stevenson had made an enormous dinner, going all out on the turkey and sides despite the fact it was only the three of them. So Cleo didn’t have the heart to show how excruciating it was to be […]

“Hello, Iris.” Iris cringed and turned around to see Charles Baxter standing behind her. “Mr. Baxter,” she greeted. Behind them, the Congregational Church choir was singing “Silent Night” as the small crowd milled around on the common. The snow had been cleared away enough that people could comfortably stand, but the whole thing seemed more […]

“What are you doing?” Andrew held up a finger and Olivia paused where she was in the doorway. The room was dim, the shades blocking out the afternoon sun so that only a small amount of light spilled in around the edges. Andrew was sitting on the edge of the couch with a large white […]

Olivia was debating whether or not to bring Mia to the caroling tonight. On one hand, she’d been hopeful that this year would work out better, now that Mia was a little older. But on the other hand, the memories of last year were still too fresh. And she wasn’t sure if any of the […]

There was at least a foot of snow in the driveway. Despite Noah’s best efforts and Cleo’s assistance during the snowstorm, her car was still buried the next morning. They’d moved it up a little so that Noah could move his truck, but its nose was buried in a snowbank and she wasn’t getting it […]

“You aren’t planning to leave tonight, right?” Cleo was gazing out the window at the snow when Noah’s voice was suddenly right behind her. She jumped and spun around, nearly knocking into him. “What? No, no, I’m staying here.” “Good,” he said, moving to stand next to her and look at the snow piling up […]