"This house is so cute!"

Conner has pulled into his folk's driveway, and they are tucked in the middle of what most would call a cookie-cutter neighborhood. All the houses have a similar look, cap-cod style in various colors. Conner's folks really put their stamp on it, though, at least seasonally.

Their porch is adorned with little blue icicle lights that shimmer with movement, and all the pine trees outside are also wrapped in the same lights. The house itself is lit up with multicolored lights that border the exterior. The windows have cute little sticker decals of penguins in Santa hats waving with goofy smiles. The best part is the inflatable Santa driving a sled that sits on the roof.

"My mom gets a little obsessed with Christmas. She makes Cami and I come to set this all up when the leaves start falling off the trees." Conner says this with a scoff, but I see the glimmer of pride in his eyes.

"Well, you did great," I say, admiring it. "Call me when it's time to take it down for Valentine's Day. I'll help."

I can already envision pink and purple lights, maybe a Cupid on the roof in place of Santa...

"She doesn't decorate every holiday," Conner laughs.

"Don't make fun of me!" I shoot him a dark look.

"Who decorates the outdoors for Valentine's Day?"

"When I have a house. I'm going to go all out for every holiday."

"Even Presidents' Day?" Conner asks with a wry smile.

"That doesn't count. That's just a day off work," I retort.

"...because it's a holiday."

"Not one that people celebrate."

"I'm sure some people do..."

The front door opens and a tall women with curly raven hair steps out.  She smiles and tightens her cardigan around herself as she looks at us.

"I thought I heard your car, Conner. Get, in here, you two, it's freezing out! You'll catch a cold out here." She holds the door open, and I follow Conner up the steps toward the door.

"Mom, it's not the weather that causes colds-"

"Don't mansplain things to your mom. It's bad enough you do it to me," I cut him off.

His mom lets out a giggle as she shuts the door behind us. "I like you already, Rissa."

"I was just telling Conner how much I love your Christmas decorations," I say as I shrug off my coat. She takes it from me and hangs it on a hook where Conner is currently hanging his.

The decorations continue throughout the house, including a huge Christmas tree in the center of the sizable living room. It's decorated with plush couches adorned with throw pillows. A large fireplace sits in the other corner of the room, giving the whole place a cozy and homey feel.

"Aren't you the sweetest?" She pulls me in for a hug, and I happily embrace her. She smells like maple and cinnamon, and I instantly feel a connection with her. There is a warmth about her that is so comforting.

"Come follow me into the kitchen. Lunch is nearly ready," Nancy says.

I kick my shoes off and follow her and Conner through the living room into the dining room. The carpet ends, and we step onto dark wood floors. There is a big, long table set with wintery-style table decor. The walls are painted a pretty forest green and adorned with beautiful nature-style artwork.

The dining area sits right off the kitchen, which I can see is heavily used. The counters are full of stuff, and the island is cluttered with random things. An older man with silvery gray hair is sitting there. I assume he's Conner's dad. When we walk in, he's mashing buttons on his phone.

Looking up, his brown eyes crinkle as he smiles, reminding me so much of Conner.

"Conner, I didn't expect you today. And who is this?"

"Bob! It's Rissa, the book girl, and I told you they were coming for lunch," Nancy scolds him as she walks past him into the kitchen. "Maybe if you got off the game once in a while, you'd hear me!"

"Still obsessed with Candy Crush, Dad?" Conner asks with a playful grin.

"It's not an obsession..." he mumbles as he looks back down at his phone and then forces it away. He clears his throat. "Anyway, nice to meet you, Rissa."

"Good to meet you too, Bob!" I say with a big smile. "My dad had an obsession with Angry Birds for a while, I get it."

"Nancy made me get rid of that one, made me as angry as the birds."

"Same for my dad, but I think he enjoyed the anger for some reason..." I shrug and make a face.

"Better to be yelling at birds on a phone, I suppose," Bob says.

"Oh he yelled at real birds too, they were always getting at his berries and pissing him off. Maybe that's why he liked Angry Birds so much..."

Bob lets out a laugh. "You're a hoot."

"Isn't she?" Nancy says as she starts filling coffee mugs with hot coffee. "She's a delight and so pretty too! I hope they put you on the cover."

I have to refrain from giving Conner an, I told you so, look.

"Thank you, Nancy, but you're way too nice. I look awful. My makeup is good as gone, and my eyes are all puffy," I complain.

"I have just the solution for that!" Nancy slides the coffee mugs towards us. I notice she has some sugar cubes in a little bowl with a jar of cream next to it. So cute! I add three sugar cubes to my coffee and a healthy dash of cream. Conner keeps his black, and I wonder why he punishes himself like that?

Nancy opens the freezer and declares."Here they are!" As she holds up two spoons. 

"Go sit at the table." She motions as she follows me with them. "Hold these under your eyes for about five minutes, and the puffy will be gone!"

"I've read about this..." I mumble as I do what she says and I have to admit it feels good, cold but soothing. 

"You keep spoons in the freezer, mom?"

"I do! It's one of them life hacks. I saw it on the Facebook."

"Mom, it's just called—"

"Amazing, you're a lifesaver, Nancy." I cut him off and the proud smile on her face is priceless.

"It's helped Cami a few times now."

"I think it's working," I mumble. The cold is getting to me, so I need to take them off soon. 

 A timer starts beeping, and I set the spoons down and open my eyes when I hear Nancy get up. I notice Conner is looking at me in a strange way, but he looks away before I can decipher what it is. I probably looked silly with the spoons, I'm sure. 

"I hope you two brought your appetites," she says as she lifts the pan from the stove. "I made a cheesy wild rice and chicken hotdish."

"It smells so good!" I exclaim and then I take a sip of my sugary coffee. "I haven't had a good home-cooked hot dish in so long."

"Your mom doesn't make one?" Nancy asks as she sets the steaming hot pan on the table. Conner gets up and starts grabbing plates to bring over, while his dad gets the silverware. Before I can get up to offer help, they've finished and are both sitting.

"No, they moved to Florida after retirement. They both said they're done moving snow all the time."

"I heard salt is as troublesome as snow, if not more so," Bob says.

"Only if you're right on the ocean. Salt creep can ruin stuff, but I don't think it's as bad or annoying as snow and cold," Conner says.

"I believe it can be, the weather there has it's issues too," Bob says.

I have a feeling this could turn into a debate, so I chime in. "They have a homeowners association thing. I'm sure someone takes care of all that."

"You don't visit often?" Nancy asks.

"Not really, it's kind of expensive."

She frowns. "I'd think they'd pay for your flight."

"Nancy, mind your own," Bob says as he starts scooping our plates with the bubbly hot casserole. It looks incredible, and I can't wait.

"I'm just saying! I didn't mean to be nosy." She blushes.

"It's okay, Nancy. They paid for my flight a few times when I was younger, but when I got older, they refused. It's my dad's way of teaching me I need to budget better for things."

"That isn't right.." she mumbles.

It always felt so hurtful, and when I could save up for a trip, I didn't want to anymore, so I'd buy shoes instead. We're now so distant that I feel like we hardly know each other. A lump forms in my throat. I wish my parents were warm and kind like this.

"Mom," Conner gives her a look, and then looks at me with a questioning gaze.

"I'm okay," I say quietly. "But I'm sure my parents are going to come up in our next talk now."

"That's a good bet," Conner agrees with a chuckle. "Riss, if you want to go to Florida, we could make that your vacation. You could see your folks one day and spend the rest on the beach."

I wrinkle my nose at that. "No thanks."

He gives me a look, and I am not looking forward to that next talk at all. Right now, all I want is to dive into my plate and never come out. I take a huge bite, and the creamy, savory flavors are even better than they smell. It's literally heaven on a plate.

"A vacation?" Nancy questions.

"Rissa just quit her job–"

"That was the crisis?" Nancy asks with wide eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but it was a dramatic moment," I confess.

"Was it one of those, take this job and shove it, deals?" Bob asks.

"Pretty much," I laugh and then recount the story again...

Only this time, it no longer feels so embarrassing. We eat, talk, and laugh. Bob tells us a story of quitting an old job he hated, and Nancy recounts getting fired as a daycare worker after she had kids and how humiliating that was. I even tell them about my new bartending job, and instead of judging me, they are excited for me. They make me feel so much better about it all a weight lifts from my shoulders. 

"So you want to go on vacation before stepping into the new job? That seems like a good idea," Bob says.

"If you think about it, being the muse for Conner's book is a job. You don't have to rush into the next one," Nancy agrees.

"The money is nice but not enough, I can't take too long, but I'm excited to bartend." 

"You'll be wonderful," she assures me. "Bob and I will come see you there. We like comedy, don't we, Bob?"

"I do. You never get the jokes," he says, and she makes a face at him.

"Conner, how long do you plan on being gone? Dad and I can come check on your apartment if it'll be more then a week," Nancy offers.

"It won't be that long but I'm not going, mom, just Rissa."

"What?" Bob raises his eyebrows. "You won't be going with her?"

"No."

"I don't like that," Nancy frowns. "Solo dating is one thing, but a vacation? It's not safe for Rissa to travel alone."

"Your mom is right. You need to travel with her," Bob says.

"That's completely sexist. Of course, she can travel alone!"

"I'm not saying it to be sexist. It's just the truth. It's a scary world out there. I wouldn't like Cami to travel without friends," Bob argues. "Would you?"

Truthfully, I am a little nervous about going on a plane alone... but I don't want to sound like a scaredy-cat either.

"Well, no, but..." Conner pauses and frowns when he sees my face. Is my fear that obvious? "I guess I didn't think it all the way through... maybe Mel or Candice could go with you?"

"I'll be okay," I say quickly, and hopefully, I sound as confident as I'm trying to be. "No way could Mel get time off that fast, and Candice has a toddler."

"Conner is a writer, so he can take his job with him. It only makes sense for him to go along," Nancy says.

"Mom, I literally can't travel with her. We shouldn't have even driven over here together. My publishing team wants to do some mysterious reveal thing. If anyone sees me out with her, it'll mess up the whole thing."

"So don't get seen," Bob says and Nancy nods her head in agreement.

"Maybe you can choose a less popular destination. Everyone goes somewhere warm this time of year," Nancy suggests.

"Conner, you always enjoyed skiing, and there's that lodge we went to when you were a kid. Green Briar Hills, remember? I'm sure it's still running," Bob says as Nancy is already typing furiously into her phone.

"It is!" Nancy declares. "And it says it's a quiet escape, perfect!"

"That could work," Conner says slowly.

I'm too busy shoveling this amazing food into my face to weigh in, but I figure I better.

"I've never skied before," I say thoughtfully. "But a cozy lodge and Conner's dragon shifter series sounds like a good vacation to me."

"It's about time someone reads those again!" Nancy says gleefully. "And Conner can teach you how to ski. He's quite good at it."

"Mom, it's been years."

"It's like riding a bike," Bob says. "You'll have it down again in no time."

"This is supposed to be a solo dating thing, not teach Rissa how to ski," Conner says, and I can see he looks a little off-put.

Does he not want to come with me? My stomach tightens, but I gulp down the motions. The last thing I need to do is cry again. Especially in front of the sweetest couple I've ever known.

Seriously, I want to beg them to adopt me. This is what I envision when I think of marriage; they are thoughtful and kind to each other, but with some gentle teasing. I can see how happy they are after all these years. 

"Don't worry, Conner. I can keep myself busy," I say. 

"Don't be silly, " Nancy says. "He won't mind teaching you at all. He's a great teacher— even taught Cami and that takes patience!"

Bob laughs, "And a lot of it!"

"You sure a ski lodge is okay with you?" Conner asks. "We could still find a way to make a beach vacation work."

"Skiing is perfect," I assure him. "But if you don't want to go... maybe Ed could come or something,"

"It's fine," he says quickly, maybe a little too quickly. "He won't want to be away from his wife. If anyone sees us there, I doubt it'll be anyone curious about the book this early on."

"Then it's settled!" Nancy says as she stands and gathers our plates. Bob gets up and helps make quick work of the task. Conner takes a cloth and starts wiping the table. I suddenly feel like I should do something but don't know what so I stand up awkwardly.

"Can I help with dishes or something, Nancy?"

"No, you may not," she says with a cheeky grin. "You two better get going so you can get ready. I'll make the reservations for you.".

"I can do that part—I have a credit card for stuff like this," Conner says, looking amused at his oh-so-helpful mom.

"But you both have to get back to your apartments, pack, and get on the road. You won't want to call while you're driving. Let me."

"Fine, if you insist," Conner rolls his eyes and then takes out the card for his mom to use. She jots down the numbers on a post-it and hands it back to him.

"Well, should we get going?" Conner asks as he looks at me.

"Not so fast," I say with a smirk. "I want those books first."