It was the night before Christmas. Jennie misses the opportunity to have her daughter meet Santa Claus.
A fateful encounter with a girl dressed as a Christmas elf will not only save their day but also change their lives as they know it.
This is a...
( A/N: Imagine that the trees outside the windows from the pictures I included are leafless since it's still winter in the story. Also, I'm not trying to sponsor the places mentioned in the story. They're in the original story. XD ) __________________________________
Lisa had spent the last six Sundays with Jennie and Ella, as well as any week nights that they both had off from work and school.
Most times it was just dinner and a movie or kid's show, then reading at bedtime before Jennie and Lisa could steal a few moments alone. Often Lisa would bring her law books and laptop and study alongside Jennie in the tiny kitchen, while Ella watched cartoons.
With Ella visiting her dad and gramma overnight, however, Lisa had insisted on planning something special for just the two of them. She'd called in a favor to get off from her bartending gig for the first Saturday night in months.
"Just keep heading West until I tell you," Lisa said. "I'm glad I brought my Bluetooth speaker. I can't believe your car doesn't have a USB connection." She pulled up a playlist on her phone and soon they were singing along with the music. Jennie tapped the steering wheel with her fingers while Lisa danced animatedly in her seat. The next hour passed quickly, until Lisa exclaimed, "Oh shit! That's it! Exit twenty-three! Get over!"
Jennie managed to change lanes as safely and gracefully as it is possible to do with a few hundred feet's notice and made the exit, laughing at Lisa's inattentiveness while starting paying more attention to the directions on her phone.
Once off the interstate, and after six or seven miles of twisting narrow country roads, she directed Jennie to pull into the parking lot of a very old looking set of buildings whose sign identified it as The Ashby: Inn & Restaurant, a cute looking 'bed and breakfast' located in the little community of Paris, Virginia.
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"Are we staying here? This looks adorable!" Jennie said, as she got out of her car and stretched.
"This is it. Pop the trunk, and I'll get our bags." Lisa grabbed the two overnight bags and led Jennie inside.
"Miss Manoban, welcome to The Ashby Inn. We have you in the Lafayette Room for one night?" The friendly woman at the front desk gave them two keys, and explained the amenities to them. "Your reservation at the restaurant is at seven, check out is at noon tomorrow and if you need anything, don't hesitate to call the desk. There's a complimentary bottle of wine chilling in your room. You're in the school house building next door, on the second floor."
They made their way back outside the main inn and found their room, one of two suites on the top floor of what once was a two-hundred-year-old school house building.
Lisa opened the door and ushered Jennie inside. "Maybe I can't take you to the real Paris right now, but I hope this is to your liking."
