to live for the hope of it all.

Chapter 36

November 14th, 2023

"Oh, this has gotta be the good life,
This has gotta be the good life,
This could really be a good life, good life..."

Bailey

"I took the 18th off so we could go look for options, I told Anna she could come with us," Grandpa Matt said.

Homecoming was in a few weeks, and I'd been too distracted by the fact that Beckett asked me as his date to even realize I needed a dress.

"Can Wren come with us?" I asked, laughing lightly. "You were right, Caleb asked her last week."

It had been comical, really. It wasn't anything big, we'd all been talking by my locker when he just asked it out of nowhere and she shrugged before agreeing.

I knew my best friend though, and no matter how hard she tried to hide it, she was excited.

"Sounds like a plan to me," he agreed, chewing his food in deep thought. "So I've been thinking..."

"Okay?" I asked, skeptically.

"You've never left Aria Falls besides the Pennbrook tour and to visit me in Brookhaven," he paused. "What do you think about taking a trip somewhere during Christmas break?"

"A trip?" I asked, setting my fork down on my plate.

"Yeah, somewhere with snow."

"I've never seen snow," I replied, excitement filling me. "I think I'd really like that."

"I want to tell Anna about it too, invite them and her sister's family. Delilah would have a blast, the boys could snowboard, you and Wren could too if y'all wanted, or y'all could ski."

"You're really going all out this year, aren't you?" I joked, even though I was buzzing with energy now.

"They've kinda worked their way into this family of two, a vacation is long overdue. Don't you think so?"

"Let's do it, Grandpa Matt."

"Alright then," he said. "I'll talk with Anna about it soon, and if they don't want to, then we can still go with Harlow. It'll be grand."

I have no doubt about that.

__________________________________

November 18th, 2023

That's how we ended up booking a cabin that fits 9 and a dog in Breckenridge, Colorado at the end of the week. The photos of the mountain it sat on were beautiful, and Wren and I were counting down the days till we were knee deep in snow.

Beckett, Caleb, and Lilah still didn't know, their parents wanted to keep it a surprise as one of their Christmas gifts.

So Wren and I were sure to watch our mouths when they were around, and then gush excitedly when they weren't. Anna said they would tell them at Thanksgiving, and then she invited us over to her sister's for the day.

Thanksgiving was the one of the holidays I held close to my heart. Before Grandpa Matt moved in, he had visited every Thanksgiving and Christmas, and we'd usually celebrate just the two of us, with my dad occasionally popping in and out of his bedroom.

But after he moved in, after dad left, it became one of those things we just did together, the two of us.

We usually spent the day cooking all sorts of stuff before eating around dinner time, and then we'd sit at the piano for hours playing until we both were ready for bed. It was one of my favorite days of the year, because it was ours.