"Jo, please tell me what's wrong! You've barely said ten words all day!" Doug sat beside his wife on the sofa and took her hand into his own. It was their first afternoon back in Oklahoma.
"I miss it, Doug." Doug was surprised to see that there were tears in her eyes. "I miss the big city life. All I can think about is how much fun I had with Blair and Natalie, all those malls, an exciting shop on every corner...so much to do! Oklahoma City just seems so...quiet by comparison."
"Well, I guess you can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the girl." Doug's tone was light, but his eyes were soft with concern."
"I mean it, Doug! I just feel like, now that I've had a taste of what I used to take for granted, I'm not sure I could ever be really happy living here again."
Doug drew a deep breath and let it out slowly, staring at his crossed feet, which were stretched out in front of him. Jo felt her stomach clench as she watched him. Were they about to have an argument, or even worse, a fight?
"I suppose L.A. needs landscapers, too," Doug said at last.
"But Oklahoma City is your home! You've lived here your entire life! I couldn't ask you to give it up just for me!"
Doug held his fingers in the shape of a steeple. "You're my wife, Jo. I love you, and I want you to be happy."
"But you wouldn't be happy living in California, Doug. You'd be miserable and only end up resenting me."
Doug laughed. "So what do we do? Split up the year?"
He'd been joking, but Jo seemed to consider it in perfect seriousness. "That wouldn't be very practical, would it? I mean, Jamie still has a year and a half of school left..."
Doug grinned and squeezed her hand. "That's OK. We'll work it out somehow."
"So, did you have a nice vacation?" Taylor asked Jamie on the first day of the spring term.
"It was great! We drove to California to visit my Mom's friends from high school, and while we were there, I met these two cool girls, Julia and Lydia. Julia's a senior, and Lydia's a sophomore. They're sisters. I got to meet their whole family when they had me over for dinner one night."
"Sounds like your vacation was a lot better than mine was. Kennedy and I both had the flu over Christmas."
"Oh, no! Well, I hope you're both better now."
"Yeah, just in time for school to start."
"Well, did you get lots of Christmas presents?"
"Yeah. My Aunt Brenda loves to buy clothes for me and Kennedy. She bought me this outfit I'm wearing right now. You?"
"My Grandma Rose in New York sent me this locket I'm wearing. There's a picture of my real Dad inside."
"Cool! I'll bet you really miss him, don't you?"
"I was so little when he died I hardly even remember him. I've always wondered what it would have been like if he'd lived, but I'm glad Mom met Doug. He's a swell guy."
"Ooh, I don't wanna go outside and shovel snow this morning." Jo cuddled closer to her husband, burying her face in the warmth of his neck above the bed's covers.
Doug laughed. "Only way we'll go anywhere." He kissed her forehead. "It won't take long, babe."
Jo prepared breakfast for her family, then dressed Bethany in her thermal underwear underneath a sweater and quilted overalls. "You can play in the snow while your Daddy and I work," she told her daughter.
Fifteen minutes later, Doug and Jo were shoveling snow while Bethany rolled the snow into a ball which grew larger and larger. "Want me to show you how to make a snowman?" Jo asked her daughter. Bethany nodded.
"You just keep making the ball bigger and bigger until it's...about this big. Then you make the second ball, but..." She was interrupted by the sensation of a snowball hitting her in the back of the head, and she turned to see Doug laughing.
"I'm gonna get you!" She took off after him, but he was much faster, and she soon developed a stitch in her side and had to stop.
"You OK?" asked Doug.
She couldn't say anything for a minute.
"Hey..." He patted her shoulder, and she grinned and shoved a handful of snow into his face.
He laughed. "C'mon, let's get back to shoveling."
They soon had the driveway cleared, and then joined Bethany in finishing her snowman. Doug found coal for the eyes and mouth, a carrot for the nose, and a straw hat, and Jo took a photograph to post on Facebook.
The family spent most of the day playing outside, and when the sun began to set, they went inside and ate Jo's cheddar cheese bacon soup, which had been simmering in the crock pot all day. Afterwards, Jo and Doug cleaned up together, and then Jo gave Bethany her bath, read her a bedtime story, and then tucked her into bed and kissed her goodnight.
Doug was sitting on the sofa watching Boardwalk Empire when she entered the living room. He smiled and patted the seat beside him, and she sat there. He pulled her close, and she cuddled up next to him.
"I had more fun today than I've had in longer than I can remember," Jo remarked.
Doug chuckled. "And you were complaining about the snow just this morning."
"It's days like today that remind me of why I moved to Oklahoma in the first place. This is where I belong, Doug. Where we belong."
Doug kissed her nose. "I'm so glad you feel that way."