After thirty minutes of crying with Bess and George, Nancy's tears finally found their end, and her rational self took control back. She had been unhappy with Ned for months. Her questions had begun even before that fateful day at Scotty's Discount Storage. While painful, this ending was inevitable and better now than later. No sense in delay.
Gentle coaxing from Bess and George was finally able to penetrate her icy exterior and Nancy finally admitted her work/sleep routine was not sustainable and she needed a break.
Another thirty minutes had progressed to a full plan for a ski trip in Vail; the laptop was brought out, tickets purchased, and Nancy's first laugh in a while warmed her room significantly.
Bess and George began to bicker about restaurants to try in Vail and Nancy's mood once again darkened as she thought about the dark haired ghost she could not confront. While Bess and George had succeeded in opening her heart a little bit, Nancy had a deep worry that things would not improve until she resolved this issue with Frank but that hill seemed insurmountable. That was when Nancy's trained detective ear picked up someone who was clearly trying hard to make no noise on the stairs and failing. She grabbed the arms of her friends and all listened curiously to the footsteps reach the top of the stairs, hesitate, and then hurry loudly back down. Nancy couldn't contain her curiosity and softly breached the door, spotting the little wrapped box in front of her door, bearing her name in an unmistakable scrawl that made her heart jump into her throat. She caught the briefest glimpse of Frank's back exiting her father's house before she turned, quickly snatched up the gift and returned to her friends. For some reason she did not want to share her little treasure with her friends and tucked it in the back of her sweater, secretly stowing it under her pillow for later.
It was unanimously decided that Bess and George would spend the night and the mattresses were dragged into Nancy's room. After way too much girl talk, Bess and George fell asleep and Nancy found herself staring at her ceiling, her whirling thoughts accompanied by only the sound of Bess' soft snores. She was exhausted but she knew her curious mind would not rest until she had opened that gift.
As quiet as a cat, Nan crept over her friends, box in hand, and went down to the living room, where the Christmas lights were the only things to witness her undertaking. She felt all the little ridges of the wrapping paper, not sure if she were avoiding opening it or savoring it. Her nails caught on an edge and she finally tore the paper off to reveal a hand-written note on lined paper wrapped around an intricately carved wooden box with a hinge on one side.
Nancy took a deep breath and unfolded the note to read Frank's message.