Sharon was enjoying the silence, the peace and quiet. Well, she was mostly enjoying it, but to tell the truth, it was a little lonely too. She was very much looking forward to getting started at school. Her course wouldn't begin officially until the second semester started in January, but she had a lot of meetings to attend and a curriculum to set up with this new department. She applauded the local school district for its boldness, starting a course that was brand new. It was unorthodox, yes, to start in the middle of a school year, but not much about her life had been exactly a storybook, picture-perfect setting lately.
She sighed as she just enjoyed the snowfall from her bed. It was really beautiful and peaceful to watch. Thanksgiving had been nice, quiet, but nice. It had been full of new traditions. She'd gotten Evie her pizza, promising to have a "regular" Thanksgiving next year. Right now, though, Sharon didn't have the energy to try and pull it off, especially when Evie had no interest in it and was perfectly content with pizza and brownies. They'd watched the Thanksgiving parade on television, they'd put up their Christmas tree with the decorations that she'd not stowed away yet after their move, and they'd relaxed and watched movies. Sharon had done some online shopping for Evie's Christmas presents over the weekend too, getting some good deals on the things Evie had told her over and over she wanted. She thought to what her life would be like if she had stayed in Los Angeles.
For starters, she certainly would have worked Thanksgiving weekend, and Evie would have been stuck in the depressing daycare where she saw more of the workers than of Sharon. The two, with the little time they would have had at home, would have gone back to the small rental home and been depressed there. Everything about the place was depressing. Sharon would have tried to not turn on the news and see the stories about her now ex-husband and the fraud charges he'd been found guilty of-all an embarrassment. No things were definitely better here, and the two of them finally had a fresh start to really bond as a family, their small little family.
Sharon curled up in her blanket again, realizing that she would definitely need to order some warmer bedding for the long winter. Flannel sheets were calling her name, and she decided right then and there to gift herself a set for Christmas. Evie would need some too, and if the temperature continued to drop as she suspected, Sharon might even purchase an electric blanket.
When she couldn't stand it any longer, she got up for the day, not before putting on a pair of warm socks. The floors were cold. Hardwood floors looked like a great idea when she'd rented the place, but she was quickly finding they were cold, even with rugs. It was just a rental for now. Nothing was permanent, not until she had decided this was the best fit for the two of them. Picking up and moving across the country had been a good move, yes, but this was still a brand-new town and job. She hadn't wanted to get too settled with buying a house and all when she didn't know if the job or the town would stick. The little two-bedroom house was old, but it was fixed up, warm, and it was what she could afford right now. She needed to get her feet settled, and now that the divorce had been finalized just prior to moving, Sharon was trying to get her finances settled and start over. What a process it was. People who hadn't been through a disaster had no idea.
Sadly, as she made her coffee for the morning and let her mind wander, she thought back over the last few years. Nothing had been going well for quite some time, at least with Jack. He'd been brought up on charges over two years ago, and with everything, he'd finally been found guilty just recently and sentenced to some time in federal prison. It was big, a mess, and of course, he'd been so arrogant as to think that being a big-shot attorney in Los Angeles, with clients all over the world, he wouldn't get caught. Most of their finances had been seized. It had taken forensic accounts to sort through what Sharon could keep and not. Goodness, after the entire mess, she almost couldn't believe she was free of him and could leave the state. A smaller salary as a teacher was very much appealing after the disaster of Jack and the stress of the LAPD.
Then, there was Evie, the ever surprise in all of this. Sharon's mind started to wander to that story, and before she could get very far, the little miss at the heart of her thoughts, came flying into the kitchen, excited about the snow.
"There's so much snow!" Evie exclaimed as she jumped up and down. It had snowed all night, and yes, there was a lot. Sharon had purchased boots for Evie the other day in town, but as she was thinking about it, she hadn't yet bought her a sled or anything else to enjoy the snow.
Sharon crossed her arms over her cardigan, "Well, we will have to get you outside to really enjoy this snow. We've had some flurries, but this is the first big snow of the year."
"I'm so excited, Mommy!" Evie giggled. "Snow!"
"Yes, snow," she smiled. "It is really starting to feel like Christmas."
The two were interrupted with a knock at the door. Sharon pulled her cardigan closer and told Evie to wait in the kitchen. She padded toward the door, unsure of who in the world might be stopping by on a Saturday morning. She gave a slight roll of the eye as she saw one of the only people she knew outside.
"Sheriff, I mean, Andy, good morning," she said with a small smile. She pulled her cardigan even tighter as the cold wind hit her.
"Good morning, ahh, Sharon," he said to her. "Listen, I was going to go ahead and have my deputy plow your driveway if that's okay with you."
"Oh," Sharon's eyes widened, and she glanced out to see the sheriff's SUV with a plow attached to the front with another truck behind it, also with a plow. "Gosh, I hadn't even thought about that. Umm, yes, sure, let me get my purse-" she said, but her head snapped up as she heard chuckling.
"There's no charge. Look, I have a couple of deputies for the area, and this place isn't crawling with crimes. When we get snow like this, we try to plow the homes where we know people don't have access to a plow."
She rotated her finger in the air as she was trying to grasp everything, "Umm, how did you know I lived here?"
He winked, "Police business and all, and besides, small town," he smiled.
"Right," she chuckled and rolled her eyes slightly. "Ahh, well, then, yes, that would be very kind. I do feel I need to pay, though."
He put up his hand, "No charge, seriously. I'm sure Jake would enjoy a cup of coffee when he's done, I mean, for the road, if you are really wanting to be charitable. He's got a list of about 20 places to plow."
"Done," Sharon said with a nod. "What about you? Crime on the rise today?"
He laughed and dropped his head, "Nah, I need to take care of my pop's place and about 10 of his friends. Last thing I need is for any of them to get outside, fall, and end up going to the hospital. That would take more of my day. So," he clapped his hands together with his gloves, "I'll have Jake get started."
"Thank you again, Andy," she nodded. "Oh," she put her hand up in the air, "I'm guessing your father's store has sleds?"
He smiled brightly, "We do, all kinds. I'm guessing you have an excited little girl on your hands, yes?"
She nodded, "I do, and on that note, we'll be by later after the snow ends, and the roads are clear. It's been some time since I've been in this kind of snow."
"Looking forward to it," he said with a nod. He turned, made a gesture toward his deputy, and he started off in the snow. Sharon watched, giving a wave to Jake, as he started on her driveway. She closed the door, but she continued to watch through her small window next to the door. This town was growing on her, that's for sure.
Hours later, after lunch, when the snow had stopped, her driveway had been cleared, and she'd watched over a dozen cars drive by, Sharon bundled up Evie to take her to the hardware store where they would pick out a sled. The two opened the front door, but they didn't get very far.
"Mommy, a purple sled!" Evie giggled and pointed. Sharon's mouth dropped open at the sight of a very nice purple sled propped up against her car, even with a bow on it. She bit her lip and held back her tears.
"Evie, let's try out your sled, and then I think we should do some baking to thank our new friends here," Sharon said with a smile, still dumbfounded at the kindness of almost strangers.