At Shop Mart, employees and customers were leaving the parking lot in their cars. According to the radio, the freak storm was supposed to be a record setter, with as much as eighteen inches of snow in the forecast by morning. People were being advised to go home and stay there until the roads could be cleared. The van was a heavy vehicle with a wheelchair lift in the back. Megan felt safe in it, but she could see other cars skidding and sliding on the snow-slicked road. Where she could, she gave them a wide berth.

When she pulled up to the Shop Mart entrance, she saw Daniel standing in the sheltered entryway. His arms were around Katy. He had wrapped her in his coat to keep her warm. They came out together and climbed into the backseat. “Can we give Katy a ride?” he asked. “Her dad’s at work, and her mom isn’t home.”

“Certainly,” Megan said. “How are you, Katy?”

Katy’s laugh was like a little tinkling bell. “I was freezing, but it’s nice and warm in here. Thank you for taking me home. You know where I live, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do.” Megan drove out of the parking lot and headed back up Main Street to the part of town where Katy lived. “We’ve been talking about our wedding,” Katy said. “I don’t want anything fancy, but I do want it in the church, and I want to wear a pretty white dress and a veil.”

“And when is this supposed to take place?” Megan couldn’t help but wonder if she was being recruited as their advocate.

“We don’t know yet,” Daniel said. “I want to wait until I get my license. This way, I can drive.”

“My dad can get us a little car,” Katy said. “He has lots of cars around the garage. When Daniel can drive, I’ll ask Dad to fix one up and get it running for us.”

“Then we can be a family,” Daniel said. “Just Katy and me and her cat.”

“I remember that little tabby cat,” Megan said. “Daniel gave her to you last Christmas. How is she doing?”

“Oh, she’s beautiful,” Katy said. “She’s all grown up. Dr. Rushford fixed her for me so she won’t have babies. I kind of wanted her to have some. They’re so cute. But he said it wasn’t a good idea.”

The snow was pelting down harder than ever. The old-fashioned Christmas lights, strung across Main Street, were faint blurs of color, barely shining through the swirling white. “It’s so pretty,” Katy said. “But why can’t snow be warm and soft like feathers? That would be so much nicer.”