She put away her laptop and headed downstairs. She really did want to hear about their visit. She hadn’t seen her grandfather in a couple of months, and now with her new book contract, she wasn’t sure when she’d have time to make the hour-long drive to Pine City. Lauren did talk with him on the telephone weekly, but she knew that was no substitute for an actual visit. Again, if he would step into the new age, they could FaceTime, but just like her father, he refused to acknowledge what most of the world now thought of as normal.

She put the kettle on for a second time, knowing they’d appreciate a hot drink. Lauren heard them bustling through the front door, keys dropping into the dish, coats being hung in the closet. She smiled. If you wanted routine and predictability, her parents were the textbook definition.

“Hey, Mom. Dad,” Lauren greeted them as they entered the kitchen. She felt the cold emanating from them. “I’ve made tea,” she said, and placed two large mugs on the table.

“You should be in bed,” her mother commented, “though I appreciate this. I don’t remember it ever being this cold in Fallen Springs. The weather forecast was certainly accurate.” Her mother was wearing black slacks and a heavy, dark green wool sweater. Her cheeks were flushed from the cold, her hair alive with static from her sweater and the lack of moisture in the bitter night air. She slid into her usual seat across from her husband.

“This is nice, Lauren. Thank you,” her father said, his speech stilted and void of his usual cheerfulness. Obviously, he was still upset with her.

“No problem. So, how was Grandpa?” she asked, wanting to change the subject. “I miss him.”

“Al is doing fantastic at the Upside. He’s made so many friends and is involved in all they have to offer, which is one of the reasons we’re so late. They have a Christmas play every year, and we watched them rehearse. They’re quite exceptional. I told Al we would try to make it to opening day, provided this weather isn’t a factor. It was a treacherous drive home.”

“I was concerned when I came home and saw you two weren’t here,” Lauren said, though she was smiling when she said this to let them know she wasn’t upset with them. And why should she be? They were entitled to get out of the house. She had to stop thinking of them as older than their chronological ages. Maybe if they weren’t so stuck in the past, she could.