She spent time at the store and remembered how much she loved working there, seeing the families that she’d known her whole life, talking to strangers who were new in town, or just visiting. The general store was an important part of their town, a symbol of the way of life they were choosing to live. She looked around and felt a wrenching loss at the idea of leaving, though she tried to tell herself that there were other stores, other small towns, other ways of working and having the same love for her job. But she was afraid, really afraid, that she didn’t believe herself.
On Christmas Eve, just as she and her parents were sitting down to dinner, the doorbell rang. Her father answered it but then called for her. When she saw the amazing bouquet the delivery woman had brought, she actually
