“I think you should see her.”
Snow sat up. Surely not… “Who is it?”
“She says her name is Emily. She’s Amanda’s friend.”
Snow frowned. What would Emily be doing here? She had half-expected it to be Amanda, here to apologize in person. Snow didn’t know whether she would be pleased or annoyed if it was Amanda. She desperately wanted to see Amanda again, even though she knew it was probably a bad idea.
Curiosity overcame her and Snow got out of bed. She didn’t make an effort to fix her tangled hair as she walked to the door.
Emily smiled broadly at her when Snow opened the door, but she didn’t quite manage to hide her surprise at Snow’s appearance. Snow knew that she had deep bags under her eyes, despite how much she had been sleeping recently, and her hair was a tangled mess, though at least after her shower it was clean.
“Hi, Snow. Amanda asked me to come here. She has a surprise for you.”
Snow’s insides fluttered, but she did her best not to let any of that show on her face. “I’m not interested.”
“Please, Snow? I promise it’ll be worth your while. Amanda asked that you bring Bluebell with you. She’ll have a good time.”
Snow hesitated at that. She had been neglecting Bluebell recently. Bluebell deserved some kind of treat, and she loved Amanda. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt for Snow to go along with this.
Over the past three weeks, she had had time to cool off a bit. She was still hurt and upset, but she wasn’t totally opposed to hearing what Amanda had to say anymore.
Amanda hadn’t contacted her in weeks. Snow had assumed that Amanda had simply lost interest in her when she didn’t respond to messages, but considering that Emily was standing on her doorstep, maybe Amanda hadn’t given up after all.
“I—okay, I’ll come. Just give me ten minutes to get dressed and get Bluebell ready.”
“Perfect! I’ll wait in the car.”
Snow hurried to her bedroom and tried to do something with her hair. It wasn’t cooperating at all, so she simply pulled it into a bun.
“Bluebell, get dressed! We’re going out.”
“Where are we going, Mom?”
“We’re going to see Amanda.”
Bluebell squealed in delight and rushed for her clothes. Snow put on a light dusting of makeup, trying to look like she hadn’t just been lying in bed for three weeks. She was relatively pleased with the result. She quickly brushed her teeth and went to collect Bluebell.
Emily drove them to Amanda’s house, listening to Bluebell chatter about Amanda. Snow was nervous, but she did her best not to show it.
When they arrived, Amanda was waiting at the door for them. “Snow. Thank you for coming.”
She beamed at Snow, and Snow couldn’t help smiling back. It felt like forever since she had seen Amanda.
“Hi,” she said quietly.
“Will you take a walk with me through the trees?”
“Of course.” It would do Snow some good to be outside. She took Bluebell’s hand and followed Amanda. Emily got into her car and drove away, leaving the three of them alone.
“Have you got a Christmas tree yet?”
“No, not yet.” Snow felt herself blushing. It was Christmas Eve. She should have a Christmas tree by now. Bluebell always enjoyed decorating their tree for Christmas. She hadn’t even been planning on getting one before tomorrow.
The joy of Christmas was gone for her this year. The last thing Snow wanted was to do something celebratory like putting up at Christmas tree when she felt so miserable.
“Let’s find you one, then. It’ll be my gift to you. What do you think, Bluebell? You want to pick out the perfect tree?”
“Ooh yes please, Amanda! Can I have any one I want?”