Chapter 27

"Dusty." Kayla Black ran up and embraced her daughter as she stepped off her train at the West station.

"Mom." Dusty hugged her mother back, both of them holding each other tighter than usual.

"I missed you," Kayla admitted, finally stepping back and releasing her grip.

"I missed you too, Mom." Dusty smiled. "Where's Dust?" she asked, glancing behind her mother and seeing only empty space.

"He doesn't get in until tomorrow," Kayla explained. "So it's just us girls tonight."

"Sounds good."

****

Compared to the city, West seemed drastically sparse. There were vast empty fields and houses with yards the size of a small baseball field. And everywhere felt so alarmingly open without being beneath the shadow of overbearing sky scrapers. As the cab pulled into the trailer park, Dusty noticed that little had changed since her departure to Princeton.

There was still the disorderly alignment of numerous trailers, some in better condition than others. Beaten-up cars were parked alongside some of them, and groups of children ran amongst the trailers, caught up in their own game. For them there were no yards, no boundaries, just one giant playground.

Dusty used to envy the idealistic way they viewed the park. They didn't see it as the final resting place for the fallen as she did. "Home sweet home," Dusty quipped as she shut the cab door behind her, her duffel bag hoisted across her back. But as she scanned the area, she noticed the twinkle of lights sparkling out from some nearby trailers.

On closer inspection she saw windows lined with fairy lights, Christmas trees peering out from behind curtains, lovingly decorated. Some trailers had even put lights along their exterior. It caught her by surprise to see an illuminated Santa and his sleigh atop one of their neighbor's trailers. It was a far cry from the elaborate lights of the city, but nevertheless, the magic of Christmas had managed to enter the trailer park, and the effect was not lost on Dusty. Somehow, the sparkling lights and the promise of magic that they held made the entire place seem more bearable and less desperate.

Dusty looked ahead at their own trailer and felt her rising spirits stop short. In contrast to the other trailers, her own looked dark and dull. There were no lights, no wreath on the door. Theirs was the trailer that Christmas had forgotten. "Are you not putting any decorations up?" she asked her mother as the cab pulled away.

"No." Kayla shook her head. "You said you never wanted to bother while we lived here, that it made you too sad to see them up."

Dusty recalled saying such a thing when she was young, angry and bitter at the world for taking her father from her. But now she saw things differently, and she knew that their trailer needed the magical touch of Christmas; they all did. "I'm thinking maybe I was wrong about that," Dusty commented nonchalantly before pushing open the front door and heading inside.

The trailer seemed spacious compared to her apartment. Her mother, to her credit, kept it immaculately clean despite working two jobs. Dusty noted the small television in the living area, the kettle with just one solitary mug beside it and realized with a heavy heart how lonely her mother must be there at times. "Are you sure you don't mind sharing a room with Dust?" Kayla asked anxiously, moving to put the kettle on and retrieving a second mug from within the cupboard.

"No, it's fine," Dusty reassured her. Spending time sleeping in close proximity to her brother no longer seemed like such a big deal. Yet she remembered how much they used to fight in that small room with only bunk beds for furniture. She sometimes got so mad at him that she thought their arguments would come to blows, but they never did. She'd actually missed her brother since he left for college and was looking forward to spending some time with him over the festive season. "Apparently he has a new girlfriend," Kayla said as she prepared two coffees.

"Oh?" Dusty hadn't even known the previous girlfriend, so the news had little impact on her.

"She's from Minnesota. Apparently she's very nice."

"Good for Dust." Kayla handed Dusty her coffee and gave her daughter a long, pitying look, which Dusty recognized all too well. She knew that her mother wanted her to find someone, to fall in love and settle down. But Dusty's love life had never been so straightforward.

Settling down, getting married seemed like the behavior of those who were lucky enough to find uncomplicated loves. "I'm so excited to have both my children home for the holidays." Kayla smiled as she sat down beside Dusty and blew into her coffee to cool it.

"It's nice to be home," Dusty admitted. "I think we should get this place all decorated before Dust arrives, give him a surprise tomorrow."

"I think that's a lovely idea." Kayla beamed.