Chapter 30

As darkness descended, so did the snow. Dusty sat in the trailer by the window with a mug of hot chocolate while It's a Wonderful Life played on the small television that her mother and Dust were watching. Dusty's attention was outside, watching the softly falling white flakes and hoping that they would stick. She loved the dreamy descent they took to earth, dancing delicately in the wind before finding their final resting place.

The sound of her iPad whirring broke her away from her thoughts with a start. She looked down and saw Ashley's name flashing on the screen. Moving into the bedroom, she accepted the call. Ashley was wearing a bright red Christmas sweater with matching lipstick and smiling into her iPad. "Dusty!" she gushed when her friend answered. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, Ash." Dusty smiled. "I thought we weren't going to call each other until tomorrow morning, after we'd opened our presents?"

"Well..." Ashley smiled coyly into the camera. "That's just it. I got an early present that I simply couldn't wait to tell you about."

"Ooh, spill!" Dusty said, sitting cross-legged on her bunk and leaning forward expectantly as she gazed into her iPad. Ashley smiled into the camera but then her gaze settled on something beyond the screen.

"Come wave to Dusty," she said softly. There was a rustle of footsteps, and then Ricardo appeared next to Ashley, wearing a crisp white shirt and a massive grin. He was just as Dusty remembered from Italy, with perfect olive skin and dark, intense eyes.

"Oh my goodness, Ricardo, hi!" Dusty waved eagerly into the camera. Ricardo shyly waved back.

"Hello, Dusty-Rose," he said in his European accent. "Merry Christmas to you."

"And to you."

"Okay, you can carry on helping my dad," Ashley whispered to him, and he left the girls alone to continue their conversation.

"Did he surprise you with a visit?" Dusty asked excitedly, her heart bursting with the romance of such a gesture.

"Yeah, he arrived this morning," Ashley explained, still gushing. "He called and said could I pick him up, and I was like from Italy, yeah, you're dreaming. And he said, 'No, I'm at LAX, and I have your Christmas present with me.' He'd been saving for months to come over. I couldn't believe it!"

"That's so romantic, Ash! You're going to have an amazing Christmas!"

"I know!" Ashley beamed, unable to contain all her glee. "And my parents adore him!"

"Well, he's lovely."

"But that's not all," Ashley said mischievously.

"It's not?"

"He said he had a Christmas present for me that he couldn't wait to give me."

"What was it?" Dusty asked, hanging on her best friend's every word as she relayed the story to her. Ashley didn't say what the mysterious gift was; instead, she showed it to her. She extended her left hand so that it fully filled the screen, revealing the large diamond ring, which she was now wearing.

In her trailer in West, Dusty began screaming with delight. Across the country in Los Angeles Ashley was also screaming. Kayla turned to her son with an anxious look upon her face. "Do you think Dusty is all right?" she queried.

"She's talking to Ashley. She's fine," Dust replied. "Probably excited about who went out off Top Model last week," he added. Dusty finally ceased screaming and admired the beautiful ring.

"It's stunning," she breathed. "I can't believe you're getting married!"

"Me neither!" Ashley beamed. "The ring belonged to his late grandmother, isn't it exquisite? And we're going to get married in Italy so all his family can be there; they can't all afford to fly over, whereas mine can. Which means that you get another Europe trip since obviously you'll be my chief bridesmaid!"

Dusty began to cry soft, happy tears. For so long in life she'd felt alone and adrift. But since finding Ashley she'd found the sort of friendship she'd always dreamed about having. Ashley was more than a friend, she was family. They had been through so much together since their first days at Princeton, and now Dusty would be present on one of the most important days of Ashley's life, and it was a wonderfully humbling thought.

"Oh, don't cry," Ashley pleaded, looking sadly through the camera.

"I'm just so happy for you." Dusty wept, wiping her eyes and hiccupping slightly. "You deserve to be happy. Seeing you find happiness means the world to me."

"Stop, you'll make me cry too!" Ashley said, her voice breaking.

"Congratulations to you and Ricardo, you're going to be so happy together. I just know it." Dusty smiled.

"Thank you." Ashley gently dabbed at her own eyes. "And you'll find your charming princess soon, I can feel it."

"Yeah," Dusty replied dreamily, remembering how she'd felt when she saw Valentine at the store earlier. Seeing Kyera hadn't reignited old passions, but with Valentine, she was desperate to kiss her, to be back in her arms. It was such a strange sensation, and she was still processing what it must mean. "It's snowing here," Dusty added, glimpsing some more flakes falling past the window.

"How perfect!" Ashley smiled.

"It's sunshine here," she moaned. "It's always sunshine here."

"I love you, Ash. Have an amazing Christmas with your fiancé." Dusty smiled into the camera.

"I love you too, Dusty. Go get drunk on mulled wine, and then go make crazy snow angels outside your trailer! I expect photographic evidence!" The girls giggled and signed off their call as outside the trailer West was about to embark on a white Christmas.

****

Dusty waited nervously within the trailer, glancing anxiously out of the small window. The snow on the ground had now hardened and turned to thick ice. "Are you sure you'll be okay tonight, Mom?" She turned briefly and asked Kayla for the fifth time. Kayla Black smiled at her daughter and nodded.

"You've stayed in with me all week. It's time you went out and had some fun."

"But Dust's out too. I don't like to think of you home alone on New Year's Eve," Dusty noted sadly.

"I'm too old to care about bringing in another new year," Kayla said with the wisdom of one who knew that a new year on the calendar didn't bring about any significant change. That even the best laid resolutions would eventually fall away. "You and your brother should be out having fun. You've both been in with me all week. I'm sick of you!" her mother added teasingly.

Smiling, Dusty turned back to the window. It had been a good week. Christmas had been wonderful, easily the best one they had spent together as a family since her father had passed. And in the days that followed, trapped inside by the snow, they passed the time playing board games, watching television and going through old photographs. It had been nostalgic in the nicest way, like a walk down memory lane where you skip past all the painful parts of the journey.

But now it was the final night of the year, and Dusty was waiting for Valentine to pick her up. The scene was so reminiscent of when they were dating that she almost choked on the sentimentality of the moment. Wearing skinny jeans and a black T-shirt, Dusty feared she would be either under or overdressed for the party she was taking her to. She also feared what would happen when they were together.

It had been so long; what if the spark was gone? Dusty was so nervous about seeing Valentine that she hadn't even confided in Ashley about their New Year's Eve plans. She knew that Ashley would be supportive and offer advice, but a part of her was desperate to keep their reunion secret, just in case nothing came of it. Not that she had any expectations. Or did she?

Holding a hand to her temple, Dusty sighed, realizing that she'd not thoroughly thought everything through. The words on the letter loomed large in her mind as she wondered whether or not she truly wished them to still be true. Lights beamed through the window into the trailer as Valentine pulled up in her car. She was still driving the same Prius she had been when Dusty had left. She smiled to herself upon seeing the car, wondering if perhaps Valentine'd held on to it for so long because it reminded her of Dusty, but then she chastised herself for being so foolish.

"Bye, Mom." She kissed Kayla on the cheek and headed out the door, not seeing her mother smile upon seeing a spring in her daughter's step as she left. Behind the wheel in the dim light of early evening, Valentine looked devastatingly beautiful. Dusty could see that she was wearing a shirt beneath a leather jacket which give her a sexy look. "Hi," Dusty breathed nervously as she slid into the familiar car.

"Hey." Valentine looked at her from the corner of her eye and smiled. Then she guided her car back out of the trailer park, and they headed for the party.