Christmas was only three weeks away. Elise had finished her shopping early. What with all the extra time she had these days, it was easy to do. She pulled into her driveway and walked to her mailbox. A large red envelope with the most beautiful gold cursive handwriting was addressed with her name. She opened it on the way to her front door.

‘Just a gift from your dad. I know he would have wanted you to have something to ease your adult life. Enjoy it, and visit when you come home.’

It was return addressed from Diane. Inside was a cashier’s check for five hundred thousand dollars. It turned out that her dad was a shrewd investor. Elise screamed with excitement. What would she do with all that money? She plopped down on her sofa and felt the urge to call someone with the news. Ben was the first person she thought of, but after not speaking with him for the last six months, she knew the next best would be her sister, Melanie.

Melanie would be happy for her. She had told her about her visit with Diane and all the calls they made to each other in the past months. It was nice having a mother figure to call, especially after her breakup with Darren. Diane was as supportive as her own mother should have been. It had been six months since she had last seen or talked to Lyla, too. In a couple moments of weakness, she almost rang her number. Thankfully, she worked through them and didn’t.

Melanie picked up on the second ring. “I can’t believe you called. I was just about to dial your number.” Her voice shook with excitement of its own.

“Why? What’s up?”

“You won’t believe it. I can’t believe it. I’m freaking out, completely.”

“Don’t keep me in suspense, Mel. Tell me.” She would have shaken it out of her if she was standing close enough to her.

“I’m pregnant!! Can you believe it?”

“Oh, shit. What? Are you kidding? How? When?”

“Well, I’m about three months and I think you know the how.”

Elise sat back, feeling a pang of jealousy. Her own biological clock was on strike. It hadn’t talked to her either, in the last six months. Her house was empty. No kids, no husband, not even dinner. She was too lazy to pick up something on the way home. Cereal and milk had become her companions for the night. And Melanie? Two children, one on the way, and a second chance, or first, at love. Elise was suddenly empty of good news. Money couldn’t buy any of what her sister had.

“That’s incredible news, Melanie. I’m so happy for you.”

“What about you? Why did you call? It must be something good. We just talked two days ago.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Somehow the news of currency paled in comparison to a newly discovered fetal heartbeat.

“Tell me, Elise,” her sister begged.

“It’s nothing. I just wanted to tell you that I’m mailing your presents tomorrow. Look for them in the mail. I want the kids to have them under the tree to taunt their little imaginations.”

“Aren’t you coming home?”

“No. I’m staying here for the holidays. I’d have no one to water my tree if I left.”

“You got a tree?” Her sister knew better. “Like a tree outside that can be watered with rain, or what?”

Elise looked at the half-dead fern on the plant stand by the kitchen window. “Yes, I got a tree, an inside tree of sorts. It’s a gorgeous lemon tree. I’ll send you a few when they’re done doing whatever it is they do.”

“Okay, But now that you’re not with Darren, I just figured you’d come home. At least to see the kids and not be lonely during the holidays.”

“Maybe next year. And then I can meet little what’s his or her name. Is Jacob excited?”

“Over the moon. I think he might ask me to marry him.” That would be the icing everyone was talking about these days. Kelly was finally pregnant too, and even Janine’s fiancé had proposed to her over Thanksgiving. She would hide all the Bride magazine pictures when Elise walked past her desk. No one was lonelier than Elise Newton. Not even Lyla Newton. Melanie had told her that Frank was staying over more often than not these days.

“I’m so happy for you. Hey, I’ve got to go. The timer just went off on my dinner. I’ll get those gifts in the mail tomorrow.”

Wishing the dinner buzzer had gone off, Elise took a bowl from the cabinet and sat down at the table with her Lucky Charms cereal. She propped the check up on the milk container and looked at all the zeros on it. Nothing had changed in her life for a while. And she wanted to do something about it. Being the single lady with cats was not how she wanted to spend her golden years. Heck, her thirties weren’t even over yet.

The next morning, she felt a little more settled than usual. Janine tucked the latest styles of wedding cakes under her planner and went to get Elise a cup of coffee. Elise breezed by her and sauntered into her office. The computer screen lit in front of her eyes, and she waited to formulate the right words. With fingers poised, she typed the following message: ‘It is with extreme humility that I ask you to please accept my resignation...’

She finished it up and sent it to the printer. Janine grabbed it on her way in with coffee. Her eyes bulged as she silently read it.

“Miss Newton, is this yours?” Her other hand shook the coffee cup, the brown liquid nearly cascading down the sides.

“Yes, Janine. I’m moving.” Her tone was defiant with a little bit of ‘made-up-my-mind.’

“Ma’am, where are you moving to?” Janine set the coffee down and fell to one of the chairs parked in front of Elise’s desk.

“I’m not sure, but last night someone gave me the incentive to do something different with my life. I’m going to take them up on it and fly away. I have finished all the reports I was in charge of and with it being Christmas and everyone taking leave, it’s the best time to leave myself. My last day will be Friday, Janine.”

Janine looked down. “Yes, ma’am, I’ll deliver it to personnel right away.”

Elise got through the rest of the week with only two boxes of tissues for Janine and one for herself. She left Janine with her personal address, that was probably subject to change, for a wedding invitation. The one box of her things from the office sat in the backseat of her car for a week. With only two weeks to Christmas, Elise felt the cloud of abandonment follow her wherever she went. The city was packed with out-of-town visitors and rude last-minute shoppers. Where was the closest pasture with horses hanging around?

Pictures of hundreds of farms hung in her mind. It would be so nice to ride a horse again and feel the openness of land. So what if it didn’t come with a Ben Hudson. She could just enjoy the scenery and the memories in her mind, of days long ago and missed opportunities. Two to be precise.

The internet was a wonderful invention to shop for a future destination. Ever since she went home and was able to look up and see stars instead of building lights, she longed to own her own ranch. With the money she saved and Diane’s gift, she was going to buy a piece of heaven of her own.