LACEY UNLOCKED the door and walked into the house she had not expected to see until spring. Butterflies stirred in her stomach - that awful feeling one gets before making a speech or attending a job interview. Taking a deep breath, she put down her bag and laptop and turned to Jana who was following her in with Barney in tow.

"Thanks for everything, honey. I do not know what I would have done without you." Jana had arranged for the driveway to be cleared of snow and had stocked the kitchen with food.

She had called to get the phone, cable TV and water back on, and had notified the post office to restart Lacey's mail delivery.

"It's okay, Mom. We should get you settled and start supper.

Julie and the kids'll be here soon."

"Yes, of course." Lacey went to the living room and turned on the gas fireplace and was cheered by the roaring flames and warmth that enveloped her. She dropped onto the sofa. "I'll just sit for a minute," she called out. Barney jumped up and snuggled into her lap, and she buried her head in his soft fur and held him tight.

"Sure, take your time." Jana put her mother's suitcase at the foot of the stairs and then went into the kitchen and started preparing the meal.

Lacey stared out at the snow that lay deep on the lawn, and on the ice on the lake in front of her house. She remembered how happy she had been sitting here in the same spot, when she and Jake were together, and well. It is the same scene, the same house, she mused, but the filters I am seeing through are altogether different. New flakes were drifting down, visible in the spotlights shining from the front of the house. She didn't feel like unpacking, didn't feel like doing anything at all, but she forced herself to join her daughter in the kitchen.