Glenn pulled toward the front doors of the Salt Lake International Airport and crawled along the curb, one car in a long line of holiday travelers.

“What airline again?” he asked.

“American,” Nedra said from the backseat.

Glenn followed the signs and moved along slowly with the traffic. “It’s crazy out here!”

“It’s always like this right before Christmas. Thank you so much for the ride,” she added. “It really beats paying those huge parking fees.”

“It’s not a problem. Do you need us to pick you up, too?”

“That would be great, yeah. Bryan has my itinerary.”

“All right, have a safe trip,” he said, finally landing a spot by the entrance.

Glenn opened his door and climbed out while Nedra leaned over the front console and gave Bryan a kiss. “Bye, I love you!”

“I love you, too! I’ll see you in a week.”

“Please take care of everything while I’m gone,” she said.

“I will. I promise,” he smiled.

She kissed him once more before climbing out of the car. Glenn stood on the sidewalk holding her suitcase, which he had retrieved from the trunk.

“Merry Christmas,” he said, handing over the large bag.

“Merry Christmas!” She smiled and gave him a small hug. Turning, she waved to Bryan before disappearing through the glass doors.

***

Christmas morning was always a big deal at Bryan’s house. He awoke to the smell of homemade cinnamon rolls wafting down the stairs. Jenny came running into his room and jumped onto his bed.

“It’s Christmas! It’s Christmas! Let’s open presents!” she yelled, bouncing and waving with the bed by his feet. She climbed off the waterbed and disappeared back up the stairs as quickly as she had come.

Glenn walked into Bryan’s room, shaking his head and laughing at his youngest. “Oh, to have her energy again,” he chuckled.

“Morning, Pop! How are you?” Bryan greeted him.

“I’m fabulous, marvelous, and wonderful!” he exclaimed with a cheerful smile.

“I should’ve known.” Bryan smiled back.

“Now let’s get you upstairs before there isn’t anything left to open,” he said, bending down and scooping Bryan up. Glenn had gotten used to carrying Bryan now. He could actually get him up the stairs without grunting and groaning.

He set Bryan on their long, blue couch next to Brenda, who was curled up with a blanket, and ran in the next room to grab his camera. As Bryan looked around the room at his sisters, he realized this would be their last Christmas all together. By this time next year, he would be married. Becky had a serious boyfriend, and Brenda would be a senior in high school; he couldn’t believe how fast his family was changing. Becky sat in the armchair across the room, looking half asleep. Glenda crawled around under the tree, picking up the best-looking presents and shaking them.

“You better not break any of mine,” Brenda warned.

Glenda ignored her and kept up the search. Jenny sat on her feet, bouncing on her knees. “Let’s go! Let’s go!” she cried.

“All right, we’re coming.” Carol Jean and Glenn came into the room and sat on the loveseat beside the tree.

“Who do you think wants to go first?” Glenn asked, looking around the room. “Should we go oldest to youngest?”

“Noooooooo!” Jenny wailed.

“Oh, stop teasing,” Carol Jean said. “Go ahead and open one of yours, sweetie,” she said to Jenny.

After taking turns from youngest to oldest several more times, the floor was covered in torn wrapping paper. Bryan looked at the small pile beside him that Brenda had helped open. He got some new shirts, several ties, a couple of records, and some treats. He realized most of what he got was food or clothes, and it made him chuckle. This was how Christmases were probably going to be from now on.

Once the paper was all picked up, they enjoyed cinnamon rolls and juice for breakfast. Bryan had only been home for about two weeks, but he was already starting to put on a few pounds. He could tell because his mom had struggled to button up his pants the last two mornings. He didn’t feel an ounce of regret, though. After eating hospital food for six months, he had a lot of catching up to do with his mom’s cooking. After his third cinnamon roll, Glenn carried him back downstairs and got him dressed for the day.

“Jana is going to be here soon,” Glenn said.

“Yeah, I know,” Bryan frowned.

“Are you ready for this?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Bryan said.

“It’s not too late to change your mind.”

“Dad, please.”

“Okay,” Glenn said, surrendering. He helped Bryan into his wheelchair and Bryan drove around the room until he heard the doorbell ring a short time later.

Bryan’s stomach dropped. He definitely should have stayed away from that third roll. Now it was threatening to make a reappearance. He could hear Jana’s happy chatter as she walked down the stairs. He wanted to run. His throat became very dry when he saw her standing on the last step. She paused for a moment and then rushed toward him.

“Oh, I’ve missed you so much! I can’t believe it’s been almost a month,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck.

Bryan watched over her shoulders as Glenn turned and walked back up the steps, shaking his head.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t ever make it over,” Jana said, sitting on the couch beside Bryan so they were at the same eye level.

“I understand,” Bryan said quietly. “You were really sick and then between school and work and trying to catch up, it made complete sense. You were really good at calling, though.”

Jana smiled. “I didn’t want you to feel like I had completely abandoned you. Well, here,” Jana pulled a present out of her coat pocket. “Merry Christmas.”

Bryan could feel his heart thumping out of his chest. He couldn’t believe Jana hadn’t mentioned how loud it was yet. He raised his arm and placed it on top of the beautifully wrapped gift that lay in her open hands.

“Jana,” his voice squeaked slightly. “Jana, before we open gifts or anything, I really need to talk to you.”

“O-kay,” she said slowly. “What’s going on?”

“I want you to know first of all, how much your friendship means to me. Truly. Your love is what has gotten me through the hardest trial of my entire life. Your face kept me going when I thought I might die. Your love is what propelled me to push forward and never look back. I will always love you for that.”

“I’ll always love you, too,” she said, lifting her right hand and placing it on top of his. “Bryan, what’s going on?”

Bryan cleared his throat. “Well, uh, you remember my nurse Nedra?”

“Of course.”

“She and I ended up spending a lot of time together both in and out of the hospital, especially while you were away. And, well, we fell in love and we’re getting married.”

Jana’s jaw dropped. She quickly pulled her hand off of his and looked down. “Are you serious?” When she looked up again, there were tears in her eyes.

“I really, really never wanted to hurt you Jana. You have meant so much to me.”

Jana shook her head slowly and got to her feet, legs trembling. “You’re getting married?”

“Yes,” Bryan whispered.

“And you couldn’t have bothered to tell me this before now?” Jana’s voice got louder with each word.

“I wanted to talk to you in person. I wanted you to understand how much your love and support has meant to me.”

“Well, obviously it didn’t mean enough, did it?” Jana walked away from Bryan, her shoulders trembling. She turned around when she reached the bottom step and looked down at the present that was still in her hand. She threw it on the ground by Bryan’s feet. “Merry Christmas.” She spat out the words.

Glenda immediately rushed to Jana’s side when she reached the top of the stairs. She hugged her tightly while Jana’s crying grew louder. Carol Jean and Brenda came over, and they all embraced. They guided Jana to a chair in the kitchen and sat around the table beside her. Carol Jean made her a cup of cocoa and they listened and cried with her as Jana spilled her emotions.

Bryan sat in the basement in the dark, listening to Jana sob above him. He felt completely miserable. She had truly become a part of his family. After going on trips together and spending holidays together, Bryan’s family all viewed her as another sister. He only hoped they could someday love Nedra and welcome her into the family, too.

***

When Glenn and Bryan picked Nedra up from the airport a week later, the wounds were still fresh. Thankfully, seeing Nedra’s face again reminded Bryan why he had gone through all that. After tossing her suitcase into the trunk, she climbed in the backseat. Her smile was giddy as she squeezed Bryan’s shoulders from behind, giving him the best hug she could with a seat between them.

“How was your Christmas?” he asked.

“It was nice. Very quiet. A little strange with just Mom and me, but nice.”

Bryan laughed as he thought of his sisters on Christmas morning. “My Christmas was definitely not quiet.”

“I hope we’re able to have a big family,” she said. “Christmas was always just Randy and me, so I’ve never known anything else. A loud Christmas sounds nice.”

Glenn cleared his throat from the front seat. “Can you, uh—can you have kids?” he asked Bryan.

“We know it won’t be easy, but we’re planning on trying,” Bryan said.

When they got to Nedra’s house, Glenn got out of the car and pulled her suitcase and Bryan’s wheelchair from the trunk. He opened Bryan’s door, unbuckled him, and bent down low to lift him from the passenger seat. Glenn pushed Bryan’s wheelchair toward the front door and was about to leave when he looked at Nedra standing there with a wheelchair and her large suitcase.

“Let me help you,” he offered.

Nedra’s initial instinct was to refuse, but after looking between Bryan and her suitcase, she realized there really was no easy way to do it. “That would be great, thanks.”

Glenn ran back to the car and removed his keys and then followed Nedra and Bryan inside, carrying her heavy bag behind them. He watched as Nedra bumped Bryan up one step at a time of her split level home.

“Do you need a hand?” he asked apprehensively.

“Oh no, we do this all the time,” she said. “I’ll bring him back tonight around ten,” Nedra added once they reached her living room. “I have work in the morning, so we won’t be out too late.”

Glenn nodded and leaned her suitcase against the wall, just inside her door. “See you tonight, Bryan,” he called up the stairs.

Nedra walked back down and closed the front door behind him. No sooner had she done so when two of her cats greeted her. She stroked their fur gently, and then hefted her bag up the stairs and dropped it off down the hall in her bedroom. She quickly made a sweep through the house, checking on all her babies.

“They all seem to be happy and healthy,” she declared, looking around. “Boy, it sure feels weird to be back. A week away felt like such a long time.”

Bryan sighed. “Tell me about it! My sisters, except Jenny of course, are mad at me for breaking up with Jana on Christmas. They’ve barely even looked at me all week.”

“You did it on Christmas?” Nedra looked at him, disapproving.

“Oh, no, not you, too. It’s the only time I could do it! She was already coming over that day, and I wasn’t going to pretend we were still together for the entire holiday, just to break up with her the day after. That seemed just as mean.”

“You’re right. It was not going to be an easy task, no matter what day it happened.” Nedra bent down and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m proud of you, though. I know that wasn’t easy to lose a friend who has meant so much to you.”

“I just hope she can forgive me someday and we can be friends again.”

“I hope so, too,” Nedra said. She pushed Bryan over to her large, comfy beanbag chair and transferred him onto it. He sank down just enough. She curled up beside him and he held her for awhile.

“Where are we going to live once we’re married?” Bryan asked, breaking the silence.

“I’m not sure,” Nedra said, looking around her small house. “This place is definitely not wheelchair accessible. And we’re certainly not moving in with your parents.” They looked at each other and laughed loudly.

“No way!” Bryan added. He couldn’t even imagine the problems that would create.

They sat in silence for several minutes, each trying to come up with some viable options.

“It’s too bad we can’t live in married student housing up on campus at the U,” Nedra said.

“Wait, why can’t we?”

“Because you have to be a student at the university to qualify.”

“So it sounds like I need to become a student then,” Bryan said.

Nedra thought about it. “Do you want to go to college?” she asked.

“You know, my dad always told me not to settle for being a mechanic. He’s been encouraging me to go to college and be an engineer for years. I never really paid much attention to his advice. I was always going to be a mechanic, so college wasn’t a part of my plan. Since I can’t be a mechanic anymore, why not? What else am I going to do with my life? I’ve got to find something to do to keep my mind working or I’ll go crazy. How else will I earn money for our family, anyway, with all those kids you want?” He smiled at Nedra.

She looked at him and saw that his mind was set. Bryan was going to college. “Okay,” she said. “Are you going to study engineering?”

“Yeah, I think I will. When I was a kid, I used to fix kids’ toys from all over the neighborhood. I was pretty good at it, too. I’ve always been fascinated with how things work. Maybe that’s part of the reason I was so drawn to cars. I loved how I could pop the hood and discover what made them run.”

Nedra watched Bryan closely. “Well, if it wasn’t so late already, I’d suggest a car drive up to the U and pick you up an application. Given the circumstances and that the sky is already dark, why don’t I grab one after work tomorrow? I can bring it by tomorrow night.”

“Sounds great!”

“Speaking of which, how did your parents do with getting you ready for bed every night?”

“Oh my word,” Bryan rolled his head around. “They can be so frustrating! And so slow, too.”

“Well, I do have a bit more practice,” Nedra said slowly.

“I am just so glad you’re back to help me from now on. No more going out of town unless you take me with you!”

“Well, next time I go to California, this July, you will be coming with me.”

“I can’t wait to meet your mom. She sounds like a character,” Bryan said.

“Oh, she is.”

“How did she take the news of our engagement?” he asked. Nedra had been waiting to tell her mom until she could tell her in person.

“She’s very happy for us. She’s assured me she wants to pay for the reception in California.” Nedra paused, and her tone seemed to shift.

“What’s wrong, Ned?”

“My mom also brought up a really good point. But I don’t want it to come across the wrong way.”

“What’s that?”

Nedra took a deep breath. “Well, Daddy never would have approved of you. Not you, as a person,” she stammered, “but because you’re ‘handicap,’” she said, making quote marks in the air. “He wouldn’t have allowed us to marry, knowing that I am going to have to take care of you for the rest of your life. Daddy was very protective and prejudiced that way.”

Bryan considered her words.

“Everything seems to have happened in just the right order, with just the right timing,” she said.

Bryan smiled and reached for Nedra, who fell into his embrace. “I’m so glad I met you when I did, then,” he whispered.

“Me, too,” Nedra said, nuzzling his neck. “Me, too.”