I feel a tap on my shoulder, and suddenly, even with my eyes closed, everything is lighter. 

“You can take that off now,” Stacy says after I remove one of my airpods. She had taken the scarf off of my eyes and set it back down where it should be on my neck.

I remove the other airpod and put both of them back into their case so I can spend some time chatting with Stacy. She has been telling me about an idea she has for her ‘next best-seller,’ as she calls it, and the flight is the perfect time for me to hear the rest of the plot and world building. I eat up every word of the rom-com set in the Arizona desert as Stacy shares her plans for her novel. Our friendship began when I discovered that she was one of my favorite authors. One day, while I was watching one of my favorite holiday movies, I noticed Dartmouth in the end credits and immediately looked up the acknowledgement. Stacy had written the book the movie was based on. Of course I used my Dartmouth resources to find and reach out to her. It was an instant connection and we have been friends ever since. She works as a professor in the Literature Department, but writes as a side hustle. She is the one person who I have considered revealing my holiday movie obsession to. I just didn’t want to scare her away too fast.

“So, whatcha think?” Stacy’s Minnesota accent definitely comes out when she’s excited. And talking about her novels is a sure-fire way to get her excited.

“I love it. I am excited to read it when it comes out!”

“Actually,” Stacy pauses and shyly says, “I was hoping you would be a beta reader for me?”

“What? Are you serious?”

“You betcha!”

“You know that I would be honored to be a beta reader.”

“Then it’s settled. I am hoping to have the book done by the end of this get-away. I’ll probably do some research for it while we’re there. Want to come with?”

“Of course,” I am excited to get my cliche winter wonderland experiences.

—

Looking out the plane window, I see mountains covered in snow. That has to be where we are headed. It’s a beautiful sight. But with the beauty of snow comes plane turbulence. 

“Are you okay, Cassy? You’re looking a bit pale.” 

“Oh, uh, this is my first time flying, and the turbulence is making me a bit sick to my stomach,” I gulp.

“You poor thing. I have some non-prescription sleeping medication if you’d like some?”

“I-” I really wanted to keep looking out the window, and am terrified of drooling all over myself, but I don’t think my body could handle it. “Yeah, actually. Please?”

Stacy nods and smiles, reaching for her purse from beneath the seat in front of her. I take what she gives me with a sip of water. I close my eyes, and before I know it, I am blissfully off to sleep, dreaming of my soon to be real-life holiday movie.

—

“Hey, Cassy, wake up.”

I feel a gentle nudge on my shoulder. All I manage to mumble out is: “What?”

“We’re here sleepy head, but we still have a bit of a drive, so let's get to the car.”

I mumble my consent and am dragged off the plane. My tired brain is not paying much attention to my surroundings, focusing solely on putting one foot in front of the other. I somehow make it to the car and slide in the back after putting my luggage in the trunk. Again feeling lucky that Stacy was willing to drive, as I immediately fell back asleep the moment my head hit the headrest.

“Cassy? Cassy?” I am startled awake once more, but this time I am a whole lot less groggy. “Dang girl, you must have been exhausted. The sleeping pills usually don’t last that long.”

“Yeah, I have found that I am always exhausted after the end of the semester. I work hard for the semester and then crash as soon as I have a big enough break.”

“That might not be your healthiest choice, Dr. Kevin. Aren’t you supposed to be the scientist here?” Stacy jokes.

I laugh with her. “You’re right, you’re right. I am working on it. So, are we almost to our winter wonderland?”

“Yep, that’s why I woke you up! I figured you would want to see the town as we drove in.”

“Thanks, you know me so well,” I smile and finally turn my head away from her and towards the window. What I see makes my jaw drop. “Stacy, where are we?”

“Wintersburg of course!”