“Uhm, yeah,” I cough as we pass the sign altering us that Wintersburg is one mile away, “Wintersburg, where though?”

“Arizona?” I turn back to Stacy in time to see her give me a face that I can’t quite decipher. 

“Stacy?”

“Yeah?” She gulps. 

“Why are we in Arizona?”

“For a winter wonderland in the wonderful Wintersburg Arizona?” The alteration is cute, but I don’t know if the scenery matches the cuteness of the name.

I can’t help the sigh that I release. I don’t want to say I am disappointed, but, I am disappointed. I should have realized the signs. Research for her book… that takes place in a small town in Arizona. Getting off the plane… and it not being freezing cold. Seeing a cactus… wait, I thought that was part of my dream?

“Are you upset?” Stacy asks me nervously. “I thought that everyone up north wanted a warmer winter…”

I try to hold in my tears as I remember the endless warm holidays I have already experienced and the snowy dream I had on the plane ride over. “I- uh- well,” I stuttered. 

“No, you are upset,” Stacy sniffles as she pulls up to the ‘town’. She pulled into the parking lot of what appears to be the only store for miles. “I am so sorry. I just thought-”

“Stacy, it’s okay,” I manage to get out, although it really doesn’t feel okay. 

“No, no, it isn’t. You hate it and are just too nice to tell me. I really thought this would be a nice surprise! When we polled, everyone said a warm escape was best. But you hate it. Oh my god, I took you across the country and you hate it.”

“It’s well- it’s just that,” Stacy had started crying and I am glad that she had pulled over. “Stacy, take a deep breath first. Okay, there you go. All I was going to say was that I am from Florida. In my head a winter wonderland involves snow, that’s all.”

I am trying to reassure Stacy that it’s fine, giving her a soft smile, but my heart was definitely broken. We both sit in silence for an uncomfortable amount of time.

“So,” I clear my throat and look around out the windshield, “this town looks small. Like really small.”

“Yeah, but this is the first year that Wintersburg has decided to do a winter festival,” Stacy has a small smile again, though I can tell it’s a sad one. “I heard about it when I was doing research for my novel. It sounded like the perfect place for a warm winter get-away. It is supposed to be wild-west themed, with cute little cactus ornaments and such.”

“I do love a good winter festival,” I decided to look on the bright side, smiling as much as I could in hopes that my overall mood would follow. “So, when does the festival start?”

“It should be starting later today. I promise the plan wasn’t to stay here for the whole two weeks. The plan is to explore the festival and then head to a resort in Scottsdale.”

“Oh, okay, yeah… yeah, that should be good.”

With that, we both get out of the car and head towards the general store in front of us. For being the location of a winter festival, it seemed a little… sparse? But I guess you could say that the whole town was sparse.

“Excuse me?” The store made Wintersberg feel even more like a ghost town. “Is anyone here?”

“Give me a minute,” a gruff voice responded. “What can I do for you? Before you even ask, there are no public restrooms here.”

It took a minute, but the man behind the voice finally came out from the back of the store. His appearance was as rough as his voice.

“Uh, we weren’t looking for a restroom,” Stacy starts. “I was told that there was going to be a winter festival today?”

“Oh, that little shin-dig?” The man nods to himself. “Yeah, it got canceled. None of the vendors wanted to come to the middle of nowhere Arizona.”

It was like a little jab to my heart. “So there are no events here today?”

“Not unless you count the feed store getting a new shipment of hay, then no, no events anywhere near here.”

I felt like I was going to cry. “And I can’t use the bathroom, even if I bought something?”

The store clerk seemed to soften a bit when he heard the quiver in my voice.

“Ya know, I usually don’t allow it, but for you, you can head on back. Second door to the left.”

I nodded and sped to the back, only allowing a single tear to fall before I could make it to the bathroom. I know it was just a trip. I am sure there will be plenty of stuff to do in Scottsdale. I know that if I keep a good attitude, I can have a good time. But it’s hard to see through the hurt.

I let out a couple of cries, cleaned myself up, and actually used the bathroom; it had been a longer flight than I initially thought.

When I returned to the front of the store, I noticed that Stacy had bought us a couple of drinks.

“Thanks again.” It was the store clerk’s turn to nod.