Sarah’s alarm clock chimed, forcing the girl awake early, even though it was Saturday. She needed to catch a bus that would take her to her dad’s hometown. Sarah never understood why there were only three buses going to the neighbouring town during the weekend while on weekdays there was a bus leaving almost every other hour.

Sarah got out of bed and stretched her arms. She trudged to the window and opened the curtains. The sudden brightness hurt her eyes and made her squint. A fresh blanket of snow had fallen during the night. The trees looked like they had been covered in icing sugar. The grey clouds in the sky promised more snow, or perhaps rain. The late autumn weather was finnicky, and Sarah would’ve more than happily just welcomed winter for good than watched this balancing between cold and rain, and cold and snow.

She got dressed before heading to the bathroom and then to the kitchen. Her breakfast consisted of two pieces of toast and a tangerine. Mum was already up, and she sipped coffee while reading the morning paper.

“When does the bus leave?” she asked when Sarah sat down on the chair opposite of hers.

“In 40 minutes.”

“Will you make it?”

“Easily. I just need to eat and I’m ready to go.”

“When will you come back?”

“I should be back before dinner. I’m probably gonna stay there just a few hours.”

“Alright. Tell him that I said hi.”

“I will.”

Sarah finished her breakfast and hurried back to her room. She took her handbag and made sure her wallet was in there. She picked up her phone but paused before putting it in the bag as well. She wanted to text Castiel, but hesitated. Maybe he was still sleeping. What if he thought it was weird? But she really wanted to…

Sarah took a deep breath. She could do this. She wasn’t a coward. It was just a text message. She had sent them before.

Good morning. I hope you’ll have a nice day today

She looked at the heart and deleted it.

Good morning. I hope you’ll have a nice day today 😊

Sarah smiled. That looked better. She didn’t want to be sending hearts just yet. She felt like it was too soon. She sent the message and quickly chucked the phone in her bag. Her heart thumped a bit faster. Hopefully Castiel wouldn’t wake up to the message.

After checking one more time that she had everything necessary in her bag, she hurried to the door and put on her coat. She wanted to get to the bus stop early, so she wouldn’t miss the bus by accident. Sometimes it came too early and didn’t wait. And then Sarah would have to wait four hours for the next bus which was a major inconvenience.

“I’ll go now,” she announced from the door.

“Safe travels!” mum shouted back from the kitchen.

She stepped outside and was greeted by freezing wind that made her gasp from shock. Sarah closed her eyes before they’d start watering and waited for the strongest gust to fade.

The wind followed her the whole way to the bus stop. It played with her hair and dropped snow from trees. Sarah adjusted her scarf to cover more of her face. She didn’t like the cold. Her fingers started to feel frosty again. A warmer pair of gloves would’ve been a smart choice, and she had considered it, but she didn’t want to overdress because then she’d roast in the bus. The bus only needed to come on time, and she’d be fine.

The bus was ten minutes late. Sarah was shivering with her hands stuffed in her coat pockets. The wind was relentless and pushed itself through her wool coat and skinny jeans. She kept looking at her phone and sighing every time a minute passed without the bus arriving. She wasn’t surprised but it was still annoying.

When the bus finally came, there was a group of people suffering with Sarah. Two elderly women complained about their husbands to each other, and a teenage boy watched videos on his phone. He was only wearing jeans and a hoodie, and Sarah didn’t understand how he wasn’t a human icicle.

The bus stopped and using the effrontery of an old woman, the ladies jumped the queue and pushed themselves inside first. Sarah rolled her eyes and walked up the few steps to the bus.

The car was comfortably warm, and the tips of Sarah’s fingers tingled while they defrosted. She paid her ticket and picked a seat far away from the women who had seated themselves behind the driver and continued their complaining. The teenage boy trudged past her all the way to the back of the bus. Sarah looked out of the window as the bus left the stop. She unbuttoned her coat and took off her gloves so she wouldn’t get too hot. She easily got sick in cars, so this was a precaution against that.

The early wake up and the warmth of the bus started to weigh on Sarah’s eyelids and the steady humming slowly lulled her to sleep.

Sarah’s head nodded to the side and she jolted awake. She rubbed her neck that ached from the sudden yank and leaned against the head rest. She shouldn’t sleep. This was only a 45-minute trip and if she slept, there was a chance she’d miss her stop, and end up in who knows where.

The view outside had changed during the time Sarah had dozed off. The tall buildings of the city were long behind them and now they travelled past fields with occasional houses and groups of trees spotting the view. In the distance the mountain range was barely visible; it was covered in clouds hanging low on the sky. Snowflakes bounced from the bus window and were tossed around by the wind.

Sarah looked out of the window and sighed. Yesterday’s events repeated themselves in her head. She could hardly believe what had happened with Castiel. He really did like her, and now they were dating. Sarah smiled to her reflection. She had pinched herself many times in the evening to make sure the kiss wasn’t a dream. It could’ve very well ended up being just that. Sarah reproached herself for acting so distant. Now that she knew for sure that Castiel liked her, in hindsight, it was easier to see the signs of it from their interaction. Castiel had literally said he liked Sarah, yet she had still doubted him. She had avoided a kiss twice. What kind of person would try kiss a person they didn’t like? Twice? She felt dumb.

Sarah wondered how different things would be if they had kissed the first time. She wasn’t sure if she had had strong feelings towards Castiel then. It was probably better his parents had interrupted them then. It had given them both more time, and even if it had caused some headache for them both, it had ended well. Sarah was a bit nervous about what dating Castiel would be like. She didn’t have any experience and she didn’t want to do things wrong. But she was still happy. Castiel had shown that he wasn’t just grumpy delinquent, Sarah didn’t think he was a delinquent at all. He was hard to approach but soft on the inside once the hard outer layer cracked. When Castiel had cried, Sarah had thought her heart would melt. It had been so unexpected, but the fact that Castiel felt comfortable enough in Sarah’s company to show his feelings warmed her from the inside.

Sarah had been focused on her thoughts, so when the bus entered the city, she started to quickly gather her belongings. One of her gloves had fallen to the floor and was now wet from soaking in a puddle of melted snow. Sarah buttoned her coat and pressed the stop button as the bus turned left from the traffic lights. The two women got off on the stop too, so Sarah ended up spending almost a minute just standing while the ladies slowly but surely edged themselves from their seats and down the few steps to the street. Sarah thanked the bus driver and hurried past the ladies once she got out.

Sarah headed down the snow covered streets, looking around. Some people had put up Christmas lights on their windows, even though Christmas was still nearly two months away.

Sarah crossed the street and turned left. A delicious scent of Indian food greeted her in the next corner. Her stomach growled, demanding tikka masala and freshly baked naan bread. She had been to the restaurant few times with her dad since he lived nearby. The food was amazing there, and Sarah really wanted to have it again soon.

After a few more minutes of walking, she stopped in front of a grey stone building. The wooden outdoor was locked when she tried it, as it normally was. Sarah typed out the number code, pulled the open and stepped in a dim hallway. The door behind her closed and buzzed when the lock activated. Sarah searched for the light switch, and soon bright white light filled the hallway and the corridor. She blinked few times to get her eyes used to the brightness and then walked to the elevator. She pressed the button of the top floor and the elevator doors slowly closed. The elevator shook while it made its way to the top of the building.

The elevator screeched to a halt and Sarah stepped out. There were three identical wooden doors in the hallway, and Sarah walked to the last one. A metal sign with “Webster” carved in it, separated the door from the others. Sarah rang the doorbell. A few seconds passed before she heard footsteps and the door opened.

“There you are my baby!”

Before Sarah could react, she was pulled in a tight hug and lifted in the air. Marcus Webster was a tall man with blue eyes and light brown hair that had started to thin from the top. He went to the gym to balance out the amount of sitting he had to do in his office job, which made it possible to lift her grown-up daughter with ease.

Sarah laughed and wrapped her arms around her dad. A big smile spread across her face and she was beaming when her dad put her down.

“Hi dad,” she greeted. It was so nice to see dad again. Sarah felt like they hadn’t met in years even though it had only been a month or two.

“I’ve missed you so much. Come in, come in.”

Sarah walked in and her dad closed the door behind her. The attic apartment was just as tidy and stylish as Sarah remembered. The walls and ceiling were white coloured, and the floor was dark wood. The same colour was used in the support beams on the ceiling. The furniture was all expensive design brands but not over the top or boastful. Her dad liked to decorate his house and he had the money for it too.

“How have you been Sara?” dad asked when Sarah started to take off her coat. Even the coat rack was a designer product.

“I’m good. School’s going well and other things are good too.”

“Good, good. How’s Grace?”

“Mum’s good too. She was chosen to draw for some project, so she’s swamped in work.”

“That’s great.”

“How have you been?” Sarah asked when they headed to the kitchen.

“Plenty of work for me too. We’re planning to buy another company, so all the meetings and paperwork try to seep to my free time which is why I’ve had to cancel some of our meetings. I’m sorry about it.”

Sarah made her way to the living room and dropped her bag on the leather couch.

“Have you remembered to take care of yourself? Eat and sleep properly?”

“Yeah of course.”

“Good. Don’t overwork yourself.”

“I won’t,” Marcus smiled. “Actually, there is one thing I wanted to talk about with you,” he said. The tone of his voice become more serious.

“What is it?”

Dad opened his mouth but closed it quickly. His face flushed red and he muttered words Sarah couldn’t hear.

“What?”

“I, uh, I have... I have met, uh, a friend who I enjoy spending time with, and I would be extremely happy if you met her too.”

Sarah tried to keep a poker face while she listened to her dad bumble over his words, but it was hard to supress the smile. Her dad’s face was red, and the blush had spread down his neck too. His eyes scanned Sarah face with growing anxiety. Sarah couldn’t hold it back anymore and a bright smile lit up her face.

“That’s wonderful! I’d love to meet her.”

Her father sighed in relief. This had gone better than he had expected so far. Sarah was a smart girl but still he had been worried what she’d think.

“That’s good,” he said. “Because actually, she should be here soon…”

He had barely said the words when the doorbell rang. Sarah looked after her dad who hurried to the door with a smile on his face. It was about time he found someone. To Sarah’s knowledge, dad had been single ever since he divorced with her mother. He deserved to find love again.

She heard the door opened and her dad talk to someone. She took a few steps closer but still stayed out of sight. Next, she heard a quiet woman’s voice. Curiosity was simmering inside her. What kind of person was this mysterious “friend”? She straightened her shirt and moved rogue strands of hair behind her ear.

Her dad walked back in the kitchen, and a woman followed behind him. She was around the same height as Sarah and she had chestnut brown hair that reached to her shoulders. She wore a simple navy-blue dress and a black cardigan. She seemed nervous when she looked at Sarah, who tried to smile. Dad cleared his throat.

“Sarah, this is Lena. Lena, this is my daughter Sarah.”

“Nice to meet you,” Sarah said and offered her hand.

“Nice to meet you too Sarah. You look a lot like your father,” Lena replied with a smile and shook her hand.

“Hopefully not too much, poor child,” dad sighed, and Sarah laughed.

“As long as I don’t start to bald,” she teased.

Dad touched his hair.

“Most of it is still there,” he sighed. Still there for now, but not for long he feared.

“Do you want some coffee? We could sit at the table and get to know each other better?” Lena asked with a smile. “Or perhaps some lunch? Have you eaten anything yet?”

“I had breakfast when I left,” Sarah said. She had counted on that they would have lunch but now she wasn’t very keen on telling it. She didn’t want to cause extra trouble for Lena. She sounded like she was planning on cooking. “Coffee is fine.”

“We usually have some take-out food when she comes over,” dad said with a smile. “It’s kind of a tradition.”

“Oh, that’s lovely. We could order from that Chinese we went few weeks ago. I think they’re open.”

“That sounds great. I haven’t had Chinese in ages,” Sarah said. Her stomach growled from just the thought of sweet and sour chicken.

“I’ll give them a call then. Do you want the usual?” Lena looked at dad who nodded.

“Sweet and sour chicken for me please,” Sarah said.

Lena took out her phone and after few moments of scrolling the number list walked off to make the call.

Sarah looked after her. A phone vibrated in her pocket and when she took it out, Castiel’s name was on the screen. He had replied to the message.

Good morning. I hope your day is good too. Enjoy your time with your dad.

Sarah smiled and put her phone away. She glanced again at Lena who was finishing the phone call.

“She seems nice,” Sarah said. “A bit nervous maybe but I guess it’s normal in a situation like this.”

“She is very nice,” dad said with a smile. “She wanted to meet you but was worried what you’d think. Thank you for taking this so well.”

“Of course. All that matters is that you’re happy.”

“The food should be here in twenty-five minutes,” Lena said as she walked back to the room.

“Great. I’m hungrier than I thought I’d be,” dad said.

They passed the time with idle chat. It seemed like everyone was saving the big question for lunch, Sarah at least was. She was dying to know how dad and Lena had met but she wanted to do it while they were eating.

Then, finally the doorbell rang again, and dad hurried to the door. He let the delivery person in the building and instructed them to the right door. A quick exchange of money and food and soon the apartment was filled with delicious scent of different Chinese cuisine.

Sarah and Lena took out glasses and cutlery while dad unpacked their food.

“Sweet and sour chicken with fried rice for Sara. Chicken Mei Fun for Lena, and beef Chow Mein for me. And spring rolls and prawn crackers.”

“It looks delicious,” Sarah sighed as she sat down and opened the packages. They all filled their plates and for a few moments everyone was silent and enjoyed the food.

Sarah was in food heaven. She had forgotten how delicious sweet and sour chicken was. She wanted to eat this every day.

“So,” she started once few minutes had passed and it would acceptable to talk, “how did you meet?”

Dad’s cheeks caught some colour, and he glanced at Lena.

“I bumped into her at a café and splashed my coffee on her,” he said.

“What? Really?” That was like a classic opening to a romance film.

“Yes. I was annoyed at first, but Marcus was so sweet it didn’t last long. He offered to take my coat to be cleaned and bought me a piece of cake as an apology. I think I was sold at that point, but it took me at least three more dates to realize I liked him,” Lena smiled.

Sarah looked at her dad with raised eyebrows. “You took her on dates?”

“I’m not a cave man. Although she asked me out first.”

“Not surprised,” Sarah laughed.

“How about you Sarah? Are you dating anyone?” Lena asked, and it was Sarah’s turn to blush. She lowered her eyes to the fried rice.

“She isn’t interested in dating,” dad commented. “She doesn’t have a boyfriend.”

“Are you sure? Because that blush tells me otherwise,” Lena said and deepened the colour on Sarah’s face even more.

“Sara…”

Sarah hesitated for a few moments. Maybe it would best to just tell. It was hard to start denying anything with such red face.

“Well, there is this one boy…”

“What? You haven’t said anything to me! Who is he?”

“We just started going out, like yesterday,” Sarah mumbled. “His name is Castiel. He’s the one I did the school project with.”

“Dear lord…” dad muttered to himself in shock. He had prepared himself for this moment but had thought he’d get at least some clues before the reveal. This was like a jab in the stomach.

“What is he like?” he asked.

“He’s nice and good. He plays in a band and has a dog.”

“In a band… What kind of band? Has your mother met him?”

“I don’t know. I think it’s a rock or metal band. And she hasn’t met him.”

“What do his parents do?”

“I don’t know for sure… But they travel a lot abroad.”

“So, he lives alone… Have you been to his house?”

“ A few times”

Dad’s face turned white.

“I want to meet him right now.”

“Dad calm down please.”

“How can you say that? My baby girl has a boyfriend who’s in a band and lives alone and I can’t be there to keep an eye at you.”

“Dad don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

Dad let out a deep sigh to calm down.

“Promise me you’ll tell me right away if he does anything bad to you.”

“I promise.”

“And you bring him here as soon as possible.”

“I’ll try.”

“I’m sorry Sarah. Looks like my question turned this into an interrogation,” Lena sighed. She placed a hand on Sarah’s dad’s shoulder. “I’m sure she’ll be fine, Marcus. I can see she takes a lot after you, so she’ll definitely stand up for herself.”

“See, she trusts me, and we have barely known for an hour,” Sarah smiled.

“I suppose I can believe you. You have your mother to keep an eye on you anyway. She’ll sort out that boy if needed. Maybe I should call her?”

“No! I’ll tell her myself when the time’s right. Not yet, but soon. I promise. Please don’t tell her. She’ll start to fuss.”

Sarah didn’t want to announce the news to the entire world in case things didn’t work out with Castiel. It was better to take things slowly. If mum knew, she’d just complicate things.

Dad looked at Sarah. It was hard to believe she was so grown up already. It felt like just a few months ago he had held the tiny baby in his arms in the hospital. And now she had a boyfriend. Just like that. But he wanted to trust her. She had always been sensible.

“Fine. But please tell her soon. She’ll murder me if she finds out I knew longer than she did.”

“I will. Thank you, dad.”

Sarah sighed in relief. This had gone better than she had expected. But the real trial would probably happen when she’d visit with Castiel.

“Well, anyway. Where do you work, Lena?” she asked took a bite out of a spring roll. Time to change the subject.

“Oh, I’m a high school math teacher.”

“Really? That’s amazing. Maybe I can ask you to tutor me at some point? I’m not particularly good at math.”

“I’d be more than happy to do that.”

“That’d be cool. Thank you.”

They continued to chat while eating their lunch, and Sarah grew more convinced that Lena was a good match for her dad. She didn’t remember dad looking at mum the way he looked at Lena with warm and soft eyes, and a constant smile on his face. There was no hint of stress or tension. He was happy, and it filled Sarah’s heart with warmth.

They finished lunch with enough leftovers to another meal, and Sarah packed hers so she could take them home with her. She wouldn’t pass on a chance to have more Chinese tomorrow. Dad took a frozen chocolate cake from the freezer to have as a dessert and while they waited for it to defrost enough to be edible, they moved to the living room to watch tv and digest their delicious lunch.

Three hours passed and Sarah realised she’d have to hurry if she wanted to catch the bus. She thanked both her dad and Lena for the food and promised to her dad to bring Castiel over some time soon. She hoped Castiel wouldn’t mind it. She had said she wanted to keep low profile and then on the next day two people already found out.

Sarah sighed as she crossed the street. She was happy that dad had reacted rather normally to the shocking news. Dad had always been very reasonable. Mother was the more emotional one, and Sarah was worried about her reaction to the dating news.

The bus arrived on time and Sarah got in. She had barely sat on her seat when her phone chimed to alert her of a new message. It was from Castiel.

Hey. How’s it going with your dad?

It was nice to see him again. I’m heading home already. Just got on the bus.

Nice. Would you like to go for a walk tomorrow? Just you and me 😉 and Ares

Of course! What time?

Probably like after 12. I’ll let you know.

Sounds good. I’m looking forward to it.

Me too.

Excitement simmered in Sarah’s stomach. She wanted to see Castiel so bad. Could it be tomorrow already? Maybe she should go to bed early so the next day would arrive sooner. Sarah smiled. She was being silly. There was no reason to get this excited. She’d get to see Castiel so often that there was no reason to be impatient. But she couldn’t help it. She missed Castiel. She had talked to him for one day after being apart for over a week. The project had got Sarah used to Castiel’s presence and it was weird when he wasn’t around. She wondered if Castiel felt even remotely the same. Did he miss her? Maybe a little bit since he had texted her?

“I’m back!” Sarah announced at the door when she walked in.

“Welcome. How was it?” mum yelled back from her office.

Sarah kicked off her shoes and hang up her coat before replying.

“It was great. We had Chinese for lunch,” she said and leaned against the door frame.

Mum had three monitors open. The middle one had the piece she was working on and the other two were for references. She had six different windows open on each monitor, and one book on her desk. Behind them were three coffee mugs, probably half full of cold coffee.

“That’s good. How was Marcus?”

“Good,” Sarah smiled. She hesitated for a moment. Should she tell about Lena? “He…dad has a new girlfriend.”

Mum spun around in her chair.

“Really?”

“Yeah. She’s a teacher. Her name is Lena and she’s nice.”

“That’s good then. It’s about time he found someone,” mum said and spun back to face the monitors. She stifled a yawn.

“Yeah.”

“Would you bring me more coffee? I need to finish this line art today.”

“Of course.”

Soon she returned with a hot cup of coffee and two chocolate biscuits. Mum smiled a bit and stuffed the whole biscuit in her mouth and continued to draw. Sarah shook her head and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Now it was time to do some homework, and then she could stress rest of the day about what she’d wear on the walk.