The icy winding country road was flanked by snow-covered hills glistening like diamonds under the midday sun. Andi watched the mile markers fly by as her mommy drove on into nowhere. She missed her daddy but she knew that their time together was going to be limited from now on, even at seven years old.

Something happened but she didn’t know what or why. She just knew that her mommy and daddy couldn’t live in the same house anymore and that she had to go to her grandpa’s farm with her mommy.

She had cried and fought not to be strapped into her car seat that morning. Her daddy held her firmly and whispered that they could be the same even though he and mommy were changing. Her tears hardened on her cheeks and she wailed for so long that her voice went hoarse, but she tired herself out and eventually they buckled her in without a problem.

Her mommy had been driving for four hours now; they had to be close. She had that squirmy need-to-pee feeling deep inside her belly, but she wasn’t sure she should say anything because every time she did, Mommy looked like she was going to cry a little.

So she just looked out the window and marveled at the changing landscape. In the time they drove, the tall city buildings slowly gave way to smaller and smaller houses, then snow-covered mountains arose against the sky, showing off their pine trees like thousands of green polka dots against a white canvas.

Her mommy drove onward toward the mountains and soon the horizon showed rolling hills lined by New England’s rock walls separating farm from farm. Her grandpa’s farm had a rock wall too that he had let her paint pink the previous summer, but she had only gotten a few rocks in before she got bored and went inside for an ice pop.

The farm looked so different in the winter. The unbroken snow made the green two-story farmhouse look elegant and inviting and she couldn’t wait to get inside and cozy up to the dog in the alcove next to the wood stove that served as the house’s primary source of heat. She hoped that Grandpa made some hot chocolate and cookies because she really needed some warmth inside her little body.

But that’s not how it was, not at first. After she and her mommy went inside with their bags and greeted her grandpa, her mommy succumbed to tears. Andi supposed that’s just how girls always react when they see their daddies, especially if they are having a bad time. Her daddy always gave her such good hugs and kisses whenever she was having a bad time. She hoped her grandpa would do that for her mommy. She wanted her daddy badly when she watched her grandpa take her mommy into his arms.

He guided her mommy to the couch and laid a blanket over her lap. He touched her cheek as he kissed her forehead, then he turned to Andi and gave her a big bear hug, pulling her off of her feet. She burrowed her nose into his neck, smelling wood stove and after shave on his skin, hugging hard to fight off the oncoming tears. He must’ve sensed it and held her a little longer and a little tighter.

When he set her down, he sat on his knees, put his hands on her shoulders, and looked into her eyes. He told her that he and her mommy had to talk about some grown up stuff and asked her to go outside and feed the horses some carrots. He promised her cookies and sledding and hot chocolate and cuddling later, but right now her mommy needed him. She nodded and he kissed her forehead as he touched her cheek, just like he always did with her mommy.

Andi hopped into her sunshine yellow snowsuit and boots. She wrapped her ducky scarf around her neck and put on her cap and gloves. Her grandpa handed her a bunch of carrots and pointed her toward the barn.

At first, she didn’t want to make footprints in the snow. She wished that she could walk as lightly as a bird, leaving faint impressions instead of gaping holes. She watched the breath rise from her mouth and float toward the barn and followed it, walking slowly so as not to disturb the perfect snow too much, though with each footstep came a satisfying crunch of snow under her toes.

When she reached the barn, she hesitated. Up until now, her grandpa always said she was too little to see the horses up close, but now she gets to feed them all by herself. She guessed she was probably a pretty big girl now, being seven and all. She opened the door and there they were in all their majesty.

She walked over to Teddy’s stall because her grandpa always said he was a gentle giant. Giant he was. His powerful frame towered over her, but rather than making her feel small, she felt comforted by his presence. His silky black main hung long and neat over his chestnut brown body, reminding her of hot chocolate swirled with dark chocolate syrup, her favorite. She reached out a carrot and his large deep brown eyes expressed gratitude as he spread his lips to reveal his horsey smile. She laughed at that funny face he made—her first real laugh of the day. He opened his mouth and began chomping the carrot in her hands with his big opalescent teeth. She put her hands on his muscular neck, feeling its warmth and smoothness.

Slowly, she pulled herself toward Teddy, wrapping her arms around his chest the way she had wrapped herself around her grandpa in the house. She buried his face in his shoulder and breathed in his hay and oat scent through her tears. She missed her daddy but she had to be strong for her mommy because she was so sad. She didn’t want her mommy to be sad. Her grandpa had to fix her mommy as Teddy was fixing Andi in that moment.