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Kendra shut the oven door, smiling irresistibly in anticipation of the brownies she was making. She'd found a perfect recipe recently- the first time she'd made it, they'd been completely gone in barely two days. Downside of living with a lot of people.
She started the timer, ate a handful of chocolate chips, and sat down at the kitchen table, where her book currently rested.
It was about two weeks until Christmas, and it was felt in the air. All those old songs about "Christmas spirit" seemed abstract, but they made a lot of sense when the season came around. One could tell when it was even without already knowing the date.
The house lights seemed a little warmer, as did the temperature. Kendra was enjoying the air still being warm when she got up in the mornings. From where she sat in the kitchen, she could see the living room through an open wall. The Christmas tree was up, tree lights on and ceiling light off. It was all snowy outside, and Kendra felt as if her entire being calmed just by looking at it.
She opened her book with the goal to read until the timer to get the brownies went off. She didn't get to read very long before she was interrupted by the noise that came with her family members. She'd never been good at concentrating on anything with noise in the background.
Seth came down the stairs from the attic, heavy footsteps preceding his appearance. "Are the brownies done?" He asked as he came into the kitchen.
"I just now put them in the oven," Kendra told him, laughing at his disappointed expression. Some days that question at that time would've really bothered her, but today she couldn't bring herself to be annoyed. It was a good day.
Seth went over to the oven, turned the light on, and stared at the brownies for a second before turning it back off. "They're not ready," he said.
Kendra laughed again. "Nope. You're gonna have to wait."
"Too bad," Seth sighed, but Kendra noticed that he was smiling. Didn't look like he was in the mood to have his day ruined either.
"That shirt looks comfy," Kendra remarked as Seth stuffed some chocolate chips from the still-open bag on the counter into his mouth. Kendra was considering the prospect of borrowing that sweatshirt now. One upside to being outgrown by her little brother: now she could steal his clothes.
"Yeah, it is," Seth said. "Feel the inside." He turned a sleeve inside out so Kendra could touch the softer side of it. She was totally going to borrow this one.
"Nice," she said, pretending not to be as interested as she was. If he knew she wanted the shirt, he would not let her borrow it ever. Even if she promised to give it back. "The brownies will be done in twenty minutes, but you'll probably have to wait a couple more after that for them to cool off."
"All right." Seth checked the time on the oven, then went back upstairs.
Kendra glanced out the sliding glass doors to the back deck. It was only evening, but the sky was already dark. She tried to see if she could find any stars from here. There were some, more than in some places because there weren't artificial lights outside from towns or anything.
Kendra could hear family members talking close by, probably in other rooms on the first floor or close to the stairway upstairs. It was comforting, being able to hear them.
She looked outside again and decided this seemed like a perfect time for hot chocolate. And because this was her home, she could get up and make some herself, and so she did.
Outside, the moonlight sparkled on the fallen snow. The only sound was a gentle wind that carried more snow falling. A sloppily-molded snowman with a big smile stood off to one side, as if guarding the yard.
All was well.