Hunkered down for a winter storm, conditions change for two sisters when their brother and a friend become unexpected guests

Snowed In
By Marissa Lynn

"Oof, it's a mess out there."

"That's what the weather guy was saying a few minutes ago," Jenna said as her sister Olivia, ice crystals starting to cling to the parts of her hair sticking out from under her red beanie, came in with the first of the bags.

"Worst two word combination in the English language -- lake effect," Olivia said as she dropped the bags filled with some of the results of her shopping run.

"Moist pillow."

"Ewwwww. Point taken. Be right back."

Jenna, the oldest sibling in the Vernon family, picked up the bags, taking them to the kitchen to start unpacking.

Olivia had volunteered to make the run for food and supplies so they'd be set for the next few days. The forecast was for at least two feet of snow, with increased winds making the drifting worse even when the snowfall eased up. She didn't mind helping since Jenna, who had a good job at a law firm in the city, was kind enough to let her stay with her to offset some of her college expenses.

"Remember when Mom pulled out that old line about 'If you keep making your face, it'll freeze like that'? She wasn't kidding," Olivia said as she stepped back inside.

Removing her boots and hanging up her coat, she made her way towards Jenna who was blonde, with straighter hair, older and visibly a girl to the world -- all four of them things Olivia wished for when she was growing up.

"The new coffee's in this bag. Some Sumatran, too. We deserve some good stuff if we're going to be stuck here," she added, knowing that Jenna wanted some as much as she did.

When she returned, the curly-haired brunette had switched to a pink Western University sweatshirt and black leggings. With no need to go outside, comfort was priority No. 1.

"Here you go," Jenna said, handing Olivia a fresh cup, then sat down with one of her own. The weather was wretched, but it had the benefit of giving her a day off while her sister was still on winter break. They'd both been busy but hadn't had time to talk.

The conversation turned to Jenna's job at Preston, Wu & Associates. "You seem to be doing great there. I can't say I'm surprised. I remember all those debate team trophies and how you used to watch all the TV shows with lawyers. Mom called you a regular Jacqueline McCoy before I even got the reference," Olivia said.

"Yeah, but I wound up in civil law. Not that I wanted to go into criminal, but..."

"But what?"

"It's just, I do a good job there. I'm on track. The whole deal. But it feels so mundane sometimes, like I could do it in my sleep. I just wish I could do more, you know? I wonder why I'm here some days."

"Isn't 28 a little young for an existential midlife crisis?"

"It's not that, but do I really want to be doing this when I'm 40 or 50? I don't know. What about you? You're set to graduate soon and you haven't decided yet."

"I know, but it's a little more difficult, with my, um, history, even though they're great about it. I just don't know if I want to be on-air or behind the scenes," Olivia said. "I've worked on my voice and my appearance has come a long way. It took a while, but the hormones kicked in."

Jenna chuckled, "Oh, Lord. Remember how worried you were about your breasts after a year?"

"I swear, I was about to ask if I needed to talk to them to get them to grow like houseplants."

Both of them started laughing. As the laughter dissolved, Jenna said, "Seriously, I am proud of you. I remember when the real you started peeking out in school. You put up with a lot."

"Not everybody, just a select group lacking humanity, but yeah, there were some terrible people. Tommy was around, but I always got the feeling he was annoyed -- half on the bullies' side, only helping me out of family obligation."

"That's not exactly true."

"Is it? He and I barely talk anymore. It's like he resents the hell out of me since I came out as Olivia. And all I wanted was to just have the normal life, whatever that is-- go to school, maybe have a cute boyfriend to take me to Prom."

"I wish you had, too. But you've taken to college as much as you've taken to being Olivia. We have great neighbors like the Jacksons who think you're cool. Wait, I know that look. You're picturing someone aren't you?"

"Maybe?"

"Come on, spill."

Olivia sighed, then told her that her dream date in high school was Paul Murphy, a boy in Tommy's class. He never treated her like a freak when they crossed paths, a low bar, but he seemed like a genuine good guy and, kinda hot. Tall and naturally tousled hair that looked like perfectly styled bedhead and-

A knock on the door surprised both of them. "Who the hell would still be out by now?" Jenna asked. She got her answer, muffled by the door. "Jenna! It's Thomas. Open up, please. I'm freezing my ass off here!"

"Worst three-word combination in the English language -- 'Your brother's here," Olivia thought. But she was closest to the door, so she got up to open it to let him inside.

"Uh, thanks, "Thomas said, shaking off the snow as he had a suitcase with him. Looking at Jenna, he said, "Sorry, Dad wanted us to get to the area early for a business trip. 'You can beat the storm. It'll be easy,' he said. We were lucky to get here. No way we can make our hotel. That would be an hour away in summer."

"Us?"

A green parka-clad man made his way through the blinding snow. He called out, "Hey, glad you're home. Thanks for helping us out."

"Wait. Paul?" Olivia said.

"Oh, hey. You must be Olivia. Thomas thought you might be here," he said, as he wiped his face and got his first look at Jenna and Olivia's place. "Any port in a storm, but this sure beats the hell out of a ditch."

"I can put your bags in my room if you want," Jenna said.

"Sure, thanks," Paul said, "I guess, since I'm shorter than Thomas, I can take the couch to sleep on and he can take the recliner."

"Sounds good," Thomas said as he looked at Olivia with an expression that Paul thought was a little off.

She definitely noticed, but said, "We were about to have sandwiches -- turkey and provolone -- with chips. Mayo and/or mustard on the sandwich?"

"Mustard sounds good, Olivia," Paul said.

"Both, thanks," Thomas said.

Thomas and Paul, who'd been part of the company for six months, made some calls to let people know they were safe from storm.

Throughout the rest of the day, there was small talk, checking in on the weather and eventually a decision to watch a movie, which wound up being "Barbie" on a 3-1 vote. Thomas lost, although he had to admit he enjoyed it more than he thought he would.

All the while, Olivia and Thomas did their level best to avoid each other directly, not so much hostile as uncomfortable in the other's presence.

The topic turned to high school -- Mr. Henderson (the English teacher they all liked), the time Thomas got a technical foul against Sherman North at the conference tournament when it was Paul who dropped the F-bomb. Towards the end of the evening, Olivia, who'd had a few wines, spoke up.

"Okay, sooo, speaking of basketball. Remember how packed the gym was for that game against Wilson Tech my senior year?"

"Yeah, I came back for that one. We owed them after beating us in overtime the year before. Why?" Tommy asked.

"Welllllll, the gym was two people short that night," she said. "I'd snuck out dressed as myself and there was this cute boy who, I won't say his name, but he was on the baseball team and he had access to some keys. So, we went to one of the classrooms farthest from the gym.

"No, you're kidding!" Jenna said.

"Scouts honor, well, Webelos. I quit after that. Anyway, we made out hot and heavy to the point where he wanted to go all the way.I told him "No" but we compromised and let's just say he went home happy and I never looked at European history class the same way again."

"I'm honestly surprised. That's not like you," Jenna said.

"It was the only time I did something like that."

Thomas piped up. "Are you sure?"

Olivia's ire rose. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that the whole time I had to keep watch on you, you just decided to go out there doing whatever you wanted, not caring if you got hurt or-"

"I wasn't going to get hurt. He knew. In fact, getting together with me as Olivia was his idea."

Paul was too uncomfortable to step in. Jenna tried. "Guys, you don't need to-"

Thomas said, "No. I was on guard duty and you didn't care. You just did whatever you wanted to. How many other times did you do something like this? Huh?"

"Just the once. I think he wanted to explore and I just needed to let myself out. It's certainly not something I made a habit of."

"It isn't?"

"Oh, that's a cheap shot, TOMMY. You were finally out of the house and I felt so stifled in high school, holding in who I am."

"Holding it in? That's funny. You were always flaunting it. Why couldn't you just be-"

"Don't you DARE say normal, Tommy. Don't you even dare!"

"What should I expect from you anyway? You don't even have enough respect to call me Thomas. Always Tommy, Tommy, Tommy like you're eight years old!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Lord Thomas. I'm sure it must really suck to be referred to as a name you don't want to be. Not that I'd know anything about that. By the way, don't think I haven't noticed you haven't referred to me as Olivia once since you got here, just ‘Hey’ or whatever."

"I swear. You're impossible. I protected you in school from all those bullies who wanted to hurt you."

"Maybe so, but you know? When it comes to people who want to hurt me, maybe I needed protection from you!"

Thomas, open-mouthed, had no response as Olivia turned to Jenna and Paul, and said. "I'm done. Sorry, guys. Good night."

As she reached the hallway, she turned to look back at Thomas, "And by the way, the only reason you got stuck on being called Thomas is because Dad insisted on it, the same reason you're working for him instead of doing something else. When we were growing up, you never said, 'I wanna work for Dad when I grow up.' You know, I think you resent me because I'm living as who I am and you're too afraid of him to do the same."

With that, Olivia was off to bed, closing her door not with a slam, but emphatically enough to be a de facto "Do Not Disturb" sign.

That pretty much put an end to the evening. Paul took the couch. Jenna thought about knocking to check in on Olivia, but thought better of it. Tom went to the bathroom to change into a T-shirt and sweats.

Turning the faucet on, he splashed water into his face, shaking his head in anger and disappointment. The target of his emotions was the 6'2" member of dad's sales team looking back at him in the mirror.

New Year's Eve

As the day began in earnest, Thomas' light snore indicated he was the last one unawake, a function of him being the last to fall asleep. It was only sheer exhaustion that made it happen. After he went to the bathroom, he came back with a navy blue towel to drape over his eyes to shield them from the light.

At some point, he shifted over into pretending he wasn't awake, his thoughts turning to his kid sister. He didn't know which felt worse, that he'd completely blown it with her or that she was right when she ripped into him before bed.

Paul was watching some football game on low volume. Jenna made a little small talk, but was apparently engrossed in reading something.

Olivia? Outside of showering, she was staying in her room, content to read, looking at things on her computer to pass the time and generally doing whatever she could to pass the time away from Tommy's presence. The relative silence was broken by a knock on her door.

"Not now, please."

"It's Paul, can I come in?"

Somewhat reluctantly, she said. "Sure, I guess."

"Sorry about last night. If I'd known that would happen for you, I'd have suggested to him that we take our chances with the ditch."

Olivia couldn't help but chuckle in spite of herself. "It's okay. You probably had no idea of where my relationship with my brother's at. I'll always be grateful to him, but he has his own issues and I don't feel like being a target for him while he won't work them out."

Paul nodded thoughtfully, which Olivia took as the cue to continue.

"When I was young, I remember feeling out of place, like I was living outside my body. I didn't know why. Then, the music I heard then, like Taylor Swift, Pink, Jenna's old CDs like Avril Lavigne, I started to realize that I didn't just like them, but I wished I was like them. So, yeah. By the time we were in high school, I was out as gay, but I knew I'd be out as Olivia in college. But I made an easy target for the Chads."

"Those guys. And their names actually were Chad-- Chad Gabriel and Chad Landingham. Way to lean into the stereotype, asshats."

"I know, right? That lasted until Thomas got hold of them, or so I heard. I mean, the Chads barely said a word to me after. Neither did he. It felt like he resented me for it, like looking out for me was a chore."

"Thomas is a good guy, but he seems to have a habit of letting his pride get in the way. Honestly, when you and your sister come up, he talks about how Jenna's this really good lawyer who has it all together and how you've come a long way and that he won't be surprised to see you on TV one day."

"He never tells me!"

"Well, I suspect he feels badly about where you two are at, in addition to what you said last night about him. I have no idea what that would be, but maybe you woke him up. And he's right, you do seem to be thriving."

"You know, I am in a lot of ways. College has gone great. I have some really good friends. I couldn't ask for a better older sister. Mom and Dad? I don't know that they fully understood at first, but they knew they didn't have to. And once they saw this, they got it. It's all good, outside of my dating life."

"Sorry about that. I obviously don't know what it's like to be trans. I do know there's a lot of ignorant people out there, which I'd imagine makes it a good filtration system for dating. The trouble is, I suppose not many make it through that net."

"More than you'd think," Olivia said. "Sometimes they get through and it doesn't work out for other reasons, like this guy Derek. We'd still be dating if he hadn't transferred because of the med major he wanted. It's funny, you know, I had a crush on you in high school."

"You did? I had no idea. I mean, I didn't know you were Olivia then and I guess my transdar wasn't finely tuned, or even existent."

"And it was high school, so you wouldn't have made it through the net."

"Don't be so sure."

"Oh? (gulp)"

"Well, I would have then and now, but I already made it through someone else's net."

"Oh. Ohhhhh."

Paul's silent nod confirmed the commonality, "Her name's Allison. We met senior year. I was a little leery, not because of who she was, but because my previous relationship ended badly. I thought she didn't need a rebound, but we clicked. I realized that I'd been over the ex, I was just waiting for the right time."

"And when did she know you were right for her?"

"Really early, as I found out later, but I remember on one of our early dates, I asked her, 'So, where you and I are at, it feels right to me. You?' and she said, 'Maybe. Seems promising.'"

"She's lucky."

"I am, honestly. I feel like I'm punching above my weight with her. It's why I haven't- wait. Why am I talking about this? I came in here to comfort you about your brother."

"Look, I appreciate the effort," she sighed. "But it feels like he and I are at a perpetual standstill."

"I can't tell you how to handle it with him, but if I thought he really hated you, I'd tell you. Maybe give him another chance. I'd better get back out there, though. Good luck, Olivia."

"Thanks, Paul. And trust me, Allison's luckier than you think."

Around a half-hour later, Thomas rousted himself from his fake slumber and approached Jenna. "I'm sorry I was an ass last night."

"Yes, you were, but it's not me you need to apologize to."

"I know, but-"

"Look, little brother. We both know you need to and know that you're going to. She deserves it and, even though you're being a stubborn ass right now, so do you."

Thomas nodded. Tugging at his shirt nervously, he turned and went to Olivia's bedroom door. "3-2-1," and he knocked.

"What?"

Thomas opened the door and said, "Olivia, we need to talk. First-"

"He knows my name! Alert the media!"

"I deserve that, Liv. And you are the media. Or will be. Look, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. And you were right, well mostly. I don't resent you for being Olivia, not for a while. Once I started seeing you visit home from college, it was clear you couldn't have been anybody else, you know?

"But last night."

"Your little story last night brought back how scared I was for you back then. So, of course, I started lashing out and being an idiot. You didn't deserve it. But I don't resent you. And I have been unhappy with myself for living the life Dad wants for me."

"So, you're-" Olivia ran her right hand in front of herself like one of those game show women showing off a prize.

"Oh? Oh, no, no. You're not going to have another sister. And I'm not torn up about who I'm dating. Dad and Mom know. The only reason you and Jenna don't know is we haven't talked in a while."

"So, you're gay?"

"I don't know that I'd put a label on it, but yes, I'm dating someone. His name is Oscar. But that's not the life part. It's that I really don't want to be in the company. It's not that I'm bad at sales. I'm really good at it. It's just not what I want to do"

"What do you want to do, then? You never showed any other-"

"I didn't either, but over the last year, I, well, why don't I show you? Just stay in here for another 30 minutes or so, 'kay?" he said. As he reached the door, he added, "Call me 'Tommy' whenever you want. Just stay here for a bit."

When Tommy returned, all he said was. "Kitchen now, please."

She followed him. She spied a plate with two pieces of french toast, colorfully presented, not with the usual butter and syrup, on the counter.

"What's that?"

"French toast with a peanut sauce and berry compote, sort of an elevated PB&J. Oscar wants me to call it 'French Toast a la Tomás, which, no. I don't care if he is a sous chef. Try it."

"He remembered peanut butter and strawberry jelly was my favorite in grade school," she thought, before taking a taste, "Oh, wow. This is really good. I had no idea."

"Thanks, it's not perfect, I had to use frozen strawberries. Cooking's always something I've always liked and Oscar's encouraged me. I want to go to culinary school."

Olivia, covered her mouth, which was full of breakfast and comfort food sense memory, and said, "You should."

"Dad'll flip."

"Will he? Tommy, if he can handle Olivia and Oscar, then he can handle you going off to be a chef."

"Maybe, but I-"

"Hey, guys. Who's Oscar?"

Olivia and Tommy turned to see a rather curious Jenna.

The rest of New Year's day went smoothly. Jenna was even less surprised than Olivia about Oscar. When he showed them a couple pics of him, they both agreed that Tommy had good taste or, as Olivia put it --"If 'The Bear' were a Hallmark Christmas movie on Univision."

The conversation and improved spirits continued through the day. Fully expecting to make dinner, the sisters outlined what they had in mind, then let Tommy take over.

"Oh, this came out so good. That egg coddling trick with the carbonara," Jenna said, making the chef's kiss motion.

"I think it's official, big brother. You are Tomnough," Olivia joked.

"Just for that, no dessert for you," he said, giving her a playful nudge.

As it hit 11:30 or so, the four were sitting in the living room when Olivia looked around and asked, "So, what are we resolving for the new year?"

"I heard on the radio that only eight percent of people make those resolutions last for the entire year. That doesn't exactly sound like the best odds," Tommy said.

"Well, we've all bought the occasional lottery ticket," Jenna said. "And we have all four of us here as a sort of accountability circle. I'll even make it easier. I'll start."

"You're the most together of any of us. What on Earth could you have to resolve?" Tommy asked.

"Well, Olivia and I were talking yesterday about how I wasn't sure I wanted to keep doing what I'm doing at Preston & Wu. I've been reading up since and, well, the firm has progressive leadership now and they've been looking into social justice law. I'm resolving to get them interested in LGBTQ issues, to take on cases to help people. We're lucky to live in a state where people like Olivia and Tommy aren't under the threats they'd face in other states, even as privileged as they are."

"That's great, Jenna," Olivia said. "I knew I looked up to you since I can remember for a reason. (pause) Although did you have to raise the bar for me again?" before she stuck her tongue out at her, prompting laughs from the others.

"Good luck, Jenna," Paul added. "I guess I'll go next. Mine's more personal. I've been dating Allison for a while and it's been great and she's been wonderful. But recently, I'd been doubting if I were good enough for her.The more I thought about it, the more I realized that that it was the last lingering bit of my last relationship. That enabled me to finally chuck it aside and look clearly at the future. All of which to say is that, this year, I resolve to be the best husband to Allison I can be."

"Ohmigawd, congratulations!" Olivia screamed.

"Well, it hasn't happned, but I've been looking for a ring and found a nice one. When I get back home from all of this blizzard mess, I'm going to propose to her and I hope she says 'Yes.'"

"Dude! I've seen you two together. There's no way she won't," Tommy said, before teasingly. "If anything, she's probably been waiting for you to make an honest woman out of her."

"That's a little retrograde isn't it?" Paul said sternly, before shifting tone to winkingly ask, "Besides, when are you going to make an honest man out of Oscar?"

Tommy rolled his eyes, saying. "Don't give Mom any ideas." Pausing for a few seconds, he added. "We're just enjoying things as they happen right now anyway. It's a promising start. Honestly, my resolution was to make things right with Olivia, but I have a start on that in spite of how I acted yesterday. So that leaves this. I resolve to let Dad know that I'll keep saving up so I can leave the company and enroll in culinary school."

"Way to go, buddy," Paul said.

"If the french toast and carbonara are any indication, you'll kill it. How close are we to midnight?" Olivia said.

"Oh, no, Liv. If the rest of us have to do it, so do you. I didn't run extra lines at basketball practice for a month after taking care of the Chads all those years ago just for you to weasel out now. Besides, you were the one who brought resolutions up," a smiling Tommy said.

"Okay, fine. I mean, there's been a lot to think about, but there are a couple of things that came to mind. The main one, though, is that I resolve to set aside the doubt. I intend to go fully for on-camera or on-air jobs. I can always produce as a backup, but I'd be kicking myself if I didn't give it a real shot."

This surprised nobody -- "I knew it," Yes!" and "I could see this coming down Broadway," the last coming from Tommy..

"Looks like you’re raising the bar on me, Olivia. Ooh, let me get the prosecco. We've got five minutes," Jenna said.

As the clock wound down, everyone stood together, glasses raised. "10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1, Happy New Year!"

Tommy looked right at Olivia, silently saying the words, "Thank you." She pointed back at him, mouthing the words, "You, too."

New Year's Day

"The wind's dropped. I think you're getting out of here, you two," Olivia said, watching the Weather Channel, noting to herself that, no, it was a blizzard, so she's not calling it Winter Storm Elon, even though Elon bl-

"Hey, Liv! You said you wanted some pointers. How about I help you whip up a hash from this leftover beef. Spoiler alert: the secret ingredient is fish sauce."

"Great! I'll be right there!"

The results were a hit. As everyone was digging in, they heard the telltale loud noise of some kind of implement vehicle clearing snow. Looking outside the window, Jenna saw it was Trevor Jackson, who was one of their closest neighbors, steadily clearing the driveway.

As they finished, they heard the plow stop. Olivia hurried to the door, waving to try to get her neighbor's attention. He'd always been friendly to her and Jenna, but wouldn't take any money when he did something like this. Oh well, it was worth another shot.

"Hey, Trev, that was nice of you to do that, but you really should let me give you something to help pay for the fuel or-"

"No need, Olivia," he said with a smile. "Just helping a neighbor. I graduated last June, so I know you're probably not flush with cash."

"Yeah, but-"

"Don't worry about it. You're the last driveway I had, so I'm going to go have something to eat."

"Tell you what. How would you feel about some beef hash, eggs however you'd like? It came out really good."

"Well, I was going to have instant oatmeal since I didn't get to the store before the storm hit, but you drive a hard bargain."

"My sister's a lawyer, so I might have picked up a few things."

"Okay, deal." As Trevor took his boots off to avoid tracking slushy mess all over, he held up two dirty hands and asked, "Bathroom? I probably should clean these up."

"Down the hall and first door to your left after you hook right."

"Great, thanks."

As Olivia started to heat the skillet up, Trevor popped his head in and said, "Two sunny-side-up, please."

"Glad to help a neighbor," she replied. They silently smiled at each other just long enough to not be awkward before he said, "Be right back" to go wash his hands.

Tommy, seeing this, gave his sister a thumbs-up, quietly saying, "Nice", drawing a smile from her.

Paul arrived at the kitchen sink and started cleaning his plate to make sure the yolk didn't dry and stick. He looked at Olivia and said, "You know that other resolution you were thinking of? Looks like someone got through the net and might stick around."

Turning on the skillet to reheat the rest of the hash and clearing space for the eggs, her smile revealed no small amount of confidence as she replied, "Maybe. Seems promising."