Canada is beautiful. I know, what some people say – that it's compared to Norway and Finland nothing, but that's just ridicculus. There are so many stunning places and it has such a wonderful landscape, that I just can't imagine, to live anywhere else after all these years away from England. Walking now through the street, passing all these nice, little cute houses, seeing the snow falling down on the ground, not anymore melting cause it really got too cold,
feeling although the coldness on my cheeks, makes me feel better immediately.
When I pass the house of Karen and her family, I take a little look at the front, and register surprised, that they don't have anywhere a sign with their name on it. Maybe, this is usual here in Pickering? I look at some other houses, but they all have mailboxes with a sign on it. I shrug. It will have a reason, why Karen and her family don't like to have one.
My mother raved about Karens garden, but it must be behind the house, because their front yard doesn't look that impressive. Honestly, it's kinda non-noteworthy. It's a garden, just as a garden looks when winter's knocking on the door.
When I reach the corner of the street, still thinking about gardens in winter and summer and my mother's desicion to marry again, a voice interrupts my thoughts "Mandy?" I turn around, and I see, that Karen's stepped out of the door, a big tablet of cupcakes in her hands. "Oh, hi Karen", I make myself on my way back to her house. The cupcakes in her hands are steaming as hell, so I guess, she just took them out of the ofen. The smell is amazing!
"Have you had a nice walk?"
"Oh, I just started", I say. "But to be honest: I was more thinking about, reconsidering driving back home." I laugh to take my words their bitter aftertaste, but I can see, that neither Karen nor myself are pursuted, that it did work. "Oh, that would be sad. Wait a second, I'll just put these down", Karen lifts her hands with the cupcake-tablet. She's moving inside and is back a moment later. I'm still standing on the street. "Do you wanna sit down for a moment?" Karen offers me a seat on the bank of the front yard which is full with pillows to sit on. I hesitate a second, but then I consider, that it at least will give me some more time to think about what I'm going to tell my mother later. I could say that Amy's ill and needs me. Or that I have to deal with some important studying stuff. No. And no. That would be both a lie. And I'm not gonna use Amy to apology my inability to deal with my mother marrying again. I could of course tell her (my mother not Amy) the truth – that I think it's a difficult card to play to tell her one and only daughter, that she's marrying someone. – Someone the daughter doesn't even know. But okay. For all I care.
I tighten the grip around my coat and sit down with a smile. "Thank you Karen."
Karen takes place in the chair opposite of me and looks at me thoughtful. "Your mother told you, that she's gonna get married, didn't she?"
I'm not really surprised, that Karen does know about that. My mother's always been good in getting to know new people. So I just nod. "Yeah."
"And you're not happy about that?"
"I'm trying to be", I look down to my shoes. The snowflakes stopped melting immediately on the street, now they are building a white carpet on the the ground. "I'm really trying to."
For a moment, Karen and I just keep silent. Than she smiles. "You know what always helps with distress of any kind?"
I look at her questioning, and she smiles. "Muffins."