When she made her six-hour flights back home, her folks and her friends Carla and Michael would comment on how much she had changed. But as they reacquainted themselves, they’d find that, beneath all her changes, she was still the Val that they knew and loved.

But it couldn’t be denied that Val had indeed changed a lot. Her folks were proud that she was growing into a smart, beautiful, and independent woman. As for Clara and Michael, both of them were equally as proud of their beloved Val but were worried about their increasing attraction to their girl. But because they were afraid of damaging their friendship, this attraction remained unrequited. The two found solace in each other and, over time, a relationship grew between Carla and Michael.

When she was visiting, Val didn’t visit Delos High, and did her best to avoid her former classmates telling Carla and Michael it was best to avoid awkward questions. Walking around in a mall once, they saw a bunch of their old classmates so Val, Carla, and Michael ducked into the first place they saw, which turned out to be a restaurant, and ended up having lunch, waiting until the Delos kids had moved on.

The three didn’t do anything special when Val came down for a visit, and just basically hung around. The Saturday lunch thing got reinstituted, and then, after lunch, the three would go out to do something, like watch a movie or go shopping, or just spend time at the park or something. Sunday was just for the family, though, and Val and her folks would pretty much just stay home or go to some park. Ma, of course, took it as an opportunity for her to get as much mother-daughter time as possible. Usually, it would become a trip to the hairdressers or a shopping trip and Val would return to Troy House with a new ‘do or a bunch of new outfits. This happened so often that, when she found her closet starting to get filled up, she bought a portable clothes closet from Amazon which she put beside her dresser. She had a little less space now but didn’t mind it much. She also segregated all the clothes that she didn’t wear much, and give them away to her friends who wanted them, and on her next trips back, she’d bring the remaining stuff back home.

As for father-daughter time, it was usually spent chatting or playing backyard basketball or bowling. Ma would usually go with them, though she didn’t bowl much. Their new thing, though was working on Dad’s BMW, and he was amazed at Val’s growing knowledge and expertise with cars. So, in time, Dad’s BMW M3 would acquire an overhead rack, new fog lamps, and a new computer tuned for max performance.

On that first visit, before Val’s dad drove her to the airport for her ten PM flight, Carla and Michael drove up in his beat-up Toyota. “You don’t think we’ll just let you leave?” Carla said and gave her a big hug.

“You didn’t need to, you know,” Val said. “It’s okay.”

“Yes, we did,” Michael said. “We love you, you know.”

“Yes, I do,” Val said and hugged Michael as well. “I love you guys, too.”

“We know it.”

She got in her Dad’s car, and Carla, Michael, and her mom waved to them as she and her dad drove away.

As they drove to the airport, Val got quiet and teary-eyed.

“Hey, why the tears, sweetie,” her dad said. “You’ll see them again next time.”

“Yeah, Dad. I guess I just missed them so much. I missed you guys, too.”

Dad reached and hugged her by the neck.

“We missed you, too. But, stop it, baby. What’s two weeks, right? Okay?”

Val gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Okay, Dad.”

On the flight back, she didn’t have too much trouble. She only brought her wheelie and her favorite leather backpack, so getting through customs and airport security wasn’t too big of a hassle. When she arrived at Fredericton Airport, it took a little over an hour to get through customs and immigration, and she had to wait for half an hour for the bus to Saint John, then an hour’s ride, and then a taxi to Troy. By that time it was already six AM – barely enough time to get ready for classes. In subsequent trips, she’d drive herself to the airport and park it in those extended parking services they had in airports.

And so that was how it was on her first trip back.

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