Inside the frost covered walls of the cabin, three of us huddled together in the frigid air, trying to share what little body warmth we could spare. The awkward perpetual group hug didn’t work very well but it was better than freezing alone. It gave us splashes of warmth, little tropical islands on the cold seas of our bodies.

A knock sounded at the door. As one, our eyes raised to meet each other and then to the door. Someone had finally came. Dared we to hope that our prayers had been answered?

John scrabbled to his feet as best he could, leaving us to the onset of cold that rolled in in his wake. He threw open the door and his jaw dropped. “Mom?”

Morgan’s hands clawed into fists, her face draining of blood at the sight of the figure in the doorway. “Mom?”

Slowest to respond, my brain tried to make the connection of the man in front of me. My throat constricted and I barely managed to choke out, “Dad?”

Only one person stood there despite all of our assertions. And in my father’s voice, it said, “Yes.”