Stella stood in the airport, awaiting the arrival of her two guests. Standing in heels, she peered over the tops of people's heads. She had always been short and it seemed even more evident when surrounded by both her niece and sister.

Seeing them making their way over to her, a smile spread across her face. It had been too long.

"Auntie Stella!" Hilary's grin was just as wide as her aunt's as the two embraced.

"Hil! You've gotten so big," she held her niece at arm's length. "And prettier, if that's possible." Stella extended her arms to her sister. "Hey, big sis."

Cecilia laughed as she and her younger sibling hugged. "Hey there. How are you?"

"I'm good," Stella nodded. "Getting by, as always."

"You're skinnier," Hilary pointed out, prodding her aunt's side. "And your skin is paler."

"It's been a rainy summer and I haven't had a lot of time on my hands," Stella explained. "And I haven't lost a lot of weight. It was just a few pounds."

CiCi looked disprovingly at her sister. "Mhmm, sure."

"Come on," Stella linked arms with her family. "Let's get back to my place."



"This place is so pretty," Hilary settled onto the couch in the living room. "My room is so cool."

"I'm glad you think so," Stella smiled as she slid dinner into the oven to reheat. "It's nothing big or anywhere near to what you're used to, but I tried to make it homey."

"The walls are so cool," she traced her fingers over the brick. "I really like it."

"This is a really nice place," CiCi nodded. "You've done a great job on it."

"Thanks, Ci," Stella smiled. "So are we all visiting Dad tomorrow?"

"Gramps!" Hilary nodded. "It's been forever. I want to go see him!"

"I think that would be nice," Cecilia nodded. "Especially since I'm not here long."

"Are you sure you can't stay until school starts up?" Stella asked. "It's only two weeks away."

"I'm sure," she sighed. "I have to be back in London on Thursday to finish packing and I'm due in Cairo on Saturday."

"You're gonna miss my first day?" Hilary asked.

"I'm sorry, sweet heart. I tried to be here for it, really," CiCi kissed her daughter's forehead. "But it just didn't work out."

"We'll Skype all the time," Stella assured her niece.

Hilary nodded as both her aunt and mother wrapped their arms around her and the three redheads sat in silence for a few minutes.

"Max wants to come with us tomorrow," Stella said, reading a message from her phone. "Do you mind?"

"Max is in Philly?" both CiCi and Hilary asked together.

"And you call yourselves hockey fans," Stella rolled her eyes. "He didn't re-sign with Pittsburgh. He's with the Flyers now."

"What!?" CiCi gaped. "That's so...traitorous."

"I'll get to see him more, though, right?" Hilary asked.

"He was over yesterday along with a few teammates," Stella noded. "So, yeah."

"Wait," Hilary held up a hand. "There were... Flyers in this room?" She said the team name like a dirty word.

Laughing, Stella nodded. "Giroux and Briere. I liked Briere a bit, actually. He's a little calmer. But Giroux... eh, I'm not a fan."

"Tell Max we'd love to see him tomorrow," CiCi nodded. "And I think dinner might be burning."

Stella's eyes went wide as she jumped off the couch and into the kitchen. CiCi and Hilary waited on the couch for word on their dinner. Stella had forgotten to set a timer, so it was possible that dinner might end up being takeout.

"It's okay," Stella breathed a sigh of relief. "Dinner's all good."