Anna Kendrick had arrived at the Portsmouth International Airport in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She was visiting her parents in Portland, Maine for the holiday. After several rescheduling to do snow storms in her home state, she had to avoid the airport in her home town. Instead, she would be taking a drive into the snow during her hour long trek north.
The twenty-nine year old actress got her rental car after a quick bite to eat at an airport restaurant. She tossed her two bags into the trunk and began her travels to a nice Christmas at home. As soon as she started the car, Christmas music began blaring on the radio. As quick a human can move, her hand darted to the radio, turning it off.
"None of that," she said to herself as she plugged her phone into the radio and played a mix of her favorite rock songs. "Much better."
Anna rocked out as she drove across to the border into her home state. The snow was beginning to pick up much quicker than she had anticipated and she soon realized exactly why a flight into the most northern state was impossible. Within minutes, she could barely see past the hood of her car. She had turned the radio down and focused on her driving, careful to make no mistake.
As she inched along, Anna soon began to worry if she was even still on the right path home. She did not use a GPS device as she had traveled from Portsmouth many times to Maine. If she could have seen the road, she would have known that an errant left turn was leading her in the wrong direction.
For a half an hour Anna tried to figure out where she had driven to without turning on the GPS, feeling that she was on the right path. Just as she gave up and was about to pull the device out, a loud hum came from the engine before all electricity in the vehicle had shut off. With the headlights off and her windshield wipers failing, she had no choice but to find a place to pull over.
Once she had found a safe place to stop, Anna grabbed for her cell phone and attempted to call her father. With her luck continuing to run out, no signal could be found and she was left helpless.
"Fuck!" she screamed as she punched the steering wheel of the rental car.
Anna put her phone in her jeans pocket, grabbed her puffy winter coat from the back seat and got out of her car. Pulling a blue beanie over her brown hair, the actress noticed that she had parked in front of a two-story house. She put her hands in the pockets of her jacket and headed up the driveway while heavy snowflakes blew directly into her face. Once at the door, she pushed the red and green doorbell and waited. The door opened and a middle-aged couple in red Christmas sweaters stood inside.
"Hi, my car broke down and my phone is dead," Anna explained. "Can I borrow a phone to call my parents?"
"Well sure thing little lady," the man said as his wife pulled Anna inside, out of the elements.
"The phone is right over here," the woman said as she pulled Anna by the arm down the hallway.
Anna grabbed their phone and dialed her father's cell phone.
"Hi dad, I had a bit of car trouble," she explained. "I'm broken down somewhere, I got lost in the snow," she said as she pulled the beanie off and rested it on the table. "Are you serious? What am I going to do? It's not going to stop snowing until Christmas night," she angrily said as she learned her fate. "Fine, I guess I'll find something to do. This sucks. Love you dad."
Anna turned around to find the smiling couple standing behind her. She jumped and had to catch her breath after the surprise.
"We couldn't help but overhear you, if you have nowhere to stay for the holiday, you are more than welcome to stay here," the wife said.
"Oh, I can't inconvenience you on Christmas," Anna said as she grabbed her beanie and put it back over her head.
"Nonsense, Christmas is all about loving your fellow human and helping out when others are in need," the man said. "Come on, I will help you grab your bags from your car. You can stay in the guest room."
Anna faked a smile, questioning if she could handle being around such cheerful strangers for the holiday. She could hear Christmas music playing in the other room, only adding to her feelings.
The man of the house led Anna outside as they retrieved the three suitcases from the dead rental car. They returned to the house and headed upstairs. Anna took her hat and jacket off before heading upstairs. The man's wife followed them as they went into the guest room, throwing the bags atop the queen-sized bed.
"Home sweet home," the man said as he took his jacket off. "I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce ourselves. I'm Matthew and this is my wife Mary."
"Anna," she said with a smile as she sat down on the bed to remove her Ugg boots. "Do you two live alone in this big house?"
"Oh no, our son Austin is in his room," Mary said, pointing to the wall.
"We will leave you be so you can get situated but in an hour, we will have dinner on the table," Matthew said as the couple left the room.
Anna closed the door as they walked out and sat down on the bed. She could not believe how much her simple holiday had turned. She had been looking forward to seeing her parents for the first time in a year but now would have to wait until after the holiday. Now she was stuck with an oddly cheerful family with no option to leave as long as her car was dead.
The actress decided to get out of the clothes she wore to the northeast. Out of the jeans and t-shirt and into a pair of tight black sweatpants and a long-sleeved purple shirt. Her Ugg boots were kicked aside and replaced with a simple pair of black Nike sneakers. She relaxed on the bed until it was time to eat.
"Dinner's ready," a loud voice came from downstairs.
Anna took a deep breath and left the room, bumping into Austin, who was also on his way downstairs. The five foot, two inch brunette looked up at the six foot, four inch tall eighteen year old man with long black hair and a beard that made him look just like Jesus.
"Hi," she softly said.
"Hi," he responded. "Who are you?"
"I'm Anna, my car broke down and your very happy parents are letting me stay until the snow dies off," Anna said with a smile.
"Yeah, they do that a lot," Austin said. "They can be annoying like that."
"I'm guessing you aren't as cheerful as them," she said with a laugh before turning serious. "Please tell me you aren't as cheerful as them, I don't think I can survive with three of those people."
"I passed out drunk in the basement last night watching Futurama," Austin responded. "Does that answer your question?"
"Yeah I think it did," she laughed. "I might join you at some time over the next two days, I'll go insane."
"I'll be in the basement, you're more than welcome," he said as the loud voice of his mother rang from the bottom floor once again. "We should probably get going."
Anna followed Austin downstairs and into the dining room as a roasted chicken rested in the center of the small table. Mary pointed Anna to her seat and she sat down as Matthew set down a glass of ice water in front of her. She was disappointed not have any alcohol but was not surprised. The rest of the family sat down and the food was distributed in equal portions. Matthew and Mary held hands and each extended one to the others for the saying of grace.
