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JOSELYN
Joselyn Zimmerman walked through the packed snow in Snowdrift Springs Park as the last of sunset faded away, looking at all the ice sculptures lit by brilliant colorful lights. She had forgotten how much she loved snuggling up in warm clothes, breathing the crisp mountain air, being surrounded by family, and taking in all the beautiful ephemeral pieces of art. She’d seen dragons, a couple dancing, a castle, a mountain lion, a person skiing, and her favorite, a family laughing together on a couch. All made of ice.
“It has been too long since I’ve been able to come to this event,” Joselyn said to her sister Macie and her sister-in-law, Hannah. “I miss Nestled Hollow.”
“You know what the cure to that is,” Hannah said. “Move back.”
“And make that hour-and-twenty-minute drive— each way— to go to work every day?” Joselyn asked. “No thanks.”
The Fire and Ice Festival was always in late January, which was usually too soon after Christmas for her to be able to take work off again to visit Nestled Hollow. But this year, the financial software company she worked for had all hands on deck for the rolling out of their new app on January 1. And since they required them to be there on days they’d normally have off, they gave them some free days as compensation, and she jumped at the opportunity to come to the festival.
“So quit your job,thenmove back,” Hannah said as she crouched down to put one-year-old Jason’s mitten back on him for the tenth time, while her three-year-old, Drew, attempted to be a little too helpful.
“You should,” Macie said. “You always say that the day job’s killing off your creativity.” Macie’s smile was a little too amused. As her sister, she knew what Hannah hadn’t seemed to get yet—that Joselyn never did anything without a detailed plan first. So Macie was joining Hannah in trying to convince Joselyn purely for the sport of it.
“It is.” Joselyn looked toward the next sculpture on the path around the park—the last one. “I got my MBA so I could start my own business, not so I could work for a huge corporation.”
“All I’m hearing,” Hannah said, “are more reasons to quit and move back. These little guys would love to have their aunt closer.”
“I can’t,” Joselyn said. “It’s the pay keeping me there. It’s like golden handcuffs. And I figure if I can’t be running my own business, I might as well be making the money I’m going to use to one day fund it.” The spreadsheet in her brain sent out a wave of dopamine-filled contentment every time she added more money to herFuture Businessaccount.
They stopped in front of the last ice sculpture— a campfire, the logs and fire cut completely out of ice, an orange flickering light at its base making the flames seem alive. Next to the fire was an ice person sitting on a stump, bundled up in winter clothing, holding a marshmallow on a stick over the fire itself. A blue light shone on the camper, and together with the orange light on the fire, made the piece perfect for the Fire and Ice Festival.
“So why don’t you just start your own business already?” Hannah asked. “You know all that you can possibly know without actually doing it. I’m pretty sure you have the spreadsheet to prove it.”
“I know everythingexceptwhat kind of business to have,” Joselyn said as they stood around the ice campfire, admiring the way the artist had carved the flames in a way that looked so real while being made out of a material that was virtually the exact opposite of fire. “I’m not like you two.” She motioned at Macie. “I didn’t know I wanted to start Paws & Relax at age seventeen. And Hannah, how old were you when you knew you wanted to go to cosmetology school and be working on Main Street by age nineteen?”
Hannah shrugged. “I don’t know. I just decided I wanted to do it, and then I did it. Don’t let a little detail like not knowing what business to open stop you. Just choose one.”
Joselyn shook her head at how ridiculous that idea sounded.Just choose one. Like all that was required to be successful was to open her spreadsheet of possible businesses, close her eyes, and pick one.
The day job funded everything, but ever since Joselyn was first old enough to get a job at sixteen, she’d always had a night job, too. She worked every part-time job imaginable, trying each one on for size, hoping it’d help her to figure out what business she wanted to run. She recorded all the details for each one in a spreadsheet and figured that eventually, the spreadsheet would lead the way. But after eleven years of working in small businesses, she was no closer to an answer.
Joselyn looked across the sea of ice sculptures with their colorful lights spread around the park. “That’s not how it works. At least not if you want to be successful.”
“Look, Momma!” Drew said, pulling on Hannah’s coat sleeve, “That’s where the hot chocolate, and ice cream, and Daddy is!”
Joselyn laughed as the three-year-old led them all toward the arches that, every year, towered over each of two booths—one said “Fire” at the top, and had flames dancing up the sides of the arch, and the other said “Ice,” and looked like interwoven icicles clung to it.
Hannah looked up at the Fire booth, then turned to Joselyn. “Maybe you need a fire under you to get you to choose.”
“A fire,” Joselyn said. Like she wanted something forcing her into making a decision.
Macie nodded. “I agree.”
Joselyn’s head whipped to her sister. “You do?” Macie was the one who always understood her.Shethought Joselyn should be pushed?
“Oh, come on. You might be in this holding pattern your entire life if something doesn’t come along and make you choose.”
Hannah nodded. “One day, you’ll be old and gray, and you’ll shuffle over to your recliner, cane thunking the ground with each step. You’ll gather your grandkids all around and say, your voice all shaky from age, ‘Let me tell you the story about how I wish I would’ve started my own business back when I was your age instead of just gathering all the skills and never putting them to use.’”
“Hey,” Joselyn said. “The situation isn’t that extreme.”
“It might be, though.” Hannah shrugged. “But I can help with that.”
“You can?” As wary as she was, Joselyn found a little bit of hope creeping in with her statement.
