Interesting storyline! I would spend more time developing the space between the Christmas scene and the time right before the mother died. I got a little confused in that section. Other than that I loved the story. Especially the description of the stegosaurus chicken nuggets. I remember eating those and it helped pull me into the story.

I would love to see where the story goes. So much could happen at this point. You could add a romance element between Leigh and one of the locals in Portland locals. I would be interested in reading more about this.

Nice work!

Myla Greene