Perfect Storm

The snow cascaded down, covering each building in a shiny white.  It deafened the noises of the city, making everything appear calm and quiet, even if it was only for a few hours.  I sat on my window sill and smiled.

“God, I love the snow,” I sighed.  “It’s so beautiful. Isn’t this beautiful?”

“Gorgeous, darling,” Anna said without looking up from her book.  

“Don’t you just love the snow?”  I stood, making my way over to the kitchen.  “Ever since I was a kid, it was my favorite. People can have all the sunny days they want, I just want one good snow a year.”  I poured myself a cup of coffee as I spoke. “It’s just so refreshing, don’t you think?”

Realizing I wasn’t going to be done for a while, Anna closed her book and took off her glasses.

“Sorry,” I smiled.

“Don’t be,” she laughed.  

“I mean, think about it.  When you’re a little kid, snow means going out and playing for hours.  When you’re a little bit older, it means school gets cancelled. And then when you’re an adult, it’s the perfect day to stay inside and never leave bed.”

I poured some almond milk into my coffee, stirring it a couple of times, before downing nearly the entire cup in a few sips.  My chest felt warm as I drank.  

Snowball himself pressed up against my leg, leaving a trail of white fur on my leggings.  I picked him up and gave him a little kiss on the forehead. He gave me a few soft purrs.

“I mean, for God’s sake, we even named our cat after the snow!” I exclaimed.  He started to squirm in my arms, so I let him drop back to the floor. He jumped up onto the bed, walking around for a bit on the blankets before deciding to curl himself up by Anna’s feet.

“So are you going to come back to bed?” she asked.  “Or are you going to keep rambling?”

I rolled my eyes, but decided to join her under the covers anyway.  I set my coffee on the nightstand, pulled on a pair of my thickest socks, and laid down next to her.  She pushed her book to the side in order for me to snuggle up against her.  

I closed my eyes and smiled.  

Everything was perfect right now. 

“I love the snow,” I said once more.

“I’ve always preferred the rain,” she answered.

“Oh, then this relationship isn’t going to work out.”

We both laughed and held each other closer.

_______________________

“God, I hate the snow,” I sighed.  “I mean, Jesus Christ, it’s disgusting.  It looks fine now, but tomorrow it’s just going to be dirty slush.”  

There was no reply to my complaints.  I glared down at the blinding white that was covering the buildings.

“I mean, how am I supposed to get to work in this?  No cabs are going to be out. I can’t walk in this shit.”  

I sighed again.

There was still no reply.

“Are you listening to me?” I asked.

“Yes, dear,” Andy sighed.  

“Well then say something.”

“Say what?  You do this every time it snows.  We get it, you don’t like it. But there’s nothing we can do about it.”  I rolled my eyes at him. “Why don’t you just call out today? We can do something fun.”

“What are we gonna do?  We can’t leave the apartment.”

“We could watch a movie?” he offered.

“I dunno,” I sighed.  

“Come on.  It’ll be fun.  I promise.”

I didn’t really like calling out of work.  It made me seem lazy, and it was certainly no way to get a promotion.  

But the idea of having to trudge through this frozen wasteland seemed even worse, so I decided to make the call. 

Luckily, my boss didn’t care all that much.  Things were slow, I suppose.  

When I came back into the room, Andy was making popcorn.  That smells heavenly.  

I plopped myself down in our bed and waited for him.  Benji jumped up onto the mattress with me. “Hi, buddy,” I smiled as he gave me a quick lick on the cheek.  He rested his head on my lap, letting me pat his head while we waited for Andy to come join us.  

“Well, aren’t you two adorable,” he chuckled as he entered the room.  He took his spot next to us and placed the bowl of popcorn between us.  “Alright, what will it be?” he asked.

We browsed through the movies for almost ten minutes.  He kept suggesting one, I kept shooting it down. He wanted to watch a romantic comedy.  I wanted to watch anything but that.  

Eventually we were able to come to an agreement on The Love Witch.  It had enough romance for him to be satisfied with enough horror thrown in for me not to get overwhelmed by cheesiness. 

The popcorn was gone before the movie even started.  We had been mindlessly munching on it as we picked out our movie.

Andy put the bowl on the floor next to the bed so Benji could lie down between the two of us.  He held my hand with one of his own and used the other to pet the dog. I did the same.  

About halfway through the film, I looked over to find that both of them had fallen back asleep.  I rolled my eyes at the two of them, but still turned down the volume so it wouldn’t wake them.

The movie came to an end and they were still sound asleep.  I turned off the television and decided to try to join them.  

I laid there for a bit, unable to fall asleep, but too comfortable to want to move.  Andy’s nose twitched and the corners of his mouth turned up a bit. Benji must have been having a dream because he started to whimper quietly and paw at the air.

Outside the window, the snow was still coming down heavily.  It had created a thick layer all over the group and on top of all the buildings.  

I took a deep breath and smiled at the two of them.

Maybe the snow wasn’t all that bad.