Snowball Fight

As the door was pushed slowly open the strong scent of old cedar flooded Eric’s senses. The lingering dust hung in the air, dancing in the misty light which shone through the rippled windows.

“Oh man!” Eric said. "This takes me back."

The wind and birds, which could so clearly be heard outside, were suddenly inaudible after only two paces into the room. As Eric’s eyes adjusted to the interior he noticed the various eccentric decorations scattered about the old cabin. An ancient-looking floor rug made from a single piece of cow hide, a stack of books above the fireplace including two or three Bibles, a framed painting of a fox hunt in the English countryside. The setting granted Eric a dose of nostalgia from a time and place he had never been.

“Look at this!” He said as he started rummaging through a wicker basket. “The owner left us a basket of instant coffee packets, tea bags and… hot chocolate!”

Grace, entering the cabin closely behind, was more concerned with the bed. She pressed on the mattress with one hand, testing the old metal springs beneath. Upon release, the mattress sprang up with only the smallest of squeaks.

“I suppose that should be fine.” She said quietly.

“Isn’t this place great?” Eric asked.

Grace had grown up on a farm and so was no stranger to a rustic life, but she found herself unseduced by its quirks. That’s exactly why she had studied so hard, become a lawyer, and moved to the biggest city in the state. The wide, childish grin of her husband was too much to refute however.

“It’s lovely, dear.”

“The day is getting late.” Eric said. “It looks like they left plenty of logs here for us, I’ll go find some kindling and get a fire started for tonight.”

Grace could almost hear the smile in Eric’s voice. As he left on his quest, she sat on the edge of the bed and sighed. She hadn’t been looking forward to this, their 15^th anniversary weekend. She knew Eric was trying very hard to make a romantic get away by renting a cabin, and in a way it was sweet. It was during a weekend in a cabin like this that he had proposed, after all. Even she couldn’t escape reminiscing on their young love. But time had passed, they had grown up, their marriage was more real now, and reality just wasn’t as much fun.

“Still!” She said aloud. “He is putting effort in, and so should I.”

She locked it into her lawyer brain that she would have a good time this weekend and enjoy their anniversary despite the mountain of work that awaited her on Monday. She walked over and knelt in front of the fire place, picking through the pile of logs nearby. She found a few smaller, thinner logs and set them up, creating what is conveniently called a log cabin fire build. This was the only way she knew how to build a fire and the memory of her father teaching her back on the farm was somehow both a happy memory and one that she was glad to have left behind.

Just as Grace was putting the finishing touches on her little pile, Eric walked back through the door. He clasped a clump of debris in one hand while closing and securing the heavy door with the other.

“Hey! You got it started for me!” He said as he neared the hearth.

Grace just smiled and moved out of the way to allow her husband to work on what she knew was his favorite part. She sat on the floor beside him as he started to break the sticks into smaller sticks and rustle up the grass and bark into a ball of fine, fluffy fibers which would immediately take a flame. Carefully, he inserted his creation into the hole which Grace left in the front of her little log cabin. Eric then produced a lighter from his pocket and held his breath as he lit it and held the flame up to the tinder bundle. As expected, a wave of flame quickly ate its way through the inside of the pile and caught the smaller twigs and sticks alight. The snapping and crackling was like music to Eric, who relished any opportunity to engage in what he considered the manful art of fire making.

Finally exhaling, he leaned back from the fireplace and again took a moment to appreciate the surroundings. He noticed the light from the windows was dimming and guessed the sun was going down. Of course, this reminded him of his stomach.

“Dinner!” He said as if surprised by the sudden epiphany.

“Yes!” Grace agreed as she had found herself growing hungry as well.

Together, they dug through their backpacks to find their little camp stove and pot, as well as the prepackaged meals they had bought specifically for this occasion. It was in relative silence that they got their little tools set up and cooked their food. In about 45 minutes they found themselves once again sitting before the fire (on chairs this time) enjoying their meals on plastic plates.

“This place is so much like that other cabin.” Eric said.

“Mmm.” Grace replied. “I was thinking that earlier.

It had been so long since they had had time together, just the two of them with nothing to do. Eric missed the days of their young love when Grace seemed so driven but also so careless, when she used to smile freely. Now it was almost like spending time with an acquaintance. There was familiarity, but also a discomfort.

Eric had always suspected that she resented him a little bit, that this career driven woman – who he admired so much – had felt like his trade job was beneath her. He knew these thoughts stemmed from the fact that he himself felt that way sometimes. He knew that she was smarter than him, but in the early days that didn’t seem to matter because they had so much fun together and so much love for each other. Over the years though, she focused more and more on work and that fear crept into his heart; the fear that fun and love wasn’t good enough for her.

Eric, unsure of what to say next, took another bite of his recently re-hydrated casserole.

“I read that it might snow while we are here.” Grace said.

“Yeah.” Eric swallowed. “I heard about one or two inches, but it shouldn’t stick. It’s only mid-December.”

“Let’s hope not. I’m not sure we could make it up that hill in snow.”

“I’m sure we couldn’t. That little cliff-side road was enough to make me nervous in good weather. But it doesn’t matter. If it was February I’d be more worried, but right now I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

Grace didn’t share her husband’s optimism. She had too much to worry about at work, too much she needed to get done. Taking a risk on getting snowed in in the middle of the Tennessee mountains wasn’t something she was happy about.

Having cleared her plate, Grace handed it to Eric, who stacked in on top of his own empty plate and set them both aside. He then swung his arm over her head and rested it across her shoulders. The movement felt deliberate and clunky, even to him. Grace reciprocated by laying her head on his shoulder, although they could both feel that she couldn’t totally relax her body into his. Something was still off, despite their efforts.

The following morning they awoke to find flurries flirting gently against the window. Eric stepped outside and announced that they weren’t sticking to the ground, it was still too warm. Somewhat relieved, Grace went back to sleep. The morning meandered by and the couple ventured out for a walk along the forest trails outside the cabin. They explored the little creek which flowed through the property and admired the sky for looking so close and white in the midst of the slight snowfall. They tended the fire, warmed themselves, cooked and ate their food, enjoyed cups of coffee, and otherwise allowed the day to progress as it would.

Grace could tell that Eric was enjoying himself, but work was never far from her mind. The fact that the snow kept falling wasn’t helping. She tried to focus on the moment, on her husband, but found it difficult to be truly present.

Around sunset (as far as they could guess, anyway, since the sun hadn’t been out all day) the snow began to pick up. The night grew cold and the little flurries started accumulating on the ground. The pair hunkered down for the night, assuring each other that the snow would stop before morning. Eric wouldn’t have admitted it, but in his heart he prayed that the snow wouldn’t stop.

“One more day.” He thought. “If we had one more day to relax then maybe I could see that young, free smile again. I could feel like I make her happy again.”

When morning light finally shone through the small cabin windows Grace awoke before her husband. She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. She didn’t want to look, something about the way the light looked in the cabin told her she wouldn’t like what she was going to see. Already a little annoyed, she trudged over to the small stove and poured some water into the tin pot to make coffee. Without intention, Grace allowed her peripheral vision to betray her and peer outside. White. Everything was white!

She rushed out the door, the snow was still falling, it had piled up to more than six inches overnight! Grace just stood there, unsure what she was feeling.

Fear? What would her boss say? There is no reception here and she couldn’t tell anyone where she was or why she wouldn’t be at work.

Anger? She should have known better! She shouldn’t have taken the chance on coming out here just for some stupid attempt at an anniversary.

Panic? There had to be something she could do. Maybe she could hike out. Up the mountains to a main road where she could get a ride home, she’d be late to work but…

No.

As the reality started to sink in, Grace felt herself grow quiet inside. Not in a relief kind of way, but just… apathetic almost. She walked out into the snow in her robe and stood in the open field, looking upward into the sky which seemed to be a stone’s throw above her.

Eric woke up drearily. He looked out the open door and saw his wife standing in an ocean of white. He felt relieved, but also a little sad. He knew how much her job mattered to her and he didn’t like seeing her that sad. Irritated or angry was one thing, she was alive when she was angry, but seeing her sad always made him feel a little sick inside.

Eric got out of bed, put his shoes on, and walked out just beyond the doorway. Unsure what move to make next, he just stood there. Going up and giving his wife a consoling hug didn’t seem right. He thought about going back in and making coffee, maybe that would help her feel better. But maybe not.

He didn’t know why, but without thinking Eric stooped down and scooped up two handfuls of snow. He packed it tightly and threw it at his wife. The ball whizzed by and just grazed her cheek, landing intact in the snow beyond.

Startled out of her mind, Grace wheeled around and stared at her husband with an open mouth and huge eyes. She had no idea what to say or what was even happening.

“Uh oh.” Eric’s mind scrambled. “Why did I do that?!”

But there was nothing else to do. An apology won’t help, her day is already ruined, he had to commit and hope for the best. He stooped again. By the time he began packing the second missile he was surprised to see Grace suddenly lunge into action! She jolted to the side, grabbed a good pack of snow and launched it at her husband!

That childish grin returned to Eric’s face as he dodged her attack and responded with his own. The battle had begun! Grace channeled her pent up stress, fear, anger, and everything else she had into her snowballs. She hurled them at Eric with all her strength (though she had terrible aim). As the war progressed the physical exhaustion of running through thick snow and dodging projectiles started to catch up to her. Her mind began to calm. The outside world of work seemed to move farther and farther away.

The fight continued until both were equally tired out. They collapsed into each other’s arms giggling like children and made their way back into the cabin to stoke the fire for some much needed warmth. As they thawed out and relaxed with their cups of coffee Eric tried to gauge the situation. His wife seemed OK, but it might have just been the adrenaline.

As if reading his mind, Grace leaned in to lay her head on his shoulder, finally able to relax, allowing her body to melt against his.

“I miss having fun with you like this,” she said, “let’s do this more often.”

Eric smiled.

“I’m glad you’re happy.” He said.