FUN

Anne put down her book,it was pretty boring. Most romance novels were entirely predictable, she thought, and wondered if she really felt in the mood to read on for a further one hundred and fifty pages to the inevitable blissful kiss. She got up from her armchair and walked over to the window and drew aside the heavy dark red curtains. It was still snowing. It had been falling since lunch time in large, heavy-looking flakes. The porch light showed how deep it was piling up on the deck railings. Pretty. Pretty worrying too if the snow plough didn't clear the road in time to drive to work. Of course it might be decided to cancel school for the day if the conditions looked bad enough. They did this a lot more often these days. Not like when Anne herself was a school girl. Trudging through snow, ice and wind and hardly ever was the weather considered bad enough to cancel school.

Anne allowed the curtains to fall back into place and went into the kitchen to make tea. An early night, check on the snowfall in the morning and either head off to school or....or what ? Pristine snow always looked inviting but where would she walk ? Anyway, people would think she was eccentric to be walking in the snow. How she and Colin had enjoyed the snow ! Frolicking like puppies, running, and falling and rolling and laughing....so happy to be enjoying this wonderful white world and to be with each other. She heaved a sigh of regret and loss. They had been so in love and the news of his death in an accident on an icy road had left her stunned, She had concentrated on work and felt she would never get over it. She had, but she was unable to say how long it had taken. Keeping busy had become a way of life. Work, the house, the garden, volunteering. There was hardly a moment to think, which had been the idea of course.

All those years....happy enough really, but now she found herself looking ahead to retirement, which was not far off. What would she do ? The prospect was daunting. No teaching.no Common room chat with colleagues, no marking when she arrived home, just....well, the things which she did now in addition to work. What would fill these hours ? Now! Don't get maudlin , she counselled herself. See what the morning brings.

The morning brought sunshine and a foot of snow glistening in the bright light., No school, just as she had expected. She might polish the furniture, no point in sitting around, plenty of time for that later. Suddenly her attention was drawn to a tap, tap on the back door, and she hurried to see who it could be. It was George, her nearest neighbour.

''Hello George, What brings you out so early in this snow ?''

''Hello Anne, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to go skating on Selby's pond, and I hoped you would come too.''

''What ? Are you joking ? I haven't been skating since Heaven knows when !''

''About time you started again then''

'' I'm so out of practice I wouldn't remember how to skate.''

''Don't worry, it's like riding a bicycle.''

''I can't ride a bicycle, never could, so that's no comfort.''

''that's not the point Anne, it's just a saying, as you well know. meaning that once you learn how to do something, you don't forget how to do it , cycling, swimming, skating. Come on. It'll do you good.''

''I must be mad, I shall blame you if I break a leg.''

''O.K. I shall push you around in a wheel chair and cook you eggs on toast.''

'' Don't sound so cheerful about the idea ! Oh, come on then, but you will have to give me a hand to begin with.''

''Sure. Dress warmly.''

''I will. I don't intend to try anything fancy...no twirling around in a little short skirt.''

George was a good friend. His wife has been lovely and when she had died four years earlier, Anne had felt genuine grief. She had cooked casseroles and goodies and taken them into George, until one day she saw him preparing a meal and realized he was a more sophisticated cook than she was. George was a realtor and his hours were erratic, so their paths did not cross very often, although he had always made it clear that he was nearby if she needed help of any kind. A very nice man, she thought.

While Anne got dressed in jeans and a thick sweater, George sat and fixed a pair of skates onto the ankle boots which Anne took from the closet, then he wrapped them and put them in his back pack. Anne was an old friend but he had observed that she had settled into sedate middle age way too early. She was still a fine looking woman but she had been taking life too seriously for too long

They walked through the snow, the sun on their faces until they arrived at Selby's pond, where four or five children were already skating and several more were fooling around on the bank.

''Are you sure about this ?''she asked.

''I didn't carry two pairs of skates all this way just to sit and watch .''

George replied.

Anne put on the skates, reached for George's hand and took her first step onto the ice. She didn't feel she would be good at this, did not feel she would become as good as she once was, but by Golly, she felt more alive than she had for a long time. Were these children her pupils ? She was too far away and the were too muffled up . They might recognize her and find it funny that she was making a fool of herself, but it didn't matter. They were all skating. They were all having fun. She smiled at George, who was grinning broadly. He really was a very nice man.

ENDS