Pip reached out for his arm and pulled.“This way.”
He wondered if she knew where she was going.Was this some sort of trap?He wouldn’t put it past Pip.
Still, every moment they stood in the middle of this storm was one moment closer to them succumbing to the weather.Even if this was a trap, as long as it was out of the storm, he would be alive, instead of a frozen icicle.Once he warmed up, he’d figure out an escape plan.And so he followed her.
“Where are we going?”he called out, but the wind was so furious it swept away his words before they could reach Pip’s ears.
Justin stopped to read what he’d just written.It wasn’t romantic.He didn’t intend them to fall in love.They were adversaries from rivaling civilizations.
He remembered how the helpful letter from one of the agents he’d contacted had said to heighten the action and to add a romantic liaison for the hero.He really didn’t think the story needed to be bogged down with some mushy scenes.
There was nothing but white everywhere he looked.The good part is if he couldn’t tell where he was, then his enemies couldn’t find him either.The stiff muscles in his neck and shoulders started to ease, but not completely, because they still had to make it out of the blizzard before they froze into snowmen.
He was about to dig his heels into the frozen ground and reevaluate their plan, when he heard Pip say, “Here it is.”
Here what is?He squinted, and then he saw something.Was it a house?Could they be that fortunate?
They stepped onto the porch, where the snow was still half way up his calves.This place wasn’t a house.Far from it.Pip jiggled the door handle and then pushed on the door.It didn’t budge.
“Step aside.”He moved to the door and kicked.
The first kick only rattled the door.The second kick made the wood groan.There was some sort of pop, and then the door creaked open.
When they stepped inside…
Justin stopped to think about the storage unit.He pictured the boxes and the blue moving blankets over the furniture.But in his book the cabin would be more rustic so maybe white sheets that were now cream-colored sheets.Or perhaps no sheets at all.Maybe spider webs.Lots of them.
The words came spilling out of him as he set the scene.He typed until he ran out of words.And then he printed what he’d written.He liked to read the printed words.Somehow they sounded different in his mind.
With a yawn, he collected the pages from the printer.He neatly placed them on the edge of his desk.He would read them the next day after he got some much-needed rest.
Just then Sunny woke up and started jumping up at his desk.She must have thought he had something to eat on it, but the only thing left was an empty potato chip bag.Sunny jumped again.Her paw caught his pages and knocked them to the floor.The puppy walked on them.
“Sunny, no.”He bent over to pick up the pages.
It was definitely time to call it a night.
It was going to be a good Christmas.
At least that’s what Felicity told herself the next morning.She didn’t have a particular reason she thought it would be good.She always believed if you thought positively, even though things might be far from positive, that it would bring about the change you wanted.
She still didn’t understand what was going on with her mother.Why had she packed up an entire house and put it in storage?
The apartment had a new couch, new chairs, and even new dishes.Was her mother trying to erase the past?The thought made Felicity’s heart ache.Why would she do that?She’d always thought her parents had the best marriage.Was it all a lie?
She wanted to ask her mother, but she didn’t want to know the answer.What if everything she’d believed about them was a lie?
She saw her mother each morning before Felicity headed off to Jingle Bell Books.It was awkward.Even more awkward than things had been with Justin, and that was saying something.
On this particular morning, Felicity woke up in a particularly good mood.By the time Justin dropped off Sunny, she’d already checked her messages and email.There was another job application that had been rejected.She refused to let it ruin her day.Still, she couldn’t help but think about the fact that she’d had six rejections and only had four remaining job opportunities.
To keep herself from scrolling through the job listings, looking for another position to apply to, she grabbed Sunny’s yellow squeaky ball.She took a seat on the living room floor.Fetch was one of Sunny’s favorite activities.
Felicity made the ball squeak, garnering the pup’s attention.Once Sunny was standing in front of Felicity, she sent the ball rolling over the vinyl floor toward the dining room table.Sunny took off like a shot.When she tried to stop, her feet slid over the floor.She caught herself and then sank her teeth into the ball.With a swishing tail, she turned and ran back to Felicity.They did this over and over again.
“It looks like someone is getting their morning exercise.”
Felicity turned her head to see her mother emerge from her bedroom in her old pink robe.“Good morning.”
