“Merry Christmas to you, too.” He covered his yawn with a hand. “It’s early.”
“I know, but I woke up an hour ago, and I’m too excited to go back to sleep.”
Still working on coming fully awake, he smiled sluggishly. “Excitement’s good. Maybe not so much at five thirty in the morning, but good.”
“Trust me, you’ll feel differently in a minute.” She yanked his arm, pulling him out of the room. “Come see.”
“Where are we going?”
She didn’t answer.
Another yawn came as he followed her down the hallway. He stretched his arms over his head, attempting to get his blood flowing and bring life to his body. His leg ached, as it normally did first thing in the morning, but there was nothing he could do about it at the moment.
Her speed increased after they hit the bottom of the stairs. She practically skipped to the front door, giddy as a child, and reached it several seconds before he did.
“Are you ready?” She stood with a hand on the doorknob, a goofy grin on her face, and wearing red reindeer pajamas his mom had given her as a gift last night.
He had on a pair of flannel bottoms of the same print, also a present from his mom. Some traditions one never outgrew. “I’m ready.”
She swung the door open to a blast of cold air. “Look.”
Rubbing his arms to keep warm, he peeked outside. His eyes spread, taking in the landscape. He must still be asleep and dreaming. Louisiana didn’t typically have snow, and never any accumulation to speak of. Especially not on Christmas. But after blinking several times, he admitted his eyes didn’t deceive him.
A solid blanket of crystallized, unblemished, white snow covered the yard, vehicles, and decorations. The porch and street lights cast the perfect amount of light to create the illusion of a modern-day Norman Rockwell painting.
“Isn’t it beautiful? It’s at least three inches.” Janie stared at the scene. Joy and reverence radiated from her.
“Amazing.” Fully awake now from the wonder of a white Christmas, he couldn’t tear his eyes from the beauty. “I’m torn between wanting to be a child and do all the things I never got to, like traipsing around in it, making snowballs, and scooping it up to eat—or preserving the untouched view as long as possible.”
“Can we admire it a little longer before marring it?”
Her contented sigh rendered him powerless to do anything but grant her wish. He slid an arm around her waist, wanting nothing more than to share this ethereal moment in time with his best friend. “The sun will rise soon enough.”
They stood at the door until the first hint of the sun appeared. Even when his leg began to throb from standing too long in one position, he couldn’t bring himself to move. He couldn’t help believing that God had given them the snowfall as a gift to remind them He was in control and that nothing was impossible with Him.
A renewed hope to end the year and begin the next.
The silence came to an end when he heard his mother coming down the steps. He jerked his arm from Janie and put space between them. His mom wasn’t so different from Janie’s. They both read into any action, word, or touch to believe more than friendship existed between them.
“Come see, Mom.” He motioned her to the door. “A Christmas miracle.”
His mom clapped her hands and kept them pressed together when she saw the snow. “Wow. The only other time I ever remember a white Christmas was in eighty-nine, and that was only a dusting.”
“I’m grabbing my phone to take a picture.” Janie ran up the steps.
“Merry Christmas.” Mom kissed his cheek. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”
“All the time, but it’s never too often.”
“When I think back to this time last year.” She choked on her words and paused. “I’m so thankful you’re here to celebrate with us this year.”
“Me, too.” His own words were hard to form, and he hugged her to express the rest of his sentiments.
“Your dad will be down soon. I’ll get the coffee going.”
After she had left the room, Evan went to the living room and lowered himself to the sofa. The pain today bore down on him, but he wouldn’t let it change his mood.
Janie popped her head around the wall and showed him a picture on her phone. “I sent my mom a picture, and a few seconds later, she sent back one of their eight inches of snow.”
