Billy pulled her back down into her arms. "There won't be. They'll be fine."
"You can't know that," Rosa continued. "I need to… We should be with her. What if we're still stuck here tomorrow and we miss her birthday?"
Billy shrugged. "Then I guess she'll be having another celebration when we can be there."
"Oh, I hate this!" Rosa exclaimed.
Letting her sit up, Billy twisted so they were facing one another. She reached for Rosa's hand and held it. "What do you hate? Missing out, or not being in control?"
Rosa stared at her.
"Because either way, you can't change anything right now. It's nobody's fault, it just is what it is, and you can be frustrated about it, but you have to accept it."
Rosa smiled. "I don't remember you being this…sensible."
Billy leant closer, lips grazing Rosa's. "I don't remember you being so—"
Rosa pressed forward, cutting her off with a kiss. When she pulled back, she said, "You need to brush your teeth."
Chapter twenty-five
Imogen slouched on the sofa and let her left arm drape down to touch the soft carpet, her fingers moving back and forth across the pile. "When's it going to stop?" she asked, staring at the ceiling.
"The snow?" Meredith answered first. "Who knows?"
"At least while it's snowing, your mums are stuck together." Janka grinned, despite the storm taking away a day of skiing.
"Let's hope they're getting it on." Robbie laughed, then scrunched up her nose. "On second thought, I don't want to think about that."
Imogen sat up, swung her legs off the couch, and stood in one smooth motion. "Do you think they worked out that there's a generator yet?"
"I hope so," Meredith said. "Maybe try calling them again."
Reaching into her pocket, Imogen pulled her phone free and looked at the screen. One tiny bar lit up. "There's signal, but it's weak." She grimaced. "I'll go up to my room and see if being higher makes a difference."
"I'll come with you," Janka said, standing to follow.
"Well, I'm not being left out." Robbie grinned and tagged behind. The three of them ran, giggling all the way up the stairs.
Schultz came into the room, having passed them all in the doorway. "Where are they off to all excited? Did Carl call?"
"No." Meredith smiled and gently patted his arm. "They're going to see if they can get a call through to Billy and Rosa and let them know about the generator."
"Ah, the generator…" He nodded, smiling about ‘forgetting’ to mention it when they’d arrived. "But if there is no heating, surely they will need to cuddle." He grabbed Meredith and pulled her into a hug. "Hm, get all that warm body heat."
Meredith laughed. "Schultz, you're a terror."
"But am I wrong?" he said, smiling.
"You're not wrong, my darling."
Standing by the window, Imogen hit the call button and put the phone to her ear. "It's ringing," she said, turning to the other girls. "Hello…Billy?"
Janka and Robbie stood side by side, hands clasped together in prayer as they bounced on their toes.
"Billy? Can you hear me?" Imogen moved slightly.
"Hi, Immy…yes, I can…you?"
