Baby, It’s Cold Outside

“Whose bright idea was it to go skiing on our honeymoon anyway?” Emma grumbled as she looked out the window at snow. “I don’t even ski!”

“Not yet,” Josh said optimistically from over her shoulder. “I have great plans for you.”

“Only if it involves either a bed or a hot tub,” she said with a smile, turning to wrap her arms around his waist.

“Well, I have plans for those, too. But I was thinking specifically of giving you your first skiing lessons tomorrow. It gets dark early, so it will have to wait until then.”

“Oh, darn. I wanted to go out now.”

“It’s snowing,” he noted.

Emma squealed with delight, unwrapped herself from her husband and ran for the quilted jacket that her father had given her. Yes, he had fussed about them heading north this time of year, and made a big deal about flying and driving in this weather, but he hadn’t wanted her to catch cold, hence the choice of his present.

“Come on, Josh! I’ve never seen snow fall before!” She ran outside their little cabin, a part of a large Vermont resort they were staying at, and he chuckled indulgently. They had already stopped at a park between the airport and the inn so she could play in the stuff, but it had not been falling then. He put on his own coat and followed her outside.

“Will this affect our lesson tomorrow?” she wondered as he stood on the porch dodging her snowballs.

“Not unless this light fall turns into a full-blown storm.”

“Then you had better go easy on that fruit basket and save the champagne,” she teased. Both had been waiting for them when they arrived at the cabin, and Josh had immediately eaten a pear. He had wanted to open the bottle, too, but she thought they should save it for later and their private hot tub. But if it was going to continue to snow…

“I’ll have the kitchen fix us up a tray of snacks after dinner,” he said. “Just in case.”

“And hot chocolate mix!” Emma insisted. “We have a few pots and a fireplace, at least.”

“Most likely for such an event as a snowstorm. Are you ready to eat?”

“I’m starved. Who knew getting married could work up such an appetite?”

“We got married two days ago,” he reminded her. They had spent their first night at the Ritz-Carlton, a concession to Emma’s wishes that they not go north directly after the reception.

“And I have developed several appetites since then,” she said with a wicked wink.

He laughed and they walked up to the main lodge, had dinner and came back to the cabin with a few supplies. The snow was blowing harder and it took them awhile to thaw out from their cold trek. The fire had to be built up, extra blankets found and wet clothes removed.

Once in dry things, Emma made cocoa from water heated in their little coffeemaker, while Josh tended to the fire. They curled up in front of it with their hot drinks and decided both the champagne and hot tub could wait.

“We’d probably freeze out there!” she exclaimed.

“The water would be too warm for that, but the wind would make us uncomfortable. We’re better off in here.” He snuggled in closer and sipped his cocoa.

“Let’s sleep out here tonight, where it’s warmest,” Emma suggested as the storm howled, and Josh agreed.

Good thing they did, they saw the next morning. The storm had blown itself out overnight, but the bright glitter on the windows was not the sun bouncing off snow, but snow itself, the drifts so high, they could not get out their front door. The electricity had gone out.  

“It might return soon,” Josh said, wearing a sad expression.

“It’s OK,” Emma assured him, not at all unhappy with an excuse not to have a skiing lesson. She was sure if God meant people to slide down slopes, he would have given them flatter, longer feet. “We’re here for a whole week, after all.”

“This is true!” He brightened at the thought. “Plenty of time to hit the slopes.”

“Plenty of time to hit the hot tub, too!”

“If the cold didn’t freeze or burst the pipes.”

“Killjoy,” Emma said good-naturedly. After all, they were newlyweds with not much to do but stay by the fire. What could be more perfect than being snowed in?

By four o’clock, Emma was singing a different tune. She was going stir crazy with nothing to do but eat, sleep and spend quality time on the hearth rug with Josh. Amazing how even that became boring when it was all there was to do. Oh, and there was a deck of cards she found in her travel bag. They had played gin, rummy, blackjack and war, and once, when Josh was taking a nap, Emma found herself stretched out on her stomach playing solitaire.

It hadn’t taken them long to go through the fruit, snacks and cocoa, either, when all one had to do was eat, sleep, make love and play cards.

“Do you think we will be able to get out tomorrow?” she wondered as it began to grow dark and the power had yet to return. “I don’t want to be late for my first skiing lesson.”

Josh laughed and pulled her into his arms. “I am fairly certain you don’t care about skiing, but I’m glad you agreed to come up here for our honeymoon.”

“I know you love to ski, I’m partially willing to learn the skill, and I just wanted us to be together. It doesn’t matter where we are for that!”

Josh held her tighter. “No, it doesn’t matter where we are for that.”