Familiar Sight

One more tab popped ope, an quickly a search for more words came flooding in. My mind only created the same sentences over and over. Try as I might, nothing came to me. On a brighter note, I wasn't writing a new chapter, or emailing someone. No, this was actually worse. A text to Honey.

Over the last few days we had talked much more than we had been. Learning more and more about each other, and in my case, more about myself. It was hard to deny that my crush was growing. Every small detail made me fall more and more.

Sou was named after her grandmother. Apples and pears were the best fruits in her mind. Unlike what I thought before, she was gender-fluid, and openly identified as queer. Her favorite food was sushi, and she loved the color orange. All of these seem trivial to anyone else, but for me, they were just a glimpse into her mind. I wondered f hers was as crazy as mine.

While no new words were typed out, my mind had changed paths. Nearly everything passed through my mind, too quickly for me to gather and tell her. The reposition of nearly saying something, and then deleting it, was growing tired. So, I threw my phone down on the bed, and went outside for fresh air.

Foxer came along with me, his paws tip tapping on the cold concrete. As I breathed out a small cloud appeared. The days of warmth and near overheating had left, and soon a layer of snow would be covering the world around me.

I wondered if Foxer had ever seen snow, or had even played in it. As a child, my family would always let us build snowmen and small caves when the weather got harsh. Living on a different coast may change this, and I had little idea of what to expect during the winter months.

Then an idea hit me. Nearly leaving Foxer out in the cold, I rushed back inside. My phone was right where I had left it, my messages with Honey still open.

"When it snows next, wanna take the dogs to the park for some fun?" I read aloud as I typed, "or just be stupid kids and play around, nearly getting frost bite."

My hands shook as I hit the send button. Setting my phone back down, I have some love to Foxer, trying to calm my nerves.

It seemed like only seconds later I heard the response ding.

"That would be lovely! I think it should snow on Wednesday."

---

"Awww, look at the little old lady!" I bent down to pet Sou, my knees quickly becoming wet against the ground. Standing back up, I brushed the slightly dirty snow off my jeans, trying to minimalism the damage.

"The little old lady, and the big young man!" Honey had her classic smile plastered on her face. Unlike me, she had no need to bend down to pet Foxer, as he sat at hip level.

After some more talking, we got to traveling to the park. Piles of snow laid on the sidewalk, so cars could pass easily on the road. It took a long longer than normal to walk, since both dogs wanted to jump in the snowdrifts. I couldn't wait to see them go wild when they had fresh snow to run around in.

Unsurprisingly, Hollister Park was nearly empty, allowing us to set Foxer and Sou free to wonder around. Honey and I say on a clean bench, under a pergola. It was near enough to the field to watch them, but still out of the cold snow. Since both of them were trained enough, we allowed them to go unleashed, and just have fun. Keeping watch of the few other people was easy, so we had no fears.

Like I had thought, Foxer ran all around, leaving small paths for Sou to trot along in. Pointing this out to Honey made her laugh.

"Seems like they get along well," she mentioned.

It was my turn to laugh a bit, "I think Foxer would get along with anyone."

Honey nodded, mumbling, "you have a point there."

We went quiet, just letting the bird song and other nature sounds overcome us. Peace come over me, and for just a few moments, I turned away from everything, and looked at the sky. Pastel blue skies, dotted with fluffy clouds. Today just seemed perfect.

Until Foxer went missing. The few seconds I looked away was enough for him to spot a squirrel, and book it to the other side of the large field.

Honey and I took off running after him, barely able to see his dark coast against the treeline. But, we got lucky, the rodent had gotten away, leaving Foxer bored once more. Seeing him walk back over made me stop, and Honey crashed into me.

We both fell flat against the snow. White powder when everywhere, covering us both. Laughter once more filled the park, and in a moment of closeness, and pulled her closer to me, joking about keeping warm.

---

'I feel like adults should get snow days. It seems like the fair thing to enforce. When there is snow up to my knees, I should have no reason to leave the house. Sure, one could argue that I don't leave the house in the first place, which would be true. I would like to think my point still stands, though.

I have not been taking snow days, sad as that makes me. Fallen and Angels have been going on strong, and multiple shorts have been published. If you have not yet seen them, I would highly recommend it! Got a few winter themed ones in there.

Foxer update time, a fun one this time! Sou and Foxer got to have a play date at the park, with lots of snow joining in. I swear, he was soaking wet by the time I got home. Good for me though, he went straight to bed after his nap, and since he must have lost so much energy, I got to give him lots of treats. Just don't tell the vet...

Your favorite author who is freezing cold, Eden Blair Thomas.'

I spent much longer than I thought at my desk. Messaging people back, responding to questions, and getting a bit of inspiration out. By the time I got into bed, the sun had gone down, and a light sprinkle of snow had began falling. While looking out the window, I felt like a little kid again, putting a spoon under by bed and wearing my pj's inside out. Looking back on it, we did stupid things just to get out of school, just for the hope of a snow day.

I was glad those years were behind me, and I could do as I wished in the morning. No need to get up before the sun had risen, and not having to drown myself in coffee to feel awake.

The familiar thoughts of Some Point came back. This time, dread, that I would get stuck in a 9-5, sitting in a cubical all day. The present day me would hate that, and I could never see myself actually wanting to leave my current style of life behind. But, if I had learned anything over the last few months, anything could change in the blink of an eye.