Snow Follies Read Online Free PDF Page A

was starting to take its toll. She was eternally grateful that Eric was here and that he was staying with them until he found a house. She secretly hoped it took a long time.
    The doorbell rang at eight-thirty and the boys ran to the door shouting, “I’ll get it!” They stopped at the door and asked who it was. “Kathy,” came the answer. The boys looked to their mom, she nodded, and they opened the door. Kathy, her husband Jack, and their daughter Isabella came in. They all exchanged hellos and went into the kitchen. The girl who was going to babysit for them lived three houses down, and Jack went to walk her down. While he was gone, Eric’s phone rang. It was Cameron. He had been called into work and would have to meet them downtown.
    “Hannah’s here,” Shannon said as Jack and Hannah came in the door.
    The boys loved Hannah and always looked forward to her coming over. Shannon knew it was because she played games with them, let them stay up late, and eat all the junk food they wanted. She figured it was only occasionally so it was not going to hurt anything. “Hannah! Hannah!” They boys ran to her and threw their arms around her. She hugged them back and said hi to Shannon and Kathy. She went to the baby carrier and picked up Isabella. “Wow, look at her. She is getting so big!” She tickled the baby’s stomach and made a silly face. Both the baby and the boys laughed. The adults chuckled as well.
    “Okay, boys, come give me a kiss.” Sean and Ian ran to their mom and kissed her goodbye. “Now, you boys mind Hannah. You can stay up until midnight, but then I need you to go to bed. Hannah, help yourself to what is in the kitchen. I’m having pizza delivered in about an hour. It’s all paid for. Night, Sean. Night, Ian.”
    “Night, Mommy,” they both said at the same time.
    The adults all got into Eric’s truck and they headed downtown. They were lucky and found a parking space reasonably close to the town square. They had a live band playing, and all the bars were open and serving. They stayed at the square because they figured it would be the easiest place for Cameron to find them. It was around ten o’clock when Eric’s phone finally rang. “Eric?”
    “Yeah. Are you going to be able to make it?”
    “Actually, I’m over at Altitudes. I have a table. Have everyone come over here.”
    “That’s great. It’s so crowded here we can’t sit down. We’ll walk over. We’ll be there in about ten minutes or so.”
    “Okay, see you then.”
    The five of them sat and enjoyed appetizers, champagne, and a good time for the next two hours. Cameron and Kathy only had a sip each of the bubbly as they were driving, but the laughter still flowed. Shannon looked over at Eric and Cameron and noticed that they were holding hands. She smiled.
    Then she asked about the kiss beneath the mistletoe.
    All heads swung in their direction. Cameron laughed and said, “What? It was a little peck. There were innocent eyes watching.”
    “So can we assume it would have been more?”
    “Shannon! Knock it off!” Eric was clearly embarrassed by his sister’s prodding.
    “Maybe tonight at midnight I can make it more than a peck,” Cameron said. He was not at all embarrassed that he wanted to kiss Eric.
    At a quarter to twelve, they walked back to the town square. The Pinecone Drop was at the Hotel Weatherford and was actually the second one of the night. They first dropped a pinecone at ten so that families with small children could go. The one at midnight was the big event, though.
    “10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Happy New Year!” Auld Lang Syne began to play, Cameron had Eric in his arms, and he was kissing the daylights out of him. Jack and Kathy were much more circumspect and kissed and then hugged Shannon. Jack took both the ladies in his arms, and they all began to dance. The crowd was singing. Eric and Cameron were still kissing. Finally, Shannon tapped on their arms and told them to