The Winter People Read Online Free PDF

picked up the Dean R. Koontz book
she'd been reading and opened it.  In the background were the distinct sound of
electronic gunfire and the death snarls of evil creatures.  From further back
in the house she could hear bass and drums but didn’t really recognize the
song.  That was another thing she found interesting about Nick, when he was
with the guys he listened to the flavor of the day.   But when it was just him
and her, he preferred older pop and soft rock tunes.  She smiled inwardly and
began reading as they waited for Mike.
    They were busy fighting
the anticipation, trying to make the time pass as quickly and wordlessly as they
could.  Debbie had been around them long enough to recognize the fight.  She'd
seen it a hundred times before.  It was part of Nick's charm she supposed and
she smiled inwardly again.
    A half an hour
later there was a knock at the door and an instance of tenseness rifled
throughout the house.  The waiting was over.  Nick, awaiting his turn at level
eight, moved to the front door and peered out the peephole.  A bespectacled eye
peered back, distorted by the convex of the glass.  Nick had to laugh.  He
yanked the door open.  "Mister Google!" he exclaimed with genuine
affection.  He took Mike's hand and pulled him in and hugged him.
    "Hey
Nick," Mike replied, his smile broad and toothy.  His black hair hung down
across his brow and round glasses sat askew on his long face.  "Dude, the
old hitch-a-rama, huh?!"  The words were coated with disbelief and Mike
looked at him hard trying to decide if it was for real.  "Nick, Nick,
Nick, Nick, Nick," he shook his head.  They smiled at each other for an
awkward moment then moved into the living room as Taylor came up the hall.
    "So, how'd it
happen?  Did you like, get down on one knee or something?" Mike asked.
    "I'm not quite
sure man,” Nick replied,  “Here she was, slapping me for no good reason, and the
next thing I know, I'm proposing," he regarded Debbie.  "I think I
was drugged."
    Debbie elbowed him
in the ribs in response.  As Nick and Mike and the others talked, she suddenly
felt like a fifth wheel.  Nick did his best to include her in the little
reunion, but it wasn't her party.  They weren't her friends, or their friends,
they were his friends.  But, that was okay.  She knew he would have his
friends, as she fully expected to have hers.  She was content to sit off in the
corner and listen, and smile at them.  A very short time later, they left for
the Cooperage.
    They celebrated
like they did in years past.  It was male bonding and dripping with
testosterone, but more than that Debbie decided.  They were best friends, the
four Musketeers.  And Debbie didn't realize it until she'd seen them all
together and listened to them talking.  There was something between them that
she could never have with Nick and it made her a little jealous.  She realized
then why Nick needed to be alone with them for this trip too.  In a few months
his life was going to change drastically.  And boyhood friendships, friendships
deeper and longer than she had even known Nick, were going to end.
    Not end entirely. 
Just change so much that the original bond would be lost.  She saw that Nick
saw his tried and true way of living coming to an end, and this was his last
goodbye.  It made her a little sad too.  She had told him time and again that
things wouldn't change, but somewhere deep down she knew that they would.  They
had to.  She had seen it with other couples and knew that it would be the same
with them.  So, she would let him have his farewell.
    The group arrived
back home around one a.m., happy, very drunk, and exhausted.  Mike crashed out
on the couch while the others made it to their bedrooms.  Debbie helped Nick to
bed and curled up beside him, his warmth penetrating her, encompassing her. 
They made love and fell asleep holding each other.  Nick's long arms wrapped
around her solidly and pulled her