Chapter 427

Olivia

“Oh my god. It’s… It’s snowing!”

Nathan’s gaze followed mine, and a soft gasp escaped his lips. “Come with me,” he suddenly said, grabbing my hand and pulling me along after him. I had to pick up the hem of my dress to keep myself from tripping, and I laughed as I followed.

“Where are we going?” I asked, out of breath.

“Outside, of course,” Nathan said as we bolted down the stairs and back toward the banquet hall, where our friends were still waiting for us at the table.

“That was quick,” Angela said, looking up as we approached. The twins were knocked out cold in their stroller, and she was gently pushing it back and forth to keep them comfortable.

Nathan and I, out of breath from our mad dash, quickly blurted out almost in unison, “It’s snowing!”

Our friends’ eyes widened. Together, we made our way to the large door that led to the backyard of the Council building, and stepped out into the snow. Already, a fresh blanket had covered the green grass. The world felt more still and quiet, as if the snow had dampened everything.

“It’s perfect,” I said, stepping into the snow and looking up at the sky. “I can’t believe it.”

For as long as I could remember, I had always wanted a snow wedding. And although tonight had been utterly magical, it had been missing that one integral part. But now, it was as if the heavens had answered.

With a grin, Levi then stooped down and scooped up a handful of snow, packing it into a ball as he stood. He slowly turned to Angela, a mischievous look in his eyes.

“Levi,” she warned, holding her hand out and taking a step back, “you had better not—”

But it was too late. The snowball had already left Levi’s hand and hit Angela square in the stomach, leaving a wet spot in its wake.

“You jerk!” Angela screeched.

The air immediately erupted into laughter and screams as Angela bolted after Levi, stopping only momentarily to make her own snowball, which she launched at Levi’s head—and missed, which only led to more laughter.

It was mere moments before the rest of us followed suit and began to play like little kids. The cold air nipped at my cheeks, and I couldn’t help but grin as I scooped up a handful of snow and formed it into a compact ball.

…

Nathan, Alvin, and I were just nine years old, and it was the first snow day of the year.

We had learned there was no school, so we hurriedly put on our mismatched snowsuits, which were several sizes too big, and made our way to the park. We chattered excitedly on the way, coming up with rules for our impending snowball fight.

“No faces,” I had said sternly. “And no ice!”

“Fair enough,” Nathan said as he wiped some snot, which had formed from the cold, off of the tip of his nose. “I hate getting snow in the face.”

When we arrived at the park, the ground was untouched as if it was just waiting for us to start our battle. We got to work building our forts, our one line of defense against the onslaught of packed snow.

I must have spent hours painstakingly building my wall, but I still had all the energy and vigor that a nine-year-old could possibly have on a snow day by the time it was done.

Then, with our fortresses built, it was finally time for the battle we had all been waiting for.

Nathan grinned mischievously, his cheeks rosy from the cold as he packed a snowball in his hands. “You’re going down, Olivia!”

Alvin, always the competitive one, chimed in, “Prepare to be defeated!”

The fight was intense, with snowballs flying in all directions, punctuated by screams of delight and maybe a little terror, too. We ran and dodged, trying to outmaneuver each other. I felt a rush of adrenaline as I launched a snowball at Nathan, only to have him dodge it expertly.

But then, in the midst of the chaos, I turned around at the wrong moment. The world seemed to slow down as a snowball hit me square in the face with a force I hadn’t expected. I fell backward into the snow, dazed and wet, my face freezing cold.

“Oww!” I cried out, blinking away the snow that was blurring my vision. I heard a commotion just out of view, but all I could make out was the sky slowly coming back into focus as I came back to my senses.

Lying there, I blinked up at the overcast sky, my breath forming little puffs of mist. And then I saw them, Nathan and Alvin, their worried faces hovering above me.

“Olivia! Are you okay?” Nathan asked, his voice filled with concern.

“I’m so sorry, Liv,” Alvin said hurriedly. “I-I didn’t mean to hit you in the face so hard! You just turned around at the wrong time.”

I groaned and extended my mittened hands, signaling for their help. Nathan and Alvin rushed to assist me, and with their combined effort, I was soon back on my feet, although I was still shivering and a bit dazed from the impact.

Alvin, guilt etched across his face, couldn’t stop apologizing.

“I know we said no faces,” he said as he tried to wipe the snow from my face with his sleeve, “but I really didn’t mean to…”

He kept wiping my face, but his sleeve was damp and cold and only made me colder and wetter. I let out another groan, but this time, it was followed by a giggle as an idea came into my mind.

Nathan and Alvin exchanged puzzled glances before I stooped down, scooped up a handful of snow, and playfully shoved it in Alvin’s face without a word. His initial shock gave way to laughter, and he retaliated by grabbing a handful of snow and smearing it all over my hair.

Soon, we were all laughing uncontrollably, rolling in the snow, and getting wetter and colder with every passing second.

Finally, once we were totally soaked and out of breath, we fell onto our backs in the snow, panting and grinning from ear to ear.

…

The sound of my friends’ laughter pulled me back to the present. A snowball whizzed past my ear, narrowly missing me by an inch or two.

Laughing, I stooped down and scooped up another handful of snow with my cold fingers, forming it into a tight ball before launching it at Nathan, who was unlucky enough to run right into my line of fire at the right moment. The snowball exploded on his suit jacket, and he whirled to face me.

It was then that I realized that he had not one, but two snowballs of his own, one in each hand, and an evil grin on his face.

Laughing and shrieking with mock fear, I held out my hands and backed away, but Nathan kept advancing on me with that evil smirk. “You’re gonna get it,” he said as he approached.

He stopped a few inches in front of me, the two snowballs poised to smash into my face. I giggled uncontrollably, pleading with him not to do it. And just as it seemed as though I was about to feel the frigid pain of snow in the face, he dropped them and instead resorted to cupping my cheeks in his cold hands.

“You win this time, Mrs. Ford,” he purred, pulling me close.

Without another word, Nathan and I pressed our cold lips to one another. The sound of our friends’ laughter echoed in the quiet snow, and in that moment, I knew that there was one more. Someone who we couldn’t see, but who was watching, laughing, with a snowball in his own hand.

It was Alvin, and I was sure that he had sent the snow tonight as a gift from beyond.