This story is dedicated to a couple of good friends of mine. They know who they are. Any and all feedback is appreciated, good or bad. Please vote as voting is one of the ways us writers know if our stories are any good or not. Thank You, Carrie
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It is the day before Christmas Eve and I am looking forward to our holiday visit with Taylor and Sonny. We met them about a year ago and we have become close friends. The four of us are spending the Christmas holiday together at a Bed and Breakfast in the North Country, where there is lots of snow and Christmas will really seem like Christmas. We brought our snowmobiles so we should have lots to do to keep us occupied.
Jim and I arrive before our friends and we have plenty of time to put our things away and check out the B&B and its grounds. It is a beautiful big house overlooking a lake and the evergreens look as if someone dumped icing all over the branches and let it drip down. It was beautiful!!
Lu is the elderly owner and I have known her for several years because she is a friend of my Mother's. The house is decorated for Christmas, trees in every room and boughs of green wrapped around the bannister leading to the upstairs. Red bows placed every so often along the way make it look very festive. It smells like Christmas in here. Between the evergreens and the cookies that Lu has been baking, it smelled wonderful. When we came into the kitchen, Lu told us that there was a big snowstorm due in that night and that she would be leaving this afternoon, instead of in the morning, for her visit to her daughter's house for the holidays. She would not be back until late in the evening on the day after Christmas. Jim and I looked at each other and smiled.
"Oh Lu, I think we will be okay, don't worry about us. " Jim told her. "We have been here lots of times and we know where everything is, so go get your things together and I will help you carry everything to the car when you are ready. " She smiled at him and said that she would do just that and then left the room. We had planned on going to the store to get the mixings for some daiquiris and also some crackers, cheese and fresh fruit and thought this would be a good time to do so. While Jim was unhooking the trailer from the truck, I went upstairs to tell Lu where we were going and ask if she needed anything. She said she had everything under control and that she would finish her wrapping while waiting for us to get back from town.
We were gone about an hour and when we returned, I was excited to see that Taylor and Sonny had arrived. It had been a couple of months since we had seen each other, though we talked daily, either by phone or on the computer. When we walked in, Sonny was helping Lu carry down a couple of bags of Christmas presents and Taylor was carrying a large suitcase. She put it down as she reached the bottom of the stairs and I hugged her. "How was your trip? You had a longer drive than we did and besides, we knew where we were going and you didn't. " She laughed and said "We had a beautiful drive, it was sunny and the roads were in good shape. Lu told us that there is a big snowstorm coming in and that she is leaving tonight to visit her kids. I'm sorry that we won't have a chance to get to know her better. " The twinkle in her eyes told me that she was thinking something else.
Our husbands took over from there and carried Lu's things out to her car, and started it for her so that it had time to warm up. She fussed over Taylor and I, telling us that there was a big pot of Chili on the stove and cornbread in the oven so supper tonight was taken care of and we shouldn't have to go anywhere. "Oh yes, there will be no other guests here this weekend, the other couple that was going to be here tonight cancelled out because they heard the weather report on the TV", Lu told us, as we walked her to the door. She was putting her gloves on as she reached for the doorknob when she stopped and turned to us. "You two are very beautiful women and those men of yours will be very glad they were snowed in with you. " She smiled and waved as she went out the door. Little did she know that I was thinking the same thing.
"Be careful, Lu!Merry Christmas to you and your family" I said as she went down the steps. She got into her car and drove off, tapping the horn goodbye.