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Snow day

He loved the snow.

People like loads of things, like sweet tea, dogs, sunny days. But the word 'love' is a very over used term. People often say they love something when they actually mean they like it. But gross exaggeration is very common in today's society. But he really did love the snow, maybe even more then he loved his little lady, who stood next to him in the snowy field overlooking a little pond. It was a popular fishing spot due to it being so far from the noisiness of town, but with the harsh wind and bone-chilling temperature, no one was out today; the only color to compliment the bleak landscape was the dark pines that grew sparsely about, the steely, icy top of the pond, but not the couple's car and clothing. No, he loved the color white, and that was reflected in the white ford parked behind the man and the woman. Even the pair's clothing was white, their shoes were dark and polished however, standing out against all the white.

Taking his wife's delicate, white gloved hand in his own rough, dark mitt, he smiled warmly down at her as he led the way, growing steadily closer to the pond. Turning away from the woman next to him, he spoke finally. "I remember the first time we meet still," He muttered fondly, having not uttered a word the whole way here, even after joyful, lightly curious questions turned into frantic pleas to know where the two of them were headed. "You were out here, fighting with your brother about who was going to check on the ice before the two of ya could skate." He reminisced, earning a terse smile from the shivering woman. He didn't seem aware that she was cold, despite her long, woolen cloak. "It was beautiful back then, like it is now." She replied, looking at the snow ahead of them, not daring to look up, speaking with the sort of stiffness of someone reading a script for the first time. Sparing another warm smile, the man's eyes crinkled as he nodded. "It seems like the best way to spend our anniversary, skating and building snowmen, like when we were younger." He said, coming to a halt on the snowcapped pier, looking out at the pond, his one good eye twinkling. The other, dull blue eye stared out emptily, the filmy cover making the woman shiver, it brought the thought of cobwebs clinging on desperately for dear life with it, wherever it went.

Brushing her loose, blonde curls away from her face, the woman inhaled deeply as two of her fingers brushed a dark patch near her ear. But he took no head as he kicked away the snow under him, sitting with a little groan, sore from work and completely oblivious to his wife's pain. "I've got the whole day planned," He added, nodding to himself as he spoke, loving the sound of his voice almost as much as the snow that surrounds. "You and I are going to have a wonderful little snow day, just relax and exercise a little, before getting a quick, warm dinner at your favorite place, ok?" He said, taking a glance up at his beautiful woman, who could only nod her approval. "Glad we could come to an agreement." He chuckled out wheezingly, turning back to his steely pond, kicking his feet against the surface with little scuffing noises as he hummed an old classical under his breath. She knew what came next: A long, freezing trek back to the truck, where she would then be expected to lug all the skates and other wintery themed sporting goods right back to the dock. This time, as she turned without a word, a grim smile grew in the place of her stiff, sour expression.

The whole way back, she walked in the man's footsteps, a wicked smile planted firmly in place at such sweet, sweet irony. Opening truck door at the passenger side, she leaned in, snagging the car keys from her husband's seat, closing her door softly, her breath quickening at the little thump of the car door closing, and the faint jangle of the keys. She made her way around to the truck bed, snow crunching under each of her strides, ever so loud in the lonely stillness. Head held up high as she opened the tailgate, a rusty squeak filling the chilly air as she pushed aside several heavy duffle bags, reaching blindly as her heart quickened, dark eyes trained on the dock, where the off-white silhouette of her lover remained still, set blandly against the gray pond top. She knew he expected the tell-tale sound of the tailgate opening...but the actual sound was like getting an electric shock, everything was so loud, and it was no doubt revealing her wicked plan to him, telling him every little detail.

Pushing off the dock with a hearty sigh, the man felt the heavy weight of disappointment settle on his bones. He thought she could be trusted to complete tasks in a timely fashion, even in the snow. Rubbing his coarse stubble with a twisted expression, he opened his mouth, about to call a warning out to the woman, seconds before an echoing boom filled the still air, and a dark hole appearing just above the man's eye, splitting both eyebrow and skull upon impact. He hit the ground with a thump, blood pooling around him, staining any snow it didn't melt.

Thrown onto her backside by the sheer recoil of the gun, the woman squeezed her eyes closed, gasping at the ringing in her ears as she curled up into a little ball, her sharp, distorted gasps falling to deaf ears as she rocked herself, the dropped gun digging into her knees. With a clear mind, her thoughts were focused on one thing, and one thing only, a single phrase:

He loved the snow.