Let it Snow!

❄Twenty❄

They were lucky to find a table in the restaurant packed with families out for a Saturday night's treat for the kids.

It took Nora a while to persuade Martin that it was her turn to pay, but after he finally gave in, and the three of them carried their dinner to the table, they had a great time, as if this was something they did regularly, and not the first time ever.

Martin and Nora talked across the narrow table packed with plastic trays and cups, leaning closer and closer to catch each other's every single word over the medley of voices filling the place, while Daniel got lost in assembling his Happy Meal toy.

Nora smiled and reached for a clean napkin to wipe a drop of ketchup from the corner of Martin's lips, when he stood up suddenly and waved at someone standing outside, beyond one of the restaurant's large windows. The person was nearly invisible in the darkness, which seemed impenetrable after the bright lights flooding the interior.

"I'll be right back," Martin said, rushing towards the door, then out of sight.

Nora saw him again a couple of moments later as he joined the person-- squinting into the darkness Nora saw an attractive redhead, a woman nearly as tall as Martin in her high heels, perfectly inappropriate for walking in the snow. She pulled Martin into a warm hug, wiping the ketchup off his face with a tissue she produced from her handbag, which was as faux-furry as her knee-length coat. A short girl now appeared from behind the woman, smiling up at Martin, before she looked through the window inside the restaurant and waved shyly at Daniel.

"I think a friend of yours is outside," Nora told the boy who was still immersed in his new toy.

He looked up and waved, then dropped his eyes back down.

"She's not my friend, just a classmate," he muttered on a sigh.

The contrast between Daniel's cold, uninterested treatment of the girl, and Martin's friendly behaviour to whom she believed to be the girl's mother, judging by their identical, reddish-brown, curly long hair, made Nora curious.

"Who are they?" she asked, feeling like it shouldn't concern her. But somehow she couldn't help it, she wanted to know.

"That's Victoria. Daddy works with her sometimes. And Lily," Daniel muttered, frowning, as he finished his drink, very loudly, sipping the last drops through his straw.

"And... you don't like Lily because...?" Nora probed. The little girl looked nice.

"Lily's good, I don't like Victoria. I like you more."

Nora stared at him, surprised into silence by the child's honesty. What did he mean by that? Clelia's words about the whole town hoping that Martin and Victoria would finally get together officially started to seep into the forefront of her mind, but they didn't have time to settle and click with what Daniel had just said, when she looked back to the window finding everyone gone, and Martin plopping back onto his seat.

"It's really cold outside," he said, smiling at them, running his hands up and down his arms to warm up.

His smile faltered as Daniel told him, "You should have worn your coat. Victoria would have waited."

Nora noticed Martin's gaze resting on Daniel, then dropped her eyes a moment before she felt him looking at her. She didn't look up until she heard him talking to his son.

"You knew that I needed to talk to her, right? To ask if we can finally release that fox, it's been with us for too long..."

"I don't want you to release it. Socks is my friend."

Martin sighed. "He is a wild animal, Daniel. He needs to go back home, he might have a family waiting for him somewhere. You have all the dogs, cats, and reindeer. " He took another deep breath, giving up the argument, before he added, "Lily is coming over, for a playdate, tomorrow afternoon."