Love Thaws: Melting

Good Bye

Elsa was still feeling hopeless by the time dinner came around. They were leaving immediately after they finished eating. Elsa was too depressed to enjoy the meal, but she tried to at least appear happy, since she didn't want to spoil anyone else's evening. 

Anna and Kristoff had really outdone themselves. There was fried chicken, watermelon, mashed potatoes, and a mountain of fresh, hot biscuits. Elsa nibbled on the edge of her biscuit. She'd glanced at Jack enough to know that he didn't have much of an appetite either. She forced another bite of chicken down her throat. She saw Anna and Kristoff exchange worried glances and knew she wasn't doing a good job of pretending to be cheerful. Elsa pursed her lips. She didn't want to remember the last time she met Anna like this.

"Maybe we could play a short game afterwards?" Elsa glanced pleadingly at Jack.

His eyes locked with hers for several long moments. With a sinking feeling, Elsa realized he was going to say no. 

He finally sighed. "Just one, short game."

"Or two," Anna piped up.

Jack let out another sigh. "Two. No more."

"No less," Anna said.

Jack nodded his agreement. Elsa ate a bite more, feeling her appetite return. For dessert, they had cherry pie. The filling was tart and hot, and the crust was flaky and sweet, practically melting in her mouth. The cherries were incredibly juicy. The dessert was finished off with a scoop of cold, homemade vanilla ice cream. Elsa savored every last bite of the creamy vanilla. She cleared her plate, the delicious, sweet taste of the pie and ice cream still lingering in her mouth. Anna took out a deck of cards.

"How 'bout Peanut Butter?"

Elsa blinked several times, confused. "Oh, no thank you. I'm not hungry after all that pie."

Anna huffed and rolled her eyes. "Not peanut butter, silly! Peanut Butter!"

Elsa quirked a slender eyebrow.

Kristoff smiled and explained, "It's a card game. Everyone has four cards and there are four cards in the middle. You're partnered with the person across from you. You can't have more or less than four cards, and you swap the cards you have with the ones in the middle, trying to get four of a kind. Once everyone is done swapping, someone asks, 'Is it dead?' and then if it is, meaning we don't trade cards anymore, we put those cards away and take out four new ones for the deck. We continue to swap and trade until we get four of a kind."

"So, that's it? You just try and get four of a kind?" Jack asked, looking slightly intrigued.

"There's a catch," Anna replied.

"This is where your partner comes in," Kristoff continued, "You have to have a secret signal once you have four of a kind. Your partner has to see the signal and say, 'Peanut butter.' But you can't let the other team catch onto the signal. If they think you have four of a kind or notice your signal, they can yell, 'peanut butter' and win that round. The best way to see how it works out is to play the game."

"I'm on Elsa's team!" Anna declared, bouncing towards her sister.

Kristoff nodded towards Jack. "I guess that means we're on the other team."

Jack smiled slightly. "I guess so."

"We're totally gonna beat you guys!" Anna smiled teasingly.