Legacy of the Dreams

Chapter 5 - Blessings on Christmas Day

Melody cruised around the sofa between her mother and grandmother while Susan and Mrs. Abernathy put things away, trying to put the space around the Christmas tree in order again on Christmas Day.

"Snow, Mama?" Melody said, stretching her hand out in the direction of the glass door.

"I think it might be too cold for you out there today," Susan told her.

"It might not be, if you bundled her up the way you did yesterday," Mrs. Abernathy told her.

"You think so?" Susan asked.

"It's fun to be outside when it's snowing," Mrs. Abernathy reminded her.

"I suppose it is," Susan said.

"Mama, can I go out too?" Jessie asked.

"Yes. Put your snow clothes on first," Susan said.

"Yeah!" Jessie said. "Amber, ask your mom if you can go."

"You can," Jenny told her daughter. "I might even go out with you, what do you say?"

"Okay Mom!" Amber said enthusiastically.

"In that case, I'm coming too," Stephen told them. "Lisa, do you want to come with us?"

Lisa grinned, and all three girls went to get their snow clothes on. By the time they returned, Susan had Melody dressed in her snowsuit and was putting her own jacket on.

"Do you want to come with us?" Susan asked her husband.

"Come Papa," Melody told him.

Greg arched his brow. "For a little while, until one of us gets cold."

Susan's smile broadened into a grin. She waited for Greg before going out the door.

Outside on the covered patio, snow was covering the cement in drifts where it had been totally clear the day before. With the girls walking ahead of them, they quickly discovered the path they'd packed down the day before beneath the light, fresh snow that fell during the night and was still coming down. Jenny and Stephen went with them, so by the time Greg and Susan decided to follow, the path was defined well enough and the surface smooth enough, that it was relatively easy to walk on. Susan set Melody on her feet along the path the way they had the day before to watch what she would do.

"What do you think?" Susan asked her daughter as she looked at the snow towering around her on both sides and still coming down from the sky.

Melody grinned, reaching her hand out to the wall of snow the way she did the day before. However instead of being days-old, hard and crusty the way it was before the storm, the snow beside them was fresh. Two feet of light fluffy powder covered the foot and a half of older snow beneath it next to the path. Although it looked just as solid as the older snow was, it was not. When Melody leaned against it to maintain her balance, the snow gave way beneath her hand, causing her to fall into the snowbank.

"Momma!" she cried as she struggled to get up.

Susan rescued her, helping her back to her feet, but the little girl had snow stuck to her front and back.

"There you go," Susan told her as she brushed her off. "Snow is soft. It won't hurt you."

"Hurt you," Melody said.

"It's okay," Susan assured her.

Melody furrowed her brow, then tried again, more tentatively this time on the other side of the walkway. It too gave way under her weight. But instead of falling completely, Melody was prepared. She put her hands out in front of her to catch herself, bending at the waist, effectively plunging her mittens into the snowbank, while staying on her feet.