My Brother's Best Friend

Memory Fourteen

        I've lived in California my entire life and even though Joseph and I had traveled to other places with our parents, we'd never experienced snow. I'd seen TV shows and movies that showed snow and I always yearned to feel it. So when Drew's parents asked Joseph and I if we wanted to come on vacation with them after Christmas, I was the first to say yes. When we got to New York, the cold hit me immediately. The sky was gray and it was gloomy as we rode through New York City headed out to the cottage which was located outside of NYC. I looked out my window and frowned with disappointment. The snow looked nothing like it did on TV. This snow was blackened and grayish with dirt and mixed with the pollution and oil that came from cars. Drew who was sitting next to me patted me on the shoulder. "Don't worry Sky, where we're going, is where the good snow is." he assured me.         I didn't believe him but I fell asleep wondering if he was telling the truth or not.
Hours later Joseph tickled me awake. "We're here loser!" he said. I rubbed my eyes, still sleepy. I got out the car and looked around me. Drew had been right. The snow WAS beautiful there. It looked like clouds and it was all pure, white, clean never-stepped in snow! I put my gloves on and rushed to the big open snow covered land.
        "Sky, aren't you going to come in and warm up and eat first?" Mr. Mitchell had asked me. I shook my head. Although I was hungry, I was way too excited about the snow to even worry about eating. Everyone went inside and I jumped happily into the snow, rolling around in it. The coldness shocked me for a moment but I got used to quickly. I did just about everything I'd seen people do on TV in the snow except make a snowman because I didn't know how. I was rolling down this big hill getting rolled in snow like a burrito when Drew came out. He was laughing. "Having fun?" he asked me. I stood up and shook the snow off of me and smiled. "Why didn't you tell me it was this great Drew?" I asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Why didn't you tell me the snow was this amazing?"
"The snow... It's not really something you can explain Sky..." I stared at him for a moment.
"Where's Joseph?"
"He's still inside talking to his girlfriend..." Drew said rolling his eyes.
"Jealous?" i asked.
I picked up a snowball and threw it at him. "Ha!" I laughed. He picked some up and threw it back at me. Our snowball fight went on from there. It was fun just playing with him. Best of all there was no Joseph around to make fun of me or embarrass me in front of him.
I finally got tired of playing and laid on my back in the snow. "I don't think I want to go back to California..." I say to no one in particular. Drew sits down next to me. "Trust me, you'd miss the sun if you stayed here..." I smiled and looked up at him. He'd been looking at me weird since he'd came out in a smiley sort of dazed way but I decided not to think much of it and just enjoy it while it lasted. "I'm getting kind of cold now and I can't feel my fingers. I'm going in." I finally say. And when I went in, I never went back out because I ended up catching a cold and had to stay in watching Tom and Jerry and sipping cocoa. Drew and Joseph got to play the entire weekend but it was ok with me because I got to experience the snow with Drew...