“Maybe. But while I was busy not singing, I scored the hottest invitation in town for us. Peppermint hot chocolate at Mrs. Fern’s house. Rumor has it the kids’ drinks get flavored with candy canes, and the adults’ with peppermint schnapps.”
The rumors were true. By the time we’d had a few cups of Mrs. Fern’s holiday cheer on empty stomachs, we would have been hard pressed to walk a straight line. Because we’d skipped lunch, we went to the early seating of the fundraising dinner at the community center. Somehow, the tickets were only five dollars per person, with the option to donate more. But when I slipped two twenties into the collection box, Mrs. Roca, the sweet lady sitting at the check-in table, scowled at me as if I’d offended her.
“It’s too much!” she whispered loudly to the lady sitting with her.
Cara leaned down and whispered to the offended woman. Mrs. Roca looked at me, smiled, then giggled. When Cara stepped away from her, the woman waved to us.
“Enjoy your dinner!”
I put my arm around Cara’s shoulder as we walked toward our table. “What did you say to make her hate me less?”
Cara grinned. “I told her you need to do a lot of good deeds because you’re trying to get off the naughty list. And that it’s not going well.”
I squeezed her closer. “You’re the reason I’m on the naughty list.”
“I told her that, too.”
After dinner, we headed back across town and climbed up the steepest hill in the area. At the top, there were saucer sleds for rent for singles, and toboggan style sleds for couples. We waited in line for five minutes for our turn while a teenager explained the course and how to navigate it. “It’s a long one. It will take you about two minutes,” he told the crowd.
“That’s the perfect amount of time,” I told Cara.
She glanced up at me. “For what?”
“For singing a couple of verses of a song.” I took a toboggan from another teenager.
“No.”
“We’re going to stand here holding up the line until you agree,” I said.
She huffed, then said, “Fine. What song?”
I positioned the sled and we climbed on to it. “Given your weird eighties’ love, I know you know the words to The Bangles’Eternal Flame.”
We sang at the top of our lungs. Horrible vocal technique, but great fun. “An eternaaaal flaaaame!” we yelled in unison as we reached the end of the course. The couples who had come down parallel paths on either side of us jumped off their sleds and clapped for us, the applause muted by their heavy gloves.
“You’re fun!” one of the women said. “You should come to karaoke with us tonight.”
I handed the sled to yet another teenager, then put up my hands in surrender. “This is where I throw the old man card. I’m beat.”
“Sorry guys.” Cara grinned and winked at me. “I’m with grandpa, so I’m out. But have fun!” She sighed when we were alone and walking home. “I’m glad you said no to karaoke because I can’t do one more group activity tonight.”
“First of all, thanks for making grandpa your fall guy, and second, are we considered a group, because...”
“We’re not a group, so consensual adult activities are not only allowed, they’re encouraged.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” I took her hand and led her off the sidewalk and onto a path into the woods. “I want to show you something.”
“And I look forward to seeing it again, but I’m not sure this is the place for it.”
“Not that. Well, yes that, but...” I led her through a thick ring of trees and then to a small clearing. “I saw this on the snowmobile trail map earlier today. It’s very hidden. Very private.”
“It is. And why are we here?”
I leaned down and kissed her. “Have you ever had sex in the snow?”
The way her eyes widened told me she was interested. “No. Sounds cold, though.”
“We’ll have to keep most of our clothes on and get creative. Are you in?”
