First Frost

by Liz Delesus

  Bianca made a little running man with her index and middle fingers and shooed him away. It took some coaxing, but he eventually followed Rose and David.

  She sighed and took Terrance’s hand in hers. She turned it over and traced the lines on the palm of his hand. They were riddled with tiny scars and cuts. This was the hand of a young man that worked every day of his life. She tried to remember a book about palm reading her mother kept in the house. She knew that the thumb represented Venus, the index finger represented Jupiter, the middle finger was Saturn, the ring finger Apollo and the pinky finger was Mercury. She knew that the line that started below the index finger and ended below the pinky finger was the line of the heart. But other than that, she didn’t know what the others meant. There was no way for her to predict what would happen to Terrance once she left Everafter.

  All she knew was that she wanted to remember every single detail. She wanted to be able to close her eyes and see Terrance, his smile, his dark brown eyes, and his long brown hair. She didn’t want to leave him behind. All she wanted to do was sit, have him wrap his arms around her and tell her everything about himself. She wanted to know why he had scars on his hands. What he’d been like as a child, what his fears were, and what his dreams were—everything.

  “I wish you didn’t have to go,” he whispered.

  “Me too,” she replied.

  Bianca hugged Terrance and breathed in his scent. Earth. Ozone. A hint of sweat. She wanted to take a tiny part of him, however miniscule, with her back home.

  “Don’t forget me. Promise me you won’t forget me,” she whispered into his ear.

  “Never,” he promised.

  They held each other for a moment longer and painfully pulled themselves apart.

  “I guess this is goodbye,” Bianca said.

  “Not goodbye…farewell.”

  There was no use in prolonging the inevitable. They kissed each other gently, softly as though they had all the time in the world to feel each other’s lips. Then, before they realized it had even happened, their lips parted and the kiss was over.

  It was time to go home.

  “We absolutely must find a minstrel to write a song about us,” the prince said as he rejoined them.

  Bianca smiled; she was going to miss them.

  “Ready?” Rose gently patted her daughter on the shoulder.

  “Yeah.” She forced the word out of her mouth. It left her throat dry and with a bitter taste. It felt wrong to lie. She wasn’t ready. She didn’t think she would ever be.

  “Find the shortest distance between,

  My home and the faeries’ green.

  A place for clear days and starry nights,

  Put this door within my sight.”

  The portal door appeared. The ghost-like door stood a few inches above the ground, waiting patiently to be opened. As if it was a living entity. Magic that was tangible and defied everything Bianca knew about time and space. It made her feel small and slightly insignificant. Almost as though there was still so much for her to learn and even if she reached old age she would never know as much as that door standing before her did.

  Bianca turned around and waved goodbye to her new friend, Prince Ferdinand, and Terrance, the young man who could possibly be the love of her life. She wondered if she would ever see them again.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Welcome back to Normalville, USA, she thought as she stepped out of the portal and into her backyard. Everything was familiar once more. This is so weird.

  Bianca let out a shriek as her father fell to the ground with a loud thump.

  David’s transformation began the moment the portal behind them closed. His growl quickly turned into a human scream as his bones popped in and out of place, taking on a more human appearance. His black fur dissolved and revealed his olive toned skin. His sharp black claws retracted and became hands. His fangs sank into his gums and reappeared as normal teeth. He let out a blood curdling scream and curled himself into a fetal position as he continued to change back into a man.

  Bianca could see the muscles move underneath her father’s skin. She covered her mouth with her hands as she watched her father’s painful transformation. Rose grabbed a towel from the clothesline and swiftly tied it around his waist. By the time he was finished with his change, he was trembling and drenched with sweat even though it was a cool summer evening. He then stared at his hands as though he were looking at them for the first time in his entire life.

  “Oh, God. David? Are you okay?” Rose whispered as she stared at the half naked man in her backyard.

  “Rose? My Rose?” he asked, his voice hoarse from all his time living as a bear.

  Bianca grinned as she watched her parents embrace for the first time in a decade.

  “David…I missed you so much,” Rose said softly.

  “I thought about you every single day,” he said as he ran his fingers through her bright red hair. He kissed her on the lips several times. Then his lips traveled all over her face.

  He finally turned to Bianca and opened his arms to her. He welcomed his daughter into a long awaited embrace. For the first time in a decade, Bianca got the feeling that they would be able to move on. That it would actually be okay for once.

  “Come on, let’s go inside. I’m sure everyone can use a nice hot shower and a hot meal,” Rose said.

  “Hot shower? What’s that?” Bianca asked.

  “I got dibs. I haven’t had a hot anything in ten years,” David said.

  “I think we can let you go first. Right, Bianca?” Rose asked.

  “Yeah. I can stay stinky for a couple of minutes longer,” she replied.

  Bianca used the key they hid underneath the frog figurine to unlock the back door. All eyes were on David as he stepped into his home. It was as though he didn’t know what to look at first. So much had changed since he was taken out of their lives. His little girl was no longer a child. His wife, although still beautiful, held so much sadness in her emerald eyes.

  “The kitchen is different,” he whispered.

  He walked into the dining room; it too was different. Everything had changed. Everything but him.

  “Daddy? Daddy, are you okay?” Bianca asked, noting the distress in her father’s eyes.

  He quickly nodded and lied. “Yeah…I’m okay. It’s just…a lot to take in.”

  “Bianca…why don’t you go up to your room. I’m going to set up a nice bath for your father.” Rose held David’s hand and gently guided him upstairs.

  Bianca stood in the middle of the living room and watched her parents slowly make their way up the stairs. She knew they had some more hardships ahead. Challenges to overcome. She could only hope that they could jump through those hurdles unscathed and unharmed.

  At least they have each other. It was a small consolation, but it was better than being alone.

  Bianca called Ming on her cell phone the following morning. After one ring her best friend answered the phone. It felt good to hear her voice, to finally surround herself with familiar sights and sounds.

  “B?” Ming asked.

  “I’m home,” Bianca said.

  “I’ll be right over. Don’t move.” Then she hung up.

  Ming arrived at her house in record time. Bianca watched her car pull into her driveway from the kitchen window. She wondered how many stop signs Ming had flown past to get to her house. Ming jumped out of the car and didn’t bother to close the door. Bianca opened the door before Ming could raise her hand to knock.

  “B!” Ming shouted as she threw herself into her best friend’s arms, making them tumble onto the floor.

  “Hey, how the heck are you?” Bianca asked, trying to sound casual.

  “You’re alive!”

  “Yeah, we all are.”

  “Really?” Ming squeaked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Is your dad still a bear?”

  “Nope.”

  “Hey, Ming,” David said as he walked into the living room w
ith a cup of coffee in his hands.

  “Yay!” Ming clapped her hands with excitement. She stood up and ran up to David. He smiled as he hugged Ming.

  “Come on. I promised you we’d go shopping when I came back,” Bianca said.

  “And my mom’s dumplings for dinner,” Ming added.

  “Of course.” Bianca nodded.

  “Are you sure? Don’t you want to spend time with your parents?” Ming asked in a hushed tone of voice.

  “I want to give them some time alone. They’ve got ten years’ worth of making out to catch up on. Trust me…I don’t want to be anywhere near the house when they finally get it on.”

  “Cool. I’ll wait for you to get ready,” Ming said.

  “Okay.”

  Bianca went upstairs to her room to put her makeup on. She grabbed her purse and keys. She was amazed how easy it was to fall into old routines.

  “Have fun, you guys. Please wait at least a few months before you tell me I’m gonna have a little brother or sister. Use protection!” Bianca teased as she headed downstairs.

  “Very funny,” Rose said dryly.

  “Love you,” Bianca said as she walked out the door with Ming.

  “Love you, too,” Rose and David said, their voices woven into one.

  Bianca beamed as she closed the door behind her. She stood on the porch for a moment and let that sink in. Both her parents were alive, safe and sound. They were home. She took a deep breath and followed Ming to her car.

  “So…tell me. What happened after I left?” Ming pulled out of the driveway.

  Bianca told her everything that had happened while she’d been gone. Thankfully, Ming drove at the speed limit. She wove in and out of traffic as she listened to her best friend’s story. By the time Bianca was finished, Ming had pulled into the mall entrance.

  “Wow,” Ming said when she finally parked the car.

  “Yeah.”

  They walked for a while and bought a few things. Eventually they ended up at the food court.

  “What about Terrance and Prince Ferdinand?” Ming asked before popping a French fry into her mouth.

  “Ferdinand was sad to see you go. He likes you.”

  “You think so?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What happened with Terrance?”

  “Nothing,” Bianca lied. She couldn’t help but blush at the very vivid memory of them kissing.

  Ming gasped. “You lie! Tell me.”

  “We kissed,” Bianca admitted.

  “And?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing?”

  “What was I supposed to do? Stay? I don’t belong there,” Bianca said.

  “He was crazy about you. A blind man could see that,” Ming said.

  “I know. I was crazy about him, too. Believe me, the last thing I wanted to do was leave.”

  “That sucks.”

  “So…anyway…what did I miss?” Bianca asked.

  “Well, I opened the museum like you asked me to. Not too many people came. But the ones that did show up kept asking when you and your mom were coming back. Seriously, B. what do you guys do there all day?”

  “Don’t worry. We’re gonna take over from now on. Thanks for covering our butts though,” Bianca said.

  “No problem.”

  “What did your mom say?”

  Ming moaned. “She asked me a million, billion, zillion questions!” She mimicked her mother’s soft and wispy voice. “Where were you? Where is Bianca? Where is her mother? Where are you going? Why do you have to open the museum? Blah, blah, blah, she just wouldn’t stop.”

  Bianca laughed. Ming rolled her eyes and then, because Bianca’s laughter was so contagious, she laughed as well. Amid all the laughter, she couldn’t help but miss Terrance. She wondered how much time would pass before she would finally be able to move on with her life and when the ache in her heart would stop.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  On Tuesday morning, the Frost family opened the doors of the museum. Bianca was surprised to see that there was a group of people standing in line.

  “Why are all these people here?” Bianca whispered to her mother as she unlocked the doors.

  “I called the newspaper a couple of days ago and had them put an announcement in the paper,” Rose replied. “I also explained that we were gone due to a family emergency and that the first week back would be free of charge and that all items in our gift shop were twenty-five percent off.”

  “Wow…I’m impressed,” Bianca said.

  Rose smiled.

  Bianca took her regular post behind the gift shop counter. To everyone’s relief and joy, Rose resumed her storytelling duties. Once more the Princess Room was filled with toddlers and little girls dressed up as fairy tale princesses. Everyone, including the parents, sat on the floor and listened to Rose tell the story of Cinderella. Her melodic voice once more enchanted everyone in the room.

  David hid in the office to look through their papers and documents in order to reacquaint himself with what had been going on in the museum for the past ten years.

  Bianca grabbed a book from the shelf above her and read while she waited for a customer. She was reading a Grimm’s fairy tale book. She turned to the story of Snow White and Rose Red. She wondered if it was the same Snow White in both stories; if so, it would explain why Rose had bright red hair and Bianca had jet black hair.

  Maybe I have more in common with my mother than I thought.

  She was three pages into the story when someone walked up to the counter. Bianca marked her page with a bookmark, closed the book and put it away.

  “Good morning. How can I help you?” Bianca said in a polite tone of voice.

  “Good morning. I’m looking for David Frost. I believe he’s your father.”

  Bianca studied this woman before she told her anything. The woman standing before her had perfect blond hair, cut into a stylish bob. She wore a white blouse with a black pencil skirt and patent leather high heels.

  “Depends on who you are and what you want.” Bianca crossed her arms across her chest.

  The woman smiled, and flashed her bleached white teeth. “My name is Aspen Fisher. I’m with the Daily News, and your father has been missing for ten years and all of a sudden he’s back. I want to interview him.”

  “I’ll tell him you stopped by.”

  Aspen narrowed her brown eyes and pursed her lips. “Okay. Here’s my card.”

  “Thanks,” Bianca said as she took the card from her.

  Weird.

  As soon as Rose was finished with story time, she went to the gift shop to check up on Bianca.

  “How’s it going on your side of the world?” Rose asked.

  She sat on the stool next to Bianca and rested her elbows on the glass counter. She looked happy to be back. For better or worse, the museum was a second home to Rose. Bianca was afraid of telling her about the reporter for fear that it would ruin her good mood.

  “Fine, everything is fine. Everyone’s taking advantage of the sale,” Bianca replied. She lied by omission. She wasn’t any good at lying, any kind of lying, white or black, or any other color lies came in.

  Rose frowned.

  “Great.” Rose nodded. She studied her daughter. She could tell something was going on. Rose stood up and walked away.

  Rose took three steps when Bianca said, “Mom?”

  Rose chuckled softly. No matter what happened in Everafter some things simply didn’t change. Rose turned around and said, “Yeah?”

  “Some reporter…journalist lady dropped this off. She wants to interview Daddy.” Bianca sheepishly handed the business card to her mother. She had been going to tear it up and throw it away, but she worried that it would only encourage Aspen to chase after them in search of a story. She was happy to hand the card off to Rose. One less thing for her to worry about.

  “Yikes. News around here travels fast. All we did was go to the supermarket. Someone must’ve seen him.” Rose sighed. “Well,
we have to come up with something before we call her up.”

  “Why do we have to call her?”

  “Because it’ll look suspicious if we start avoiding her. Best thing we can do is call and come up with something. It’ll be in the news a day or two and then we can move on with our lives.”

  “Okay,” Bianca replied as she shook her head in disbelief. She couldn’t believe her mother was going to lie to a reporter.

  “All right, I’m gonna go and get some coloring sheets and crayons for the kids. I’ll come and check up on you later,” Rose said.

  “Okeydokey.”

  Bianca turned her attention back to her book. She had put it down when the reporter appeared and completely forgot about it.

  The way the story of the two sisters ended didn’t surprise her. Almost everyone got a happy ending. Snow White married the prince and Rose Red married the prince’s brother.

  Isn’t it that the way these stories always end? Marry the prince and all your problems are magically solved. What if you don’t fall in love with the prince but his very handsome friend? What’s the solution to that problem? Oh…and he happens to live in another dimension.

  “How about you answer those questions? How about a solution to that little problem? Hmm? Anything, Brothers Grimm?” Bianca muttered to the book in her hands.

  The book remained silent.

  Figures.

  Several weeks went by and slowly they fell into a strange sort of routine. David was still getting used to being a man again. But some mornings Bianca would find him sleeping outside or using a tree to scratch his back. His sweet tooth was completely out of control, especially when it came to honey. Whenever Rose made tea, he would use half a bottle’s worth of honey to sweeten his tea.

  Bianca thought it was funny. Rose worried he would develop diabetes. David promised to try harder.

  One day while Bianca was eating her lunch in her backyard, a door appeared. She dropped her sandwich and readied her magic to fight whatever it was that was coming from the other side. The door opened and a familiar figure appeared at the edge of the magical entrance. Terrance was on the other side smiling at her. Her heart skipped a beat and almost burst out of her chest.