The First Snowfall: A Holiday Short Story (All I Want For Christmas Book 1)

by Daniela Reyes

  Laurel shook her head. "It's not so much about anyone mistreating me. It's more about not wanting to sit alone at lunch on my first day or having to explain to everyone why my twin sister's a grade ahead of me."

  “You have a twin?”

  “Fraternal, but yeah. Her name’s Holly.”

  “Holly and Laurel…”

  "If you're thinking Christmas themed names, you get a point."

  Kevin laughed. "Wow, that's a new one. Any other siblings with Christmas names?"

  “My older sister, Gloria Belén.”

  "Your parents must love this time of year."

  “Don’t get me started.”

  Chapter 7

  Laurel didn’t know how long they’d been talking until her mom walked into Melo’s.

  Laurel was in the middle of telling Kevin about the time her dad had tried to dress up as Santa Clause because someone at school had told her he didn't exist when Marie approached the table.

  Laurel’s mom stood beside her.

  "This is where you two have been," she said ."We've been calling you guys for half an hour."

  Laurel looked up right as Kevin pulled out his phone. "Sorry. It was on silent. We kind of lost track of time, I guess."

  Laurel hadn’t even brought her phone. “Left mine at home.”

  Marie gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "I told your mom not to worry too much; there weren't that many places you two could wander off to." She smiled at her son. "I'm glad to hear you two have been getting along, though."

  Kevin blushed. Laurel pretended not to notice and turned to her mom. "Do we have to go?"

  “Your dad bought lunch so I think we should.”

  Laurel’s dad always slept in and skipped breakfast on Saturdays, ordering take out for lunch right after he got up.

  “Okay,” Laurel said. She stood and grabbed her empty cup. “It was nice meeting you, Kevin.”

  It didn’t hurt to keep up the lie that they had met today. Because it really wasn’t a lie. The person she’d met yesterday and the guy she’d spent the last hour talking to weren’t the same people.

  Kevin stood too. "Yeah, it was nice meeting you too." Then he paused. "There's actually uh a bonfire thing tonight. It's not really a bonfire, but we call it that. We sit around, and roast smores with some friends. You should come. You can meet some people before the semester starts."

  Laurel swallowed. “That sounds-”

  "Lovely," Marie said. She patted her son's shoulder like he'd completed an enormous task. "You should go, Laurel. There's one every year. And the kids are all lovely, so you have nothing to worry about, Lucía."

  Laurel turned to her mom. "I think it's a great idea if Laurel wants to go, of course."

  It wasn't like anyone had given her a chance to reject the invitation. Laurel looked at Kevin. "Sure, thanks."

  “I’ll text you the address.”

  "Kevin," Marie said. "You guys should go together since Laurel won't know anyone there."

  He nodded. “Okay. I can pick you up. If you give me your address, I’ll be there like seven tonight.”

  What was happening?

  Was this a date? No. No, of course not. He was friendly, and their moms were also pressuring them.

  “You guys should exchange phone numbers,” Laurel’s mom said.

  “I didn’t bring my phone.”

  "I can get yours and text you," Kevin said. He had his phone out ready to go.

  Laurel nodded, and after a few minutes, Kevin had her phone number, her mom had the Christmas music on again, and they were on their way home.

  It wasn’t until they were eating lunch that Laurel started to regret having agreed to go.

  “You let your mom set you up on a date?” her dad asked as he finished up his takeout box.

  “No,” Laurel said. “Kevin was being nice.”

  "Oh, honey," her mom said. She'd been quiet the whole time. "It's a date."

  “Mom, it’s not. We just met. And you said it was so I could get to know more people.”

  Holly came back from her shift in the middle of the conversation. After their dad gave her an update on the situation, she stared right at Laurel and nodded.

  "It's a date," Holly said. Then she took off her work hat and went off to change, leaving Laurel at the table to dwell on the last few hours.

  ________

  Laurel waited on the curb. Kevin had texted her as he'd said. She'd added him to her contact list and then sent him a text asking what time she should be ready.

  He'd said six-thirty. It was six-fifty.

  He’d send a text saying he was on his way, though.

  She wrapped her arms around herself.

  It wasn't a date. Seeing by the time he was showing up, Kevin had probably only gone along with this because his mom had asked him to. Laurel also couldn't believe she'd borrowed one of Holly's sweater dresses and pea coats. She looked like she'd gotten ready for a date.

  When this clearly wasn’t one.

  A car pulled up. It was Kevin. He gave Laurel a quick wave and motioned her over. She ran to the passenger side and jumped in. Luckily, he had the heat on.

  "Hey," he said ."Sorry I'm late. Something came up, and I wasn't sure if I was going to the bonfire. I'm sorry."

  Well, at least he'd said sorry twice. Laurel rubbed her arms.

  “Everything okay?”

  “Sort of,” Kevin said. “My friends won’t mind if we’re late, promise.”

  The silence on the ride over was too much for Laurel. By the time they got to the park for the bonfire, she'd decided this was definitely not a date, and that Kevin didn't even seem to want her to be here. She almost said something but then as soon as they parked a group of people walked to the car.

  Kevin waved at them. He looked at Laurel. “Those are some of my soccer teammates. I’ll introduce you.”

  Laurel shook her head. “Is there a bathroom?”

  “Yeah,” Kevin said. “It’s that white brick building over there. I’ll introduce you to everyone when you come back, then.”

  She nodded and got out of the car. Kevin did too. His teammates turned to look at her and waved.

  “Did Kevin bring a date?” one guy asked.

  Another smiled at her. A third patted Kevin on the shoulder. “Introduce us, man.”

  Laurel froze in her spot. She had planned to hide in the bathroom and text Holly to pick her up. Now, though, she felt like a deer trapped in the headlights.

  "Guys, this is Laurel. Our moms know each other, and she's new to the area. I thought it'd be nice for her to meet some people from school."

  So this was not a date.

  Laurel tried not to shrink within herself. She waved at the guys. They all cooled down their teasing Kevin act and approached her. Her bathroom escape plan would have to wait. They introduced themselves, their names barely sticking in Laurel's memory. Then the whole group walked over to the bonfire.

  Kevin stood beside her and introduced her to more people. By the time they took their seats around a small fire, and someone gave Laurel a marshmallow on a stick, she felt dizzy. Too many people could do that to her.

  “Are you okay?” Kevin asked.

  "I will be," Laurel said. She breathed in. "Sometimes big crowds um can be a little much."

  "Oh," Kevin said. "I hadn't thought about that. I've been throwing new people at you non stop. Sorry." He leaned in toward her.

  “You don’t have to be,” she said. “You were just trying to be nice.”

  He shrugged. "Sorry about the date jokes. I know your mom forced you to come."

  The firelight reflected in Kevins' eyes."You don't have to be," Laurel said. "And my mom didn't force me to come. I wanted to."

  “Really?”

  "Yeah. I liked talking to you at the coffee shop." She didn't mention that it took her a while to like talking to people, especially with moving here.

  Kevin smiled. "You know I was thinking about the snow globe, and it'd be cool to visit
the farm for the first snowfall this year. I mean it doesn't have to be a memory tainted by my breakup-"

  "Kevin," someone said. A girl walked toward them. She walked past Laurel and right to Kevin. His eyes widened.

  “Jasmine.”

  "Hey. How are you?" Jasmine asked. He stood, and she hugged him as soon as he did. Laurel took the girl in. Jasmine was pretty, short brown curls and an all-black dress. She looked ready for a date too. "We haven't talked in forever."

  She released him from the hug. Kevin wasn’t looking at Laurel at all now.

  "My old neighbor actually called my mom," Jasmine said. "She said there was a package for me, and when she described it, I knew exactly what it was. I hoped you'd be here tonight-"

  Laurel stood. She took her chance and walked right to the bathroom. Kevin didn't notice, and Jasmine hadn't seen her, to begin with, so it was a quick escape. She called Holly.

  “Hello?”

  “Can you pick me up?”

  “I’m kind of at a thing,” Holly said from the other end. “I thought you were looking forward to your date.”

  “Not a date,” Laurel said. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her usually tan skin looked pale. “And what thing?”

  "A thing," Holly said. "I'll tell you later. Will you be okay? Was the guy a jerk? I'll come if I have to-"

  Laurel straightened up. "No," she said. "It wasn't a date, to begin with. I'll be fine. Have fun at your thing."

  "I'll try," Holly said. "If you call me a second time, I'll be right over. Text me the address in case."

  Laurel didn’t know the address of this park. “It’s fine. I’m fine. I just got overwhelmed with all the new people.”

  “Deep breaths,” Holly said. “Recharge and then go mingle.”

  "Thanks," Laurel said. Then she hung up and stood in the silence of the bathroom for a few more minutes. The minutes turned into a half-hour, and then she couldn't bring herself to walk outside. It'd be too embarrassing. Kevin would probably be with Jasmine all night, and Laurel hadn't taken the time to memorize anyone's else name.

  She forced herself outside. That was when she bumped into a person.

  “Laurel, there you are,” Kevin said.

  Laurel stepped back.

  "Yeah, I just um, I didn't feel like being outside," she said.

  "You were there one second, and then you weren't," he said.

  “You were talking to Jasmine. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

  “You could’ve talked to someone else.”

  "I'm not good at that," Laurel said. "My sister Holly is, but I don't do well with new people. And it's not like you should know that, or care if I am. I mean, we met yesterday. And it was nice of you to invite me, but I really shouldn't have come."

  "I'm sorry," Kevin said. "You told me you were feeling overwhelmed, and I got sidetracked with Jasmine. And right when I was in the middle of telling you about my plans for the snow globe."

  “I don’t care about the snow globe,” Laurel said. She wanted to go home. “I’m sorry. At this point, if you want to get rid of it or give it to Jasmine, that’s up to you. And like I said, it was nice of you to bring me here, even if wasn’t a date-”

  “You thought it was a date?”

  “No… my mom might’ve convinced me it was.”

  Kevin tilted his head. "It can be," he said. "I mean, me talking to an ex is a terrible start, but she was just being friendly. And we laughed about the snow globe thing, which helped me figure out that it wasn't a big deal, not anymore. Also, that I'm over Jasmine, but sorry back to this date-"

  “It’s not a date,” Laurel said.

  "Not to start with," Kevin said. He smiled. Laurel tried to catch her defenses, but they went down. "I didn't invite you here because of my mom or your mom. I invited you because I liked our conversation today. And yes, I think you're pretty and worth getting to know. Now I was aiming for a friend to start with, but if you want to nose dive into a date, I'm game."

  “You’re game?” Laurel asked.

  He laughed. "Back there, I was going to ask if you wanted to see the farm with me tomorrow. It might not be at the first snowfall by why not? It'd be nice to see in person."

  She breathed in. "So, that's a date?"

  Kevin nodded. “It’s a date.”

  “And Jasmine?”

  "She's happy with her new boyfriend in Boston and just wanted to say hi. Also, she was the reason I was late to pick you up. I heard she was coming to the bonfire."

  "So why did you come?"

  "Because I invited you."

  Laurel didn't need an explanation. She just needed to ask a question while her mind settled on the fact she was about to accept a date with a guy she'd known for about a day.

  “Want to go back and make smores?”

  “Maybe.”

  Kevin smiled. He took Laurel's hand. "If you feel like leaving, tell me.

  "

  "I will," Laurel said. Now, though, she couldn't think of a reason to go home.

  Chapter 8

  Laurel held up the snow globe.

  “Wow, it looks exactly the same, minus the snow,” she said.

  Kevin leaned in toward her. They stood on a hill overlooking the farmhouse. It’d taken them an hour of walking around in the cold to find the spot where it looked like the view from the snow globe.

  Kevin rubbed his hands together. “I can’t feel my fingers, but at least we found the perfect view of the farmhouse.”

  Laurel shook the snow globe and held it toward the farmhouse again. "Mission accomplished." Then she took his hand and held it against her gloved one. "Also, a great first date."

  “I thought our first date was yesterday.”

  “No,” Laurel said. “I’m counting this one.”

  He shrugged. “Okay. This one then.”

  They walked to Kevin's car. He pulled out a thermos, and they spent some time drinking hot chocolate in silence. Laurel took small sips to keep it from burning her lips. It didn't feel like a date, at least not in the way first dates usually felt. First dates made Laurel overthink everything, to want to break the silence or worry about saying something wrong.

  Right now, she just enjoyed her hot chocolate while staring at a very cute boy drinking his.

  That was when something fell in her cup. It looked like a tiny ice shaving. Another one fell. Laurel looked up.

  Snow.

  “Kevin,” she said. “Look.”

  He looked up and a huge smile spread over his face.

  “No way. The first snowfall.” He set his thermos down and grabbed Laurel’s hand. “Come on. We can’t miss it. Bring the snow globe.”

  They ran back to the spot from before, as bits of snow fell on Laurel’s hair, her face. She’d never seen snow before. The cold didn’t feel as bad with snow falling.

  Kevin held the snow globe to the farmhouse. Then without a word, he left it on the ground.

  “What are you doing?”

  "Leaving it for someone else. I get to watch the first snowfall in person."

  Laurel smiled. He, a snowflake landed on his eyebrow. She reached out and pressed it away. "The view's even more beautiful with the snow."

  Kevin nodded. "We should come back every year."

  Laurel wondered if he meant to say that out loud.

  He caught her gaze. "Whether we come together or on our own. But this year, we get to watch it together."

  "I guess we do," Laurel said. She wrapped her hand tighter around Kevin's. She still hadn't made up her mind up about virtual school, or what her next semester would look like.

  All she knew was that there was a beautiful snowfall in front of her, and a sweet guy beside her. And for now, that was enough.

  Acknowledgments

  Thank you for taking the time to ready this short story. Please check out the other two stories in the series as well, and leave a review if you are feeling up to it. For updates and to sign up for my newsletter go to:

  www.da
nielareyesbooks.com.

  Have a great holiday season!

  Also by Daniela Reyes

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