In the Bleak Mid-winter

WC: 1345

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.
-Christina Rosetti

It was a few days before Christmas when my friend, Kevin, called.

"Dude, you gotta help me. You remember Janelle? From my physics lab? Well, I finally got her to say she'll go out with me, but only if I can find a date for her sister. I know, I know, you hate blind dates, but I am desperate, man!"

"What's wrong with the sister?" I asked. It seemed a valid, even vital, question.

"Nothing!" was the reply. Of course.

I considered. Kevin had saved my butt a few times in the past and I didn't have anything else going on, but still I resisted.

My love life had been rather bleak over the last few years. Actually, my work life had completely filled the void left by my failed engagement, and that was fine with me. Work was far less painful. But I could put on a good front and show a girl a good time if I had to. It was for a friend and only for one evening.

"Fine," I said.

So, seven o'clock, we met for drinks and dinner.

The first thing I noticed was that Jade was a taller, curvier version of Janelle. Okay, I thought. So far, so good.

We grabbed a booth and sat, Jade across from me and Janelle across from Kevin. The waitress brought us our drinks and we ordered some food. All that time, I found myself watching Jade, thinking how pretty she was. And that sweater - a silvery-blue v-neck - clung to her curves in just the right way, but didn't give away too much.

She was distant, though; she never looked at me. I'm an okay-looking guy - no GQ heart-throb - but tolerable, so why wouldn't she look at me?

As the conversation went on, Jade joined in, but she never said anything directly to me. She only glanced at me a few times, and when she did, she clammed up for a minute or two afterward.

I thought to myself, Okay, maybe she's shy. So, I turned on the charm. I asked her questions, I paid her compliments, I said funny things. And still, all I could get out of her was a syllable or two.

At some point, Janelle had said that Jade worked at the history museum, so I decided to try that.

"So, how long have you worked at the museum?"

Jade took a sip of her water and glanced at me with her green-blue eyes. She put the tip of her tongue out and flicked it over her bottom lip, making it glisten. She didn't seem aware of the move, but I was mesmerized by it.

"A year," she said to answer my question.

"And do you like it?"

Again the move with the tongue and the lip and the glistening.

"It's fine," she said.

Kevin broke in just then, laughing at something Janelle was saying.

"Hey, tell them about the time we..."

And I had to tell about one of our less brilliant exploits in college. Something to do with a potato launcher, I think. As I spoke, I watched Jade out of the corner of my eye.

She sat there, looking at me with some kind of look I couldn't interpret - wishful, hopeful, scornful - I wasn't too sure. But as I spoke, she started to run a finger just under the edge of her sweater, slowly, starting at the shoulder and following the neckline until her hand hovered over the hint of cleavage at the tip of the v-neck. Then, after a hesitation, she ran the finger back up and then down again.

Suddenly, Janelle squealed in delight.

"Pinball! I haven't played in ages! Come on, Kevin." She held out her hand and the two of them walked away, swaying close and laughing.

Silence descended on our little booth. I had done just about all I could to get this girl to talk and I was ready to give up. Sometimes people just don't hit it off, and while it wounded my pride a little that she seemed so turned off by me, what could I do? It fit my past record, too, so I could hardly be surprised.

"I'm sorry." Jade glanced up at me and then back down to her hands, playing with her napkin. Her lips were curved into a tentative smile. "I told Janelle not to set me up, but she insisted. I have to confess that I just get tongue-tied when I'm around guys, especially good-looking guys." Her eyes flew wide, then, in surprise and her cheeks turned a charming pink. "Oh, my. Did I just say that?"

I smiled at her, not sure what to say.

"You see?" She balled up the napkin in her hand. "I always say the wrong thing. Sorry." She looked flustered and ready to jump out of the booth and run away.

I reached out and put my hand on top of hers. She looked at me as though I was going to agree with her and call her an idiot.

"You didn't say anything wrong. And stop apologizing."

I smiled again and was rewarded with a tiny smile.

"Thanks," she said.

Oh, no, I thought, are we back to single syllables?

From across the room, Janelle laughed loudly, pressing her back against Kevin, who had his arms around her, ostensibly to help her play the game.

When I turned back to look at Jade, I realized that she was looking at me, her green-blue gaze steady. She cocked her head to one side and leaned her elbow on the table.

"So, what do you do?" she asked.

"I'm a grad assistant at the U," I said. "I'm getting my doctorate in English Literature."

Suddenly, Janelle bounced over to the booth.

"It's snowing! C'mon, we're gonna catch snowflakes on our tongues!"

"My coat..." Jade objected.

"C'mon!"

She grabbed Jade's hand and hauled her across the bench and toward the door. I followed slowly.

When I stepped outside, Janelle was running down the sidewalk, mouth open, tongue lolling, chasing snowflakes. Kevin chased after her, laughing.

Jade watched her sister with a smile, then turned when I stepped beside her.

"Janelle has always been...um...exuberant about snow."

I chuckled and said,

"About pretty much everything, I think."

She laughed softly.

"Yes, that's true."

We both turned and looked up, then, to watch the snow. Flakes drifted down, bright in the light of the street lamps, then shadowed again as they fell to the ground.

A poem popped into my head and I recited,

"In the bleak mid-winter, Frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone..."

Beside me, Jade picked up the poem, adding the traditional tune in a sweet, soft soprano.

"Snow had fallen, Snow on snow, Snow on snow, In the bleak mid-winter, Long ago."

I turned and looked into green-blue eyes. Snow flakes fell silently, landing lightly on her lashes, clinging tentatively to their feathery perch.

The hush of falling snow surrounded us, muffling the sounds of the cars in the street beside us and the laughter of other diners dashing to their cars. The world was a distant noise, leaving the two of us alone in the quiet.

I found it difficult to speak, somehow.

"I can't remember the author..."

"Christina Rosetti," she whispered.

Suddenly, she shivered violently, and the spell was broken.

"You're freezing!" I said, and at the same moment realized how cold I was, too.

We laughed and dashed for the restaurant door.

Later, when we all left the restaurant, Kevin and Janelle went their own way, Kevin giving me a satisfied grin and hearty thanks.

Jade lived a few blocks from the restaurant, so I walked her home. We lingered in the snow, which fell steadily through the dark. And, somehow, the night, the season, even my life, didn't seem so bleak any more.