Wind howled outside the kitchen window, scattering white dust and causing the bare branches of the black spruce to sway violently.  They reached out and tapped the glass amidst the insidious blizzard. The tree was the only thing visible from the window as small white flakes descended from the swollen clouds above in a horrific frenzy.  April stood on the other side of the window, sheltered from the weather in the comfort of her home. She observed the disorderly falling of feathered crystals in concern for the obstacles the storm may bring about if it continued this intensely.  The ongoing blizzard caused her to feel a twinge in her stomach, which she tried hard to ignore. As a child, she had always been mesmerized by the gentle way the icy powder drifted through the air, coating all that it touched in a fine blanket of white.  Now, reality prevented her from viewing the snow as beautiful and saw it as nothing more than a burden. The brunette jumped at the sensation of a warm hand being placed on her shoulder, startling her from her thoughts. “James!” she yelped as she turned from the window to face her husband.

“Sorry,” the man apologized.  He removed his hand from her shoulder and ran it through his messy dark hair with a yawn.  James was dressed in his flannel pajama pants and a black t-shirt which was partly covered by his royal blue bathrobe.  The robe was left open so its strings dangled at the man’s side in a careless manner. “Didn’t mean to scare you, I thought you heard me come in.”

“Um, no I didn’t, my bad,” said April.  “Just waking up?”

“Yup,” replied her husband.  “A man needs his beauty rest.”

“Yeah, whatever,” April remarked, a smile tugging at her lips before she turned towards the window once more.  James joined her, wrapping an arm around her waist and tucking her into his side.

“Wow, it’s really coming down.”

“Yeah.”

“Reckon we’ll lose power?”

“If it continues as it is, I’m sure a tree will fall on a powerline sooner or later.”

“Hopefully we’re snowed in.”

“Hopefully?”

“Yeah, hopefully.  You need some time off to relax, you’ve been too caught up in your work.”

“That’s easy for you to say, you don’t have a job, James,” April murmerd, refusing to admit that what her husband said was true.  Her mind had been fixed on work more often than it should have been. Perhaps, despite what her gut told her, the blizzard was a good thing after all.  If they happened to get snowed in she would be able to spend time with her family, relax for a bit.

“I will soon,” James promised before pressing his lips to her forehead in a brief kiss.

“Snow!” the high voice of a child squealed from behind them.  The couple exchanged content grins as their son, a lively chestnut haired boy with beautiful blue eyes named Lucus, flew past them to press his hands and face against the kitchen window.  “Mommy, Daddy, it’s snowing! Snow!”

“Yes it is, bud!  How about you and I go outside and play?”

“Really?”  The boy whipped his head around eagerly.

“No,” April objected as she glanced over her son’s shoulder to discover the smudges he created on the glass.  She jotted herself a mental note to wipe the surface down later.

“Why, Mommy?” he asked, disappointment weighing down his voice.

“Yeah, why, Mommy?” James questioned in a voice matching Lucus’ upset tone.

“It’s snowing too hard right now, you’ll freeze,” April explained.  Both her husband and child looked at her with pleading eyes causing her to feel overwhelmed with guilt.  “Fine but don’t be out too long. I’ll make breakfast and you two can come in when it’s ready,” she reluctantly concluded.

“Yay!” the two cheered in unison before scrambling about in search of their winter gear.  April sighed as she watched her enthusiastic four-year-old and boyish husband, unsure of which was more thrilled.

Once fully equipped in their winter garments, Lucus and James stampeded out the front door.  It slammed shut behind them, leaving April alone in the house. Just as she turned to approach the fridge, she heard a fierce tapping sound.  The branches from the spruce were being blown into the window once again and not thinking much of it, April began to cook breakfast for her boys.

In a mere hour’s time, April had the food prepared.  Scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon sat temptingly on each plate with warm steam rising from each before vanishing in thin swirls.  The woman strolled to the front door and poked her face outside. Immediately, she felt the sting of the cold air and winced. She noticed that snow had been cleared from in front of the door and a shovel was leaned against the wall beside her indicating that James must’ve done some work before playing with their son.  Despite the wrath of the flurry, the rocksalt, which was constantly being replaced to protect the street, seemed to be doing its job. The harsh breeze carried the sound of playful shouting to her ears. With squinted eyes, she placed a hand over her brows to block the tumulting white specs from colliding into her now reddened face.

“Boys!” she called.  “Breakfast is ready, come inside before you freeze!”

“Coming!” April heard her husband’s voice respond.  Soon, she was able to distinguish the shape of a broad man with a small child sitting atop his shoulders clambering its way through the white haze.  She held the door open for them as they entered, standing on the towels she had left out to prevent an unnecessary mess. James lifted Lucus off of his shoulders and placed him on a towel in front of him.  The boy kicked off his shoes and stepped towards the delightful smell of his awaiting meal but was stopped by his father’s hand upon his shoulder. “Hold on a second, kiddo,” he told him with an amused expression.  Lucus obeyed with a sour pout and allowed his mother to unzip his parka and remove his snow pants while he yanked off his hat and gloves. During this time, James removed his damp clothing and collected Lucus’ so he could hang them in the laundry room to dry.  Dressed only in their pajamas once more, the family settled down at the kitchen table to eat their generously prepared breakfast.

“It’s freezing out there, I don’t know how you two managed to stay outside as long as you did,” April said.

“It’s not too bad once you’re out there for a bit,” stated James.

“Well, I hope you had fun.”

“We sure did!” Lucus exclaimed through a mouthful of scrambled eggs.

“Lucus, honey, please swallow before you speak,” April encouraged in a motherly tone.  The boy rolled his eyes and gulped down his food, eager to talk once more.

“We had a snowball fight!” he announced.  “It was awesome!” Before April could react, the lights flickered out and left them sitting in a dimly lit room, its only light source being the window.  The humming of the heater ended abruptly so that the only existent ambient noise was that of the black spruce branches clashing against the window. “Oh no,” Lucus mumbled.

“Looks like you were right, honey, a tree must’ve came down somewhere,” concluded James.

“I hope it doesn’t get too cold,” his wife fretted.  Promptly, the kitchen window, which was on the wall across from the opposite end of the table,  shattered with a clamorous crash. The branches had slammed into it with too much force from the wind.  Their son let out a frightened shriek and jumped out of his chair. “It’s okay, Lucus, just step away from the window,” April assured him.  The family backed away from the table and observed the hole. Broken glass littered the floor and an icy draft creeped into the house. The brunette placed her hands on the back of her head and interlocked her fingers in concern.  “What are we going to do, James? With no heater it’ll get cold in here pretty fast and the snow will ruin the hardwood floor.”

“It looks like we’re going on a family trip to Home Depot.”

“In this weather?”

“What other option do we have?  We need something to cover what's left of it so snow doesn’t pile up in here.  We live down the street, how bad can the drive be?”

April soon found herself sitting reluctantly in the passenger seat of her car.  Lucus was bundled up in the backseat while James drove. As suspected, the road was practically empty.

“I’ll be damned if they’re even open,” she commented.

“The roads aren’t too bad and the snow has slowed down a bit.  As long as cars drive at a steady pace they’ll be fine. Besides, I’m sure other people’s homes have been damaged with the wind being this strong, the store should stay open with that in mind.”

“If the weather is bad, stores will close.  They don’t care if people need access to them.  They’d rather people stay indoors and not risk their lives driving in hazardous conditions.”

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to see about that.”  To April’s surprise, the store was open when they arrived.  “You can stay in the car with Lucus, I’ll go buy wood to board up the window,” her husband spoke with a twinkle in his eye and with his best “I told you so” smirk.

“Yeah, yeah,” April agreed begrudgingly.  Leaving the heat on for his wife and son, James exited the car and trudged through the snow to the store’s entrance.

“Mommy?” Lucus piped up after a few moments.

“Yes, honey?”

“I-- I’m really cold and my foot feels funny.”  April, who tended to be an excessive worrier, stepped out of the car and entered again, this time, sitting in the backseat beside her child.  Lucus’ cheeks were flushed and his nose was beet red. He bit his lip as a shiver ran down his spine, causing his entire body to tremble. With the heat in the car on its highest setting, it was abnormal for his body to be reacting the way it was.

“Which foot is it?”

“This one,” Lucus told her and rested his left foot on the seat beside her.  April gently removed his boot, then his sock, to reveal his small foot. The skin of his toes were a deep red, nearly purple, color.  The sight made her stomach twinge in the same way it had when she watched the snow fall earlier that morning. Lucus peered at his own foot in confusion.  However, glancing at his silent, concerned mother, the vivid expression of confusion on his face shifted to one of fear. His brows furrowed and his icy eyes were round with worry.  April caught on to her son’s emotions and placed a gentle hand on his knee.

“Its okay, baby, it just looks like you were out in the snow for too long.  Daddy and I will take you to the doctor when he gets back,” the mother promised.  “Does your other foot feel alright?”

“Yeah, it-- it feels fine.”

“James,” April started when her husband returned.  He placed the wooden plank in the car’s trunk and slammed the door behind him once he was sitting comfortably in the driver’s seat.  “Look at your son’s foot, we need to get him to the hospital.”

“Huh?” James leaned over to glance at Lucus in the back seat.  “Looks like a mild case of frostbite,” he explained upon catching a glimpse of the discolored toes.

“Can you drive to the hospital?”

“Yeah, I don’t think it’s anything to worry about but we should still get him looked at,” James agreed and backed the car out of its parking spot.  “You alright, bud?” he asked Lucus.

“My foot feels funny.”

“You’re strong, right bud?”

“Yeah!”

“Then you’ll be fine.” April admired her husband’s confidence.  When he knew she was worried about something he would suppress his own fear and replace it with optimism to make her feel more secure.  April wrapped her arms around Lucus, holding him to her chest to keep him warm as James drove.

“April, we have a problem,” he announced minutes later.  The brunette craned her neck to peer through the windshield and saw how packed the road ahead of them was.

“Can we take Hayeswater Road around?”

“No, it was closed when we passed it earlier.”

“There’s no way we’re making it to the hospital through all this traffic, it’ll take hours.”

“I’m turning around.”

“What?”

“I have to, if it’s frostbite we should be able to treat it at home but we can’t waste time sitting in traffic or else it could get worse.”

“Okay, I trust you.”

James turned the car around and the family made it home within a half an hour.  Once they parked in the street in front of their house, April carried her son through the raging blizzard to the front door, which James, who had carried the wood inside already, held open for her.  Their home was awfully cold and she noticed a layer of white dust surrounded by a puddle in front of the shattered window. She resisted the urge to clean up the mess and rested her son on the counter so he could put his foot in the sink.

“James, can you start taking care of the window?  I’m going to run Lucus’ feet under warm water.”

“Yeah, sure thing.” April removed the shoe and sock from her son’s other foot and ran water until it exceeded a lukewarm temperature.  His right foot appeared normal but she didn’t want to take the risk of it going untreated if it wasn’t.

“Okay, Lucus, just put your feet under the water for a bit,” she instructed the boy.  He did as he was told and April stood beside him, watching the water stream from the faucet as the sound of hammering echoed throughout the kitchen.

“I’m still cold, Mommy.”

“I know,” April sighed and wrapped an arm around Lucus for warmth.  After a few brief minutes, she stopped the water and dried each of her son’s feet with a dish towel before setting him on the floor.  His toes were still reddened but not nearly as terrible as they were previously. “Feel any better?”

“Yeah but it’s still kinda tingly,” replied Lucus.  At this time, James had finished covering the broken window and joined his wife and son by the sink.

“How about you go to your room and keep your foot under the blanket in your bed.  That should keep it warm and you’ll be better in no time,” he suggested. Lucus nodded and limped up the staircase to his room.  When he was gone, April turned to her husband and put a hand on the side of his arm.

“Thank you,” she told him.

“For…?”

“For keeping me calm in the car earlier.”

“Don’t thank me, it’s just part of my husband and fatherly duty,” he said with a grin.  “I love you.” James placed a soft kiss on her forehead to which she responded by embracing him in a tender hug.

As hours flew by, April and James would alternate in checking in on their son.  After they all sat down for a family dinner, Lucus returned to his room and not too long after that, he had fallen asleep.  Both parents entered the bedroom to say goodnight only to find him passed out under his covers. April lifted the blanket to glance at his frostbitten foot with a flashlight before sitting at the end of his bed.

“How does it look?” her husband whispered as he sat down beside her.

“Well, they’re not red anymore.  They’re kind of pinkish.”

“That’s great!”

“Yeah, I hope he’ll be okay.”

“He’ll be fine, I’m sure of it.” With exasperated smiles, the two watched their son while slept as the wind continued to moan outside.  Then, by some miracle, the lights came back on.