Let It Snow

Simone shrugged on her winter coat, pinning the buttons together and adjusting her hat as she stood in the small foyer of her apartment. She pulled on her mittens and shoved her keys and wallet into the large pocket of her coat before surveying her appearance in the mirror.

New York was in the middle of the biggest blizzard the state had seen in over a decade. There was already seven inches on the slippery streets of the city and it showed no sign of stopping. It was Christmas Eve and all flights out of the city had been cancelled, as well as all public transportation.

There was no way for Simone to get back to California to see her father and no way to travel upstate an hour to be with her roommate’s family.

Nevertheless, the two girls had stocked up on food and decorations. The small Christmas tree in the middle of the tiny apartment had a few gifts underneath it that the girls had managed to afford for each other. There was no shortage of holiday movies when the news became boring.

All channels warned that trekking out into the snowstorm would be treacherous and to do so at one’s own risk.

However, Simone needed to go out onto the streets of the Upper West Side. Her roommate and best friend, Kelly, had gotten dangerously sick a few days before. She was slowly becoming better but Simone could still hear her coughing and agonized moans of pain through the night. She’d decided to brave the snow-covered streets to get some medicine and soup, if she could find an open store.

The lobby was deserted. Undoubtedly, everyone was holed up in their apartments. Simone tugged her hat down over her ears and wrapped her scarf more snugly around her neck. Her long, blonde hair fell haphazardly over her shoulders and back. She peeked out of the door and sighed.

As a native Californian, Simone had fallen in love with every aspect of New York City the first time she’d visited Kelly years ago. She’d never fully acclimated to the temperatures though and snow was still something she was getting used to.

She pushed out into the wind. Everything was silent around her. The city that never slept had been pushed into a forced hibernation. There were two people across the street, heads bowed as they walked against the wind, and a car inched slowly past but otherwise, Simone was alone.

“Dammit,” she mumbled, finding the sidewalk utterly covered. She navigated well enough at first, but was discouraged as she tried to cross the slushy street. Simone followed the familiar buildings, hoping to find an open deli or pharmacy somewhere along the avenue.

Finally she saw a shop lit up at the end of the block. The wind bit her cheeks and blew her hair back. She tugged her arms around her body as she trudged through the snow toward the light. It was dismally dark outside and she cursed loudly when she slid on the ice outside the doorway.

Once inside, Simone took in her surroundings. She was in a Chinese food restaurant with a blond man sitting at the sushi bar. It wasn’t the restaurant she normally went to but it would suffice.

“Hi, can I just get some soup?” she asked, pulling at her scarf to loosen it. “I’ll take a large wonton and a large miso, actually…I’d like a sushi roll combo platter too, just with some avocado and California rolls please.”

She found that she came up short on the money aspect though. Her wallet was missing from the coat pocket she’d put it in. She cursed and ripped her hat off of her head, running a hand through her hair and causing static to appear because of her gloves.

“Did I really fucking walk all this way to drop my wallet?” she mumbled, cursing under breath. Exasperated, Simone looked up to find the blond man extending a twenty dollar bill to the smiling man behind the counter.

The man was absolutely gorgeous. His face was covered with scruff and his blue eyes were covered with thick framed glasses. His hair was slightly windblown despite its short length. He towered easily over her and smiled down easily with a bright white smile. He was dressed simply, with skinny jeans and a peacoat.

“Thank you so much,” Simone said breathlessly as he grabbed his change and shoved it in the tip jar, “You really didn’t have to do that.”

“I didn’t have to,” his voice traveled over her body like honey, “But I did want to. Besides, it’s Christmas.”

He sat down at the small sushi bar again as the Japanese man worked at Simone’s order. He leaned his head in his hands as he stared down his perfect nose at her. She bit her lip and then smiled, self-conscious of her near lack of makeup. The man looked exceedingly familiar to her, though she couldn’t figure out from where.

“I’m assuming your plans got fucked up too,” she said, taking some initiative. She nearly flinched at her own casual cursing. Kelly always cursed, no matter the occasion, and it had rubbed off on her after a while.

“No,” he answered with a grin, “I planned on spending Christmas here, eating decent sushi and staring at the wall.”

She laughed after he did and took a seat next to him as she waited. There was no music playing in the shop and now that she looked around, she was glad this wasn’t her usual restaurant. It wasn’t dirty as much as it was just battered, but it was extremely plain.

“I was supposed to be in Canada actually,” he said. “My flight was, predictably, cancelled.”

“So was mine,” she sighed, “Except I was supposed to be in California.”

He let out a low whistle and smiled, tilting his head at her.

“Bet you’re real mad now, with the snow and all.”

“You have no idea.”

They fell into silence for a while, listening to the slice of the knife against the cutting board. Simone watched the rhythmic cutting of the fish and how skilled the man’s hands worked to form the roll.

“I’m Simone, by the way,” she introduced. The man smiled dazzlingly at her and she blinked. He held out his hand, which she took.

“Ryan,” he said, drinking in every aspect of her blushed cheeks. She felt like she could either shrink or grow in size under his gaze. He almost took her breath away. It was freezing outside but it felt like summer between them.

“This might sound crazy, probably because it is, but do you want to come back to my apartment? My roommate is there, she’s getting over a little cold—that’s what the soup is for but, uh, no one should have to spend Christmas alone or anything,” she rambled, wishing internally that she could shut her mouth.

He smiled as he watched her trip over her words. His arm rested against the counter, propping him up as he surveyed the woman in front of him. He thought she was stunning and he found her extremely interesting.

“Yeah, sure,” he agreed. “That’s very nice of you.”

The two waited patiently for her food to be done. They didn’t speak much, which made Simone wary of inviting him back to the apartment. This was more of a thing for Kelly to do; she was more of a wild, impulsive person than Simone was. She did feel bad for the beautiful blond man though. He had a calm steadiness about him that hinted at a deep intelligence.

The trudge back to the apartment was brutal. Simone had to carry her bag of food and struggle to keep her hat and scarf on. Also, she was determined to find her wallet in one of the many snow drifts she’d passed. Now there was no one on the streets at all and she could barely even see the skyscrapers towering around her.

“Holy shit,” Ryan said, falling into the lobby behind Simone. She laughed and swiped snow off of her shoulders and shook out her hat. Ryan didn’t have a hat so the snow was melting in his hair. “It’s snowing.”

“It sure is,” Simone agreed with a laugh. Her apartment on the eighth floor was only minutes away and she was excited to see the look on Kelly’s face when she brought a gorgeous stranger in.

She struggled with the key for a moment. Ryan took her bag of sushi and patiently waited. The apartment was revealed to them soon enough. Kelly was sitting with her hair in a ponytail, watching the news under a blanket.

“Simone, you didn’t have to go out. Was anywhere even open? I can’t see shit from the balcony, which is fucking terrifying by the way, don’t go out there—oh, hi.”

Kelly stopped mid-ramble, her eyebrows knitting together when she stood up with the blanket and saw a tall man next to her short friend. Incredulous disbelief was the look Simone would describe on her best friend’s face next.

“Kell, this is Ryan,” she introduced the two, “I met him at the Chinese food place down the block; it was all that was open. I got you some soup and if you want one of my sushi rolls that’s fine.”

Simone placed everything down on the small table the girls had set up on the farther side of the living room. Every inch of the apartment was decorated and she felt almost foolish bringing this stranger in. She whirled around the small kitchen, pulling out bowls and plates.

“Ryan, you can take your coat off,” she yelled from the kitchen, “Put it on one of the chairs or something!”

Kelly barreled into the small room, looking absolutely shocked. She also looked mildly crazy, wearing cotton pajama shorts and a long sleeved band tee under a giant blanket. Her hair was clean but she was still very pale, with the darkest circles under her eyes.

“You brought home Ryan Gosling?!” she whispered intensely, “How the fuck did you manage that?!”

“Oh shit,” Simone answered, realization dawning over her. “Fuck, I knew he looked familiar…”

“Familiar!” Kelly whisper-yelled, “Fucking familiar, you say! Merry Christmas, huh? What a present!”

Simone felt a tug of jealousy at her heart. Kelly was in a committed relationship with someone she knew from the town her parents lived in. He’d managed to make it home on one of the last trains before the blizzard. She still didn’t like the pure fawning Kelly was doing.

“He was alone in the place and I felt bad,” she shrugged. “He paid for our food too, I lost my wallet.”

She bustled out of the kitchen, not wanting to leave him alone for too long. He was standing where she’d left him, coat off and hanging on the back of a chair neatly, with his hands in his pockets. He was intently watching the news.

Now that she was aware of whom he was, Simone could punch herself. She hadn’t even realized that he was famous. All she’d realized was that he was absolutely handsome. He smiled and sat down at the table when Kelly did.

He made polite conversation at first, asking about her cold and then asking both girls what they were doing in life. There was an awkward tension at first but it didn’t take long for it to wear off. The three were an easy fit and they joked around without any problems.

Eventually, after Simone cleaned the dishes, they moved to the living room to watch the news and then a movie. When the clock struck midnight, they all wished each other a bright “Merry Christmas!” and continued watching the film they’d chosen.

Simone found herself sneaking peeks at Ryan throughout the movie. It wasn’t until the end that she realized she hadn’t been following the plot at all and didn’t know what had happened. She was wrapped up in her head and all her thoughts were of the man next to her.

He had proven to be kind and generous, offering to clean up after the two girls ate. She found him to be quiet but not in a shy way. It was more to pay attention and to understand fully what was happening around him. His smile was easy to win and she loved to make him laugh, just so the sound could grace her ears.

Ryan had paid more attention to the movie, though not enough to have a real discussion about it. He was nervous, which was something that normally didn’t happen to him. He was a logical man, after all; he knew how to do things. Simone was different, he thought, even with the way she looked after her sick friend.

Kelly had fallen asleep, curled up in the armchair. She hadn’t been able to breathe lying down and had complained steadily about her throat until she dozed off in the middle of the movie. Simone was nervous now that she was asleep and there was no more buffer.

“Your apartment is very nice,” Ryan said casually.

“Thanks! We rented it two years ago and we really love it,” she said, “It was a huge change from California but I really love it here.”

That carried the conversation for a while. Simone’s story was strange. She’d met Kelly online and then met her. After a year, she’d moved across the country to live with her best friend of four years. Ryan’s story wasn’t typical either, considering he was a movie star. They shared stories for what seemed like hours.

“I like the decorations,” he commented, laughing at a stuffed penguin sitting on the small coffee table. Simone laughed too.

“Mostly from Kelly’s mom,” she explained, pointing at an array of different Christmas items. Her breath caught in her throat when Ryan extended a hand and tucked a stray piece of long blonde hair behind her ear.

“It’s a shame there’s no mistletoe,” he said. Suddenly, he seemed much closer than he’d been throughout their entire conversation.

“Is it?” Simone breathed, her voice a forced whisper.

“Yes,” he answered, “I would have liked to have caught you underneath it.”

*

“Where are we going though?”

Simone was pestering him, as usual. It was Christmas Eve and they did have a connecting flight in two hours. She told him they shouldn’t have left the airport; that she’d lived in New York for years and knew the traffic patterns, but he hadn’t listened.

Ryan, her boyfriend of two years, almost never listened.

Simone had moved out of her New York apartment almost a year after the Christmas she spent snowed in with her best friend and an internationally famous actor. Kelly had ended up engaged and Simone wanted a change of scenery so she’d gone back to California to be closer to her boyfriend.

The two had been inseparable after that Christmas, always talking and seeing each other whenever they could. The pair had wasted no time at all falling in love.

Simone loved the feeling of his arms wrapped around her and the smell of his cologne when she rested her cheek on his chest. Ryan missed his hands running through her soft hair and the light laugh she would give him when he scrunched his nose.

“You’ll see in a moment,” he answered.

They were back in New York, though only for two hours. They’d flown in from the west coast and were waiting on their flight to Ontario. Simone hadn’t realized how much she’d missed this city. There was no snow on the ground this year so there were tons of people out, running around with bags like crazy people.

The taxi stopped at the curb and Simone let out a deep sigh and then a laugh.

Ryan had brought her to the Chinese restaurant they’d met in two years ago. It was slightly ridiculous now, to be walking into this dingy place. They’d been lucky enough to avoid all paparazzi and Ryan removed his sunglasses as soon as they were inside.

They ordered food (to go, at Simone’s pleading) and sat side by side at the sushi bar, just as they’d done years ago.

“This was a wonderful surprise,” Simone accepted, wrapping an arm around him and leaning her head on his shoulder. He chuckled and kissed her forehead lightly, wrapping his arm around her.

“I know,” he answered, “You have to have a little bit of faith.”

“You’re too good to me.”

“I’m lucky to have you,” he said, “It’s the least I could do.”

She pressed a kiss to his jaw and then settled back into her seat. The wait was short and she was dreading having to hail another cab for the ride back to the airport. As much as she loved his idea, she was terrified of missing the flight.

When the couple turned to leave the store, hand in hand, they both had to stop and stare in complete, utter disbelief at the scene in front of them before falling into hysterics.

Snow was pouring from the sky. There was a slight wind, causing the snow to fall slanted like sheets of paper. The grey clouds had opened up to release the frozen stuff, and Ryan and Simone couldn’t stop laughing. It took them a while before they could even gather themselves enough to walk out into the storm.

They stared at the sky, opening their arms and laughing. Simone spun in circles, ignoring the annoyed people on the sidewalk. She found this to be a real Christmas miracle.

Ryan’s cool hands found Simone’s cheeks and he pulled her close to him. They were hugging on the sidewalk, snow covering their hair and shoulders and feet. Simone could have sworn he’d never looked more beautiful, staring down at her with laughter in his eyes.

“Oh, baby,” he said, “Let it snow.”