Winter Contempt

Stepping outside the bakery, sparse trees danced in the late autumn breeze. She set her cupcakes on the bench to don her gloves and snug her scarf tightly around her face and neck. Jack Frost is certainly in the air this evening, she complained to herself. Walking briskly to her home, she spotted workers making ready the outdoor skating pond, soon to be bustling with lovers of winter. She noticed dark skies threatening an icy rain, though it was probably cold enough to snow. Shivering, she finally scurried up her walkway to her porch, glad she was home to thaw out. Sitting alone, she entertained a chocolate cupcake and cup of hot cocoa while watching the gloomy weather report on the news. As the short day turned into a long night, she groaned at the sound of sleet pelting the home’s aluminum siding. The local news ended, as did the last of her hot cocoa. She crawled into bed, pulling the covers over her flannel clad body up to her chin. Rising up in the predawn morning, she made ready for work. As the wind howled without mercy, she noticed icy crystals had coated the outside of her home’s every window. Her breath was taken as she stepped out on her porch. Icy flakes of snow raged horizontally in the blustery wind. The weather report had been accurate; the blizzard pounded the city landscape. She trudged the half mile to work at the bakery, longing for spring. August 26, 2016