Natural Disaster

Chapter 28

The next morning, the cold was slowly dissipating, but the snow seemed determined to stick around. Launa begrudgingly trudged out into it, helping Avi take the tent down. Until he got distracted by the snow. "I want to build a snowman," he said, suddenly, bending to test the snow's density and trying to pack it into a ball. She watched, half-amused and half-heartbroken over his disappointment as his face fell, the snowball crumbling into white dust.

"It's too dry," she told him, folding the tent down into something manageable, "You need wet snow to make a snowball, let alone a snowman."

Avi sighed heavily, and she couldn't help but laugh at how exaggeratedly sad he looked as he dropped the handful of snow and brushed his hands off on his pants. "Alright," he grumbled, retrieving his bags from the snow, getting ready to set off down the road.

______

The trip to the next town down the road took several days and several stops. The snow slowed their pace exponentially, and both were frustrated at the near lack of progress. Avi huffed at the map, glancing around them to ensure that he could pinpoint where they were. "This is ridiculous," he grumbled, as if the map were to blame for their pace, "if it weren't for the snow, we'd be there, already."

Launa sighed as she listened to him rant under his breath. "Come on, beardy," she tugged on his sleeve, "we've still got a little bit of light left. Let's keep moving."

He conceded, stuffing the offending map away and squeezed her hand briefly before falling into step beside her. As night fell, they picked up the pace as much as they could, not wanting to spend another night in the tent. And, as if something were listening, a stop for truck drivers came within view, and they scrambled into the small building. It wasn't anything resembling a living space, but it was shelter.

She shivered hard and gestured for him to turn away as she slipped off her jeans. "I am sick to death of having wet pants." She could practically the gears turning in Avi's head as he opened his mouth to crack a dirty joke. "Don't even say it." She jabbed a finger at him almost violently. He snickered as she pulled on dry pants. 

______

The building was cold but, thankfully, empty, with not a corpse to be found. They pushed all of the chairs together, forming something of a bed and sat in the dead silence, eating their dinner and listened to the cold wind blow by, outside. Please don't be another blizzard, Launa pleaded silently, allowing herself to be pulled tight against Avi's side and sharing his warmth as she jotted down the date and day's events in her little notebook. 

She stopped short and reread the date. December 24th. Christmas Eve.

Avi shifted to peer at her page, pausing before hugging her tighter. "Merry Christmas," he whispered.

"Happy Hannukah." She laughed hollowly, fighting back the tears she hadn't expected. She suddenly understood Avi's earlier sorrow. I miss my Mom. They remained motionless for a while, Launa swallowing hard to avoid crying, until he pulled her into his lap, earning him a disgruntled, annoyed sound. Avi just shushed her, stroking her hair and back as she let herself lean heavily against him.

He dug in his pocket for a moment and squeezed her shoulder. "Close your eyes," he instructed gently. She did as she was told, and felt him clasp something around her neck. "Okay. Open them."

She opened her eyes, finding her companion smiling sheepishly, and she glanced down to inspect what he'd put on her: a necklace. It was a thin, silver chain with a tiny, matching pendant inlaid with a deep red stone. "I found it," Avi explained, watching her examine it with a smile, "And it might be weird, because it used to be someone else's, but...I thought it suited you." He bit his lip for a moment, giving her a small smile. "Happy holidays."

"Ugh, Avi," Launa scolded him, "I didn't do anything for you!"

He shook his head. "I didn't do it with the intention of getting something in return," he stated simply, "I did it because I care about you. I wanted you to have it."

Launa held the pendant between her thumb and forefinger, inspecting it closely in an attempt to ignore the rush of warmth that struck her chest at his words. "It's garnet," she murmured, "I think it's native to this region."

Shouldn't you feel weird that it was someone else's?

Well, no. It's not like it's from an ex-girlfriend of his. That would be awkward and unacceptable.

What the hell? We've been picking up shit off the ground for years. How long have we been wearing lost jewelry?

Her face split into a smile and cupped his jaw in her hand, planting a slow kiss on his lips. "Thank you," she murmured as she pulled away, her fingers trailing down his neck to rest on his shoulder, "but really, I feel like I need to give you something."

Avi shook his head once more, readjusting his grip on her back to bring her impossibly closer. "Nope," he said, his voice firm, "no obligations during the holidays."

She snorted. "That's a lie."

"Okay, so there is obligation to spend time with family you don't get along with, but...," he trailed off as she dissolved into laughter, quickly joining in as the sound infected him.

It was not the holiday season either of them would have ever wanted or even imagined. But, Launa smiled wide all the same, falling onto his shoulder as they laid down, fidgeting endlessly with her new pendant, and Avi laughed low in his chest as they traded stories about their families during the holidays. The hollow ache of missing them was prevalent, but their company eased it. It could be so much worse, she reminded herself, curling against him and throwing a leg over his hip as he hugged her close and kissed her good night, his words slurred with half-consciousness.

They drifted off quickly, the muteness of the falling snow, outside, cutting them off from the rest of the world.