It was a chilly day in Quebec on February 22, 2008. The snow was fresh. In fact, just as a car pulled up to an extravagant cabin, the snow had quit falling. The car parked in its spot that had not been used in quite some time and the driver's side door was opened. Looking around, a person could see nothing but trees and snow with the exclusion of a small clearing. It was secluded, desolate, which was the main reason that Kelly Rowan had purchased the large cabin.

The air was crisp and clean as Kelly took in her surroundings. It has been too long. Kelly thought to herself. She wasn't expecting her company for a few hours. She had scheduled in enough time so she could reacquaint herself with the place. Kelly looked back toward the clearing and smiled a wide smile. She began running down the decline toward the snow-covered area. As she ran, she noticed that the snow was incredibly soft. Doubtlessly, it was always like this but she actually had the time to take notice.

Suddenly, the momentum and the snow got the best of her and Kelly fell. She rolled the rest of the way down the hill, laughing the whole time. She landed on her back, facing the blue sky, still laughing out loud. She hadn't felt this carefree in a long time.

From her position lying on the ground, Kelly looked around at the wide space that the trees circled around. Realization dawned upon her.

"Woo!" The sound Kelly had emitted echoed through the clearing into the trees and surrounded her. She did it again and then once more before busting into giggles and closing her eyes again.

Peter was on the verge of yelling out from the balcony at Kelly as she tumbled down the hill. He jumped down the short distance to the ground and began after her. His worry dissipated quickly as he realized that she was simply laughing.

He just stared at her, fixated. He had never seen her like this, so free. It was an amazing sight. Her hair looked more golden than ever and her smile literally took Peter's breath away. It was the most genuine he had ever seen her. In addition to her joy, Peter also hadn't seen her in over a year. Suddenly, he realized just how much he had missed seeing her on a daily basis.

"Kelly." He said softly. He was smiling and it was evident in his voice.

Kelly's eyes popped open as she heard the sound of the voice she would know anywhere. There he was, standing beside her.

"Peter! You're early." She said as she moved to get up and look presentable. That task proved difficult considering she had sunk quite a bit into the snow and her leather jacket added to the immobility.

"No! Don't get up." Peter insisted as his hands searched the pockets of his jacket.

"Why?" Kelly asked, skeptically.

"Because." Somehow, that was enough of an answer for her. Of course, it is. Kelly told herself. You'd trust him with your life.

Peter grinned triumphantly as he pulled a digital camera from his pocket.

"Peter..." Kelly protested as soon as she saw what he was up to.

"Please." With that, Kelly relented. She silently berated herself. She had been doing so well. Was this trip going to wipe out all the progress she had made?

Peter snapped the shot of Kelly and although she looked gorgeous no doubt, her smile wasn't the genuine smile she had been donning only a few moments earlier. Slightly angry with himself for putting a stop to Kelly's good time, Peter sat down beside her.

"You have an amazing place here, Kelly. Well, from the outside, at least."

"Thank you."

Peter continued to glance around him at the trees and back toward the cabin. A few minutes of silence passed.

"That one looks like a heart." Kelly said, pointing to the sky. Peter looked up. Huge, puffy white clouds were spaced out just enough that a person could create shapes with them.

"Which one?"

"The one to the left a little. It's kind of under that lumpy one." Kelly attempted to explain but gave up quickly. "Just lie down. You'll be able to see better." She instructed as she pulled at his arm. Peter did as he was told and Kelly was right.

"Oh, I see it now."

"Told ya."

A few more minutes passed before Peter spotted another. "Ooh. That one looks like the Cheshire cat." Kelly couldn't help but grin. They sounded so young. But Peter was right, that cloud did look like the cat.

"Oh my gosh!" Kelly gasped.

"What?"

"The one to the right looks like the bunny. You know, 'I'm late. For a very important date.' Look! There's even a little pocket watch. Well, you have to kind of squint."

Peter chuckled at her explanation and her erratic hand movements as she tried to get him to see. He grabbed her arm as he continued to chuckle. "Yeah. I see it."

"What if the whole cast of 'Alice in Wonderland' is up there? I'll look for the Mad Hatter and you look for Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee."

"Kelly, I think that would be more effort than is required of cloud-shaping."

"I suppose you're right. I just haven't done this in forever."

"Me neither." Peter paused for a few more moments before thinking of something else. "You know what else I haven't done in forever?"

"No, what?" Kelly asked excitedly.

"This." Peter answered as he began to make a snow angel. Kelly smiled widely and proceeded to move her arms and legs to create one of her own.

"I used to love making these!" She exclaimed. "I was never good at getting out of the imprint and not messing it up though."

Peter chuckled. "I had a bit of a knack for it. I used to get out of mine and then help all of my friends out of theirs." He continued to chuckle as he reminisced. "Hopefully, I still have that skill and then I can help you."

"It would be greatly appreciated." Kelly responded.

Peter stopped moving his arms and legs and expertly extracted himself from the imprint left in the snow.

"I still got it!" He exclaimed, smiling down at his handy work before moving over to Kelly. "Give me your hands, KR." He stood over her and grasped her hands as she held them up to him. Very carefully, Peter pulled Kelly from her own snow angel. Suddenly, he picked her up and placed her on the ground beside him.

"There." He announced as they looked at their snow angels. "Those look great. We are awesome." Peter proclaimed as he put an arm around Kelly.

"Mine's not too bad, huh?"

"Are you kidding? It's phenomenal! Best snow angel I've ever seen."

"Yeah." Kelly said, skeptically. Peter reached back into his pocket and retrieved the camera again. He pointed the lens at the angels and snapped a picture.

"Still into pictures, I see."

"Yup. What? I like memories. Excuse me." Kelly giggled at Peter's girlish tendency. It was something that he had done as long as they had known each other and even before that. Peter enjoyed taking pictures so he could document parts of his life.

Kelly felt that it came from his mother's disease. Kelly's theory was that Peter wanted to take measures to not be able to forget the things that he had accomplished and the memories that he had throughout his life. Peter had never come anywhere close to confirming Kelly's theory but she felt that it was the root behind his picture taking.

"Want to see the inside of the house?" Kelly offered suddenly.

"Of course. Lead the way."

Kelly started up the incline. Rolling down the hill must have affected her equilibrium because she felt a tad bit dizzy. She felt herself leaning to the left so she readjusted by moving toward the right. However, she overcompensated and began falling backwards. Luckily, Peter was behind her. He caught her before she could do anymore damage.

Naturally, his hands slipped around her waist to support her. Her whole body was leaning against him, her back to his chest. Her hands sought out his and they gently covered Peter's.

"You okay?" He whispered with a tiny chuckle. Having Kelly this close was taking his breath away. His nose was so close to her hair that the scent of her shampoo mixed with the perfume from her neck quickly surrounded him.

On the other side of this exchange, Kelly's breathing was subtly picking up speed. She could feel his warm breath on her neck. As he whispered, shivers were sent up and down her spine. She could have cried. Instead, she closed her eyes and lifted her head toward the sky. She took in a deep breath of the crisp air. I'm supposed to be over him. She thought to herself.

"I'm fine." She said softly, trying her hardest to keep her voice steady. She gently tugged his hands away from her waist. She attempted to break all the physical contact between them but Peter wouldn't allow it. He held onto her left hand tightly until they had safely arrived at the top of the hill.

Peter followed Kelly to her car where he picked up her bags and toted them into the foyer of the cabin. Peter set the bags down and looked around.

"Wow." He spoke breathlessly. "Kelly, this place is… wow." The interior was genuine cabin. It was so aesthetically perfect that Peter had to remind himself that he was in an actual place and not a theatrical set. The furnishings all met the mountain cabin standards. There was even a moose head above the fireplace.

Kelly blushed at the compliment. That was usually what people said when they saw her cabin. Peter turned around to bring his own bags, which had been waiting by the front door, inside. The couple walked into the den and Peter chuckled at the prominent moose that was staring at him. Kelly went toward the thermostat and adjusted it while Peter looked around. He noticed a picture on a table by the sofa. It was of a little boy of about six.

"Who's this?" Peter asked, picking up the photo. Kelly turned and walked over to where he stood. She took the photo from his hands and looked it over. Peter noticed how her eyes had changed. The flecks of blue lit up slightly.

"This…" She started slowly. "Is my son." She made eye contact with Peter briefly before looking back down at the picture. "His name is Joshua and he is seven-and-a-half. Don't forget about that half part." Kelly warned with a small chuckle. "Before you ask, I don't tell people about him because he deserves a normal childhood. One without interviews and a million pictures taken of him."

Finally, Kelly looked back up at Peter. He was staring at her, transfixed with shock. This was such a big secret. Suddenly, Kelly began laughing. Peter rolled his eyes at her, realizing that she had been lying.

"Peter! Do you really think that I could…? Did you really believe me?" She was cackling by this point.

Peter was shaking his head. "You are horrible."

Kelly just continued to laugh. "He's my cousin's son. They vacation here a lot. In fact, he is the one who persuaded me to buy the moose." Kelly motioned toward the animal before putting the picture back on the table.

"So does he have a name?"

"It's Joshua. I didn't make that part up."

"No. The moose. Does the moose have a name?" Peter corrected her, looking back up at the creature.

"Oh. Well, Josh renames him every time they visit so I suppose the correct answer would be no. Feel free to give him a stable name. I'm sure he would appreciate it."

"What do you call him?" Peter asked looking to Kelly.

"He's a dead moose, Peter. I don't call him anything."

"Well, that seems a little rude." Peter mentioned as he looked back up at the moose. Kelly shrugged and rolled her eyes a bit. "I think… Oscar."

"Oscar?" She repeated.

"Oscar."

"Oscar." Kelly pondered for a moment. Simultaneously, Kelly and Peter cocked their head to contemplate the mammal in addition to the name. "It suits him." She declared.

Suddenly, chimes echoed through the home. Kelly jogged to answer it as Peter followed behind. Melinda and Benjamin waited patiently on the other side of the door. It quickly swung open and the two were welcomed into the warmth of the cabin.

"Kelly! Peter!" Melinda shouted as she threw her arms around Kelly.

"Hey! Hey, Ben!" Kelly said excitedly from the embrace she was sharing with Melinda. Peter and Ben engaged in a manly handshake followed by a hug. Ben delivered the news that Mischa was not going to be able to attend on account of working on a new project. The group of friends chatted among themselves as others arrived and joined in on the conversation.

Within the hour, everyone had arrived. Adam and Rachel had arrived together but maintained that they were still separate. Autumn was only a few minutes behind them. Soon, drinks had been poured and the den was alive with several different conversations. Kelly sat quietly on the couch, sipping her drink and thinking to herself.

She could not help but wonder if this getaway was a mistake. She felt like a failure. She was supposed to be over him. He was only her friend. He could only be her friend.

Kelly looked up at Peter and as if he could feel her eyes on him, he looked up into her baby blues. He smiled that smile and Kelly smiled back despite the fact that she could no longer breathe. A million butterflies had taken flight in her belly and Kelly was just thankful that she was sitting because if she hadn't been, her knees would have given way.


Oh, yeah. This trip is going to be interesting.