What If?
Snow Day
What if Satine never worked at the Moulin Rouge? What if they had met in another time, another place? What if there was no other angry man? What if Satine didn't have consumption? Would their love be perfect or would there still be hardships and struggles?
***
Lilibet had been longing for snow since the first day in December. Her wish finally came true in the second week of January. At six o'clock she woke up and walked over to her window. She held her breath and drew back the curtain. Even though it was dark she could see that the ground below was white. Ecstatically, she started doing a little dance around her room.
***
In the next room Satine was standing at the window, gazing out at the snow. Even though her longing for snow wasn't shown as much as Lilibet's she wanted it as much as she did. Satine loved the snow and everything associated with it - snowmen, snowball fights, snow angels, snow walks and dark nights snuggled in by the fire. Satine knew Lilibet would be awake next door. Glancing back at Christian, who was still asleep, she crept out of the door.
'It's snowing!' Lilibet said excitedly from her standing position on her bed.
'Ssshh! Come on.' Satine went over and picked her up. She carried her down the hall and then set her down. 'We've got to get the snow clothes from the spare bedroom.' They went to the wardrobe and after a few minutes a pile of coats, hats, gloves, scarves and boots had accumumlated on the floor. They sorted them into different piles and deposited them in front of the bedroom door of their owner.
'Can I get dressed now?' Lilibet asked. She wanted to go out and play in the snow.
'Yes but remember you can't go out yet. You know the rule. Remember to put on your warmest clothes. I'll be getting dressed next door if you need any help.'
'I won't.' Lilibet answered. She was very independent and liked doing things for herself.
***
Christian slowly opened his eyes and looked sleepily at the wall. Then he turned over and found that Satine was not there. Even though Satine was a lot better he still worried when she wasn't near him. He noticed that his snow clothes had been placed at the foot of the bed. Glancing outside he saw the snow coming down evenly. He quickly got dressed and then ran downstairs. Everyone was already up and dressed, eating boiled egg in the dining room.
'Good morning, Christian.' Everyone chorused together. Satine smiled up at him from her egg. He slid in next to her and kissed her temple.
'Morning.' He looked at the egg that the maid set in front of him. 'Isn't it bacon day?'
'Not on Snow Day, silly.' Lilibet told him.
'Snow Day?' Christian repeated.
'Yes.' Kate said. 'Every year, on the first day that it snows, we have Snow Day.'
'What is Snow Day?' Christian asked.
'It's a tradition in our family.' Joshua explained as he put some jam on his toast. 'We have boiled egg for breakfast and then we take a picnic to the park where we build snowmen, make snow angels, have snowball fights, go sledging and go ice skating. By this time it is about four o'clock. We come home and have afternoon tea, nothing too heavy though. Then at six we come out again for a snow walk.'
'What's a snow walk?'
'Snow walks are great fun.' Satine said. 'We go up to the woods and go for a walk. On the way we have to look for different tracks from different animals. Then we come home, light the fire and curl up in front of it. We play games and do puzzles. It's great fun, isn't it?' Everyone nodded enthusiastically.
'Come on.' William said rising from his place. 'We'd better get going if we want a good day at the park.'
***
The walk to the park took about twenty minutes with the picnic basket passing between the three men. The sledge was carried by Kate and Satine with Lilibet helping. When they arrived, quite a lot of people were already there but it wasn't as busy as it would get later in the day.
'What should we do first?' William asked as they surveyed the scene.
'Let's go ice skating first.' Satine said sensibly. 'It will get busier later.'
'Good idea. Alright everyone - to the pond.' They wandered cautiously over to the pond which had frozen over. A man was standing at the side renting out ice skates.
'Darling, I'll get ours. You wait here.' Christian told Satine. She nodded and sat down on a nearby bench and Lilibet sat beside her. Joshua, who had got in the queue straight away, bought his skates and Lilibet's over. Satine helped Lilibet lace them up and then she tottered onto the ice, holding her brother's hand. Christian returned with two pairs of skates. He set own pair on the bench next to Satine and then eased Satine's feet into the other pair. She gazed down at him while his head was bent down, lacing the skates up. Never before had anyone loved her so much. He finished and she gave him a loving kiss on the mouth. He flashed her a momentary smile before putting his own skates on.
'Come on you two!' Kate called from the pond. 'What's taking so long? The ice will have melted by the time you get on.'
Satine grinned at Christian as he helped her up. Stepping onto the ice, Satine took a few cautious steps before getting into a rhythm. Hand in hand they skated around a few times. Just before they reached everyone else for a third time, Satine let go of Christian's hand and headed straight towards them. She scooped up Lilibet and rushed off again.
'Hey! That's ours!' Joshua yelled across the pond.
'Oh, yea? If you want it - come and get it!' Satine taunted back. Joshua quickly took off. Satine dodged pass people, trying to get away from her brother. She could see him catching them up. At the last moment, just before he caught them, she turned sharply and made her way towards the other end. Joshua looked shocked and lost a few seconds. Once he turned around he saw that his two sisters were back with the others.
'Unfair!' He moaned. Satine just smiled.
***
The next few hours were spent sledging, eating their picnic, building snowmen and having a snowball fight. The hill used for sledging was extremely busy and everyone had to wait patiently for their turn. Lilibet went down, shrieking all the way. At the bottom, where William was waiting, she picked it up and pulled it back up the hill. Next it was Christian's go. He sat down and then looked at Satine.
'Come on, darling.' He said, patting the sledge in front of him. Satine grinned and sat down, leaning back into him as he wrapped his arms around her. Joshua gave them a push and they laughed all the way down. When they camr to a halt, Christian stood up and then helped Satine up. He wrapped his arms around her before giving her a massive kiss.
Satine was looking rather pale so after everyone else had a few more turns, William suggested lunch. A dry area with a make shift roof had been set up so that people could still eat their picnics. Christian spread the rug out and everyone sat down. After Satine had taken the food out of the basket she leant against Christian. William looked at her.
'Sandwich, darling?' He decided against asking her about how she was feeling at the moment. That could wait until later. Satine nodded and took one, taking small bites.
***
After finishing their snowball fight they walked back home and had their tea. Then, because it would be a lot colder in the evening, they wrapped up even more warmly and made their way to the woods. Christian and Satine walked hand in hand as they slowly made their way. On the way they saw the tracks of foxes, rabbits, squirrels and a robin. When they returned the fire had already been lit and everyone was sitting down. Christian and Satine were sitting on the couch together, Christian's arm draped around her waist and Satine's arm across his leg. William studied his daughter's pale face.
'Satine, are you feeling alright?' He asked casually. Immediately Christian put his hand to her forehead.
'I'm fine.' Satine insisted, shaking her head to remove Christian's hand. Standing up, she left the room. Closing the door behind her, she leant against it and slid down. Except, she wasn't. Fine that is. But she wasn't about to tell them that.
***
The next morning Satine slowly opened her eyes and focused them on Christian. She smiled at him but he didn't return it.
'We have to talk about last night.'
'What about last night?' Satine asked, sitting up.
'You know fully well what about.' Satine rolled her eyes and swung her legs over the bed. 'Tell me what's wrong!' Christian's voice rose. Satine sat there for what seemed like an eternity. Then, slowly, her head turned to the side.
She sighed. 'I'm pregnant.'
What if Satine never worked at the Moulin Rouge? What if they had met in another time, another place? What if there was no other angry man? What if Satine didn't have consumption? Would their love be perfect or would there still be hardships and struggles?
***
Lilibet had been longing for snow since the first day in December. Her wish finally came true in the second week of January. At six o'clock she woke up and walked over to her window. She held her breath and drew back the curtain. Even though it was dark she could see that the ground below was white. Ecstatically, she started doing a little dance around her room.
***
In the next room Satine was standing at the window, gazing out at the snow. Even though her longing for snow wasn't shown as much as Lilibet's she wanted it as much as she did. Satine loved the snow and everything associated with it - snowmen, snowball fights, snow angels, snow walks and dark nights snuggled in by the fire. Satine knew Lilibet would be awake next door. Glancing back at Christian, who was still asleep, she crept out of the door.
'It's snowing!' Lilibet said excitedly from her standing position on her bed.
'Ssshh! Come on.' Satine went over and picked her up. She carried her down the hall and then set her down. 'We've got to get the snow clothes from the spare bedroom.' They went to the wardrobe and after a few minutes a pile of coats, hats, gloves, scarves and boots had accumumlated on the floor. They sorted them into different piles and deposited them in front of the bedroom door of their owner.
'Can I get dressed now?' Lilibet asked. She wanted to go out and play in the snow.
'Yes but remember you can't go out yet. You know the rule. Remember to put on your warmest clothes. I'll be getting dressed next door if you need any help.'
'I won't.' Lilibet answered. She was very independent and liked doing things for herself.
***
Christian slowly opened his eyes and looked sleepily at the wall. Then he turned over and found that Satine was not there. Even though Satine was a lot better he still worried when she wasn't near him. He noticed that his snow clothes had been placed at the foot of the bed. Glancing outside he saw the snow coming down evenly. He quickly got dressed and then ran downstairs. Everyone was already up and dressed, eating boiled egg in the dining room.
'Good morning, Christian.' Everyone chorused together. Satine smiled up at him from her egg. He slid in next to her and kissed her temple.
'Morning.' He looked at the egg that the maid set in front of him. 'Isn't it bacon day?'
'Not on Snow Day, silly.' Lilibet told him.
'Snow Day?' Christian repeated.
'Yes.' Kate said. 'Every year, on the first day that it snows, we have Snow Day.'
'What is Snow Day?' Christian asked.
'It's a tradition in our family.' Joshua explained as he put some jam on his toast. 'We have boiled egg for breakfast and then we take a picnic to the park where we build snowmen, make snow angels, have snowball fights, go sledging and go ice skating. By this time it is about four o'clock. We come home and have afternoon tea, nothing too heavy though. Then at six we come out again for a snow walk.'
'What's a snow walk?'
'Snow walks are great fun.' Satine said. 'We go up to the woods and go for a walk. On the way we have to look for different tracks from different animals. Then we come home, light the fire and curl up in front of it. We play games and do puzzles. It's great fun, isn't it?' Everyone nodded enthusiastically.
'Come on.' William said rising from his place. 'We'd better get going if we want a good day at the park.'
***
The walk to the park took about twenty minutes with the picnic basket passing between the three men. The sledge was carried by Kate and Satine with Lilibet helping. When they arrived, quite a lot of people were already there but it wasn't as busy as it would get later in the day.
'What should we do first?' William asked as they surveyed the scene.
'Let's go ice skating first.' Satine said sensibly. 'It will get busier later.'
'Good idea. Alright everyone - to the pond.' They wandered cautiously over to the pond which had frozen over. A man was standing at the side renting out ice skates.
'Darling, I'll get ours. You wait here.' Christian told Satine. She nodded and sat down on a nearby bench and Lilibet sat beside her. Joshua, who had got in the queue straight away, bought his skates and Lilibet's over. Satine helped Lilibet lace them up and then she tottered onto the ice, holding her brother's hand. Christian returned with two pairs of skates. He set own pair on the bench next to Satine and then eased Satine's feet into the other pair. She gazed down at him while his head was bent down, lacing the skates up. Never before had anyone loved her so much. He finished and she gave him a loving kiss on the mouth. He flashed her a momentary smile before putting his own skates on.
'Come on you two!' Kate called from the pond. 'What's taking so long? The ice will have melted by the time you get on.'
Satine grinned at Christian as he helped her up. Stepping onto the ice, Satine took a few cautious steps before getting into a rhythm. Hand in hand they skated around a few times. Just before they reached everyone else for a third time, Satine let go of Christian's hand and headed straight towards them. She scooped up Lilibet and rushed off again.
'Hey! That's ours!' Joshua yelled across the pond.
'Oh, yea? If you want it - come and get it!' Satine taunted back. Joshua quickly took off. Satine dodged pass people, trying to get away from her brother. She could see him catching them up. At the last moment, just before he caught them, she turned sharply and made her way towards the other end. Joshua looked shocked and lost a few seconds. Once he turned around he saw that his two sisters were back with the others.
'Unfair!' He moaned. Satine just smiled.
***
The next few hours were spent sledging, eating their picnic, building snowmen and having a snowball fight. The hill used for sledging was extremely busy and everyone had to wait patiently for their turn. Lilibet went down, shrieking all the way. At the bottom, where William was waiting, she picked it up and pulled it back up the hill. Next it was Christian's go. He sat down and then looked at Satine.
'Come on, darling.' He said, patting the sledge in front of him. Satine grinned and sat down, leaning back into him as he wrapped his arms around her. Joshua gave them a push and they laughed all the way down. When they camr to a halt, Christian stood up and then helped Satine up. He wrapped his arms around her before giving her a massive kiss.
Satine was looking rather pale so after everyone else had a few more turns, William suggested lunch. A dry area with a make shift roof had been set up so that people could still eat their picnics. Christian spread the rug out and everyone sat down. After Satine had taken the food out of the basket she leant against Christian. William looked at her.
'Sandwich, darling?' He decided against asking her about how she was feeling at the moment. That could wait until later. Satine nodded and took one, taking small bites.
***
After finishing their snowball fight they walked back home and had their tea. Then, because it would be a lot colder in the evening, they wrapped up even more warmly and made their way to the woods. Christian and Satine walked hand in hand as they slowly made their way. On the way they saw the tracks of foxes, rabbits, squirrels and a robin. When they returned the fire had already been lit and everyone was sitting down. Christian and Satine were sitting on the couch together, Christian's arm draped around her waist and Satine's arm across his leg. William studied his daughter's pale face.
'Satine, are you feeling alright?' He asked casually. Immediately Christian put his hand to her forehead.
'I'm fine.' Satine insisted, shaking her head to remove Christian's hand. Standing up, she left the room. Closing the door behind her, she leant against it and slid down. Except, she wasn't. Fine that is. But she wasn't about to tell them that.
***
The next morning Satine slowly opened her eyes and focused them on Christian. She smiled at him but he didn't return it.
'We have to talk about last night.'
'What about last night?' Satine asked, sitting up.
'You know fully well what about.' Satine rolled her eyes and swung her legs over the bed. 'Tell me what's wrong!' Christian's voice rose. Satine sat there for what seemed like an eternity. Then, slowly, her head turned to the side.
She sighed. 'I'm pregnant.'