Cold Secrets

-M. Lauren

Chapter Twelve

Millie's rattle had fallen into Elsa's lap. She hadn't noticed. When the truck jostled a pothole, and the rattle fell to the floor; Elsa didn't notice that either.

Angered by her aunt's neglect, Millie babbled and waved her arms. Demanding her attention, she began to shout.

"Oh, Auntie Elsa…" Anna sang from the front seat.

Tearing her eyes from the window, Elsa blinked. "What?"

"Excuse me, your niece is speaking to you, and you're completely ignoring her."

"Oh…" Elsa turned her head.

Her sister's words felt more serious than Anna's joking tone suggested. She feigned a smile and placed her hand on Millie's knee.

"Okay, what's going on with her?"

It was Kristoff. He was starring at Elsa through the rearview with his brows held low.

"Elsa's nervous about her d-a-t-e…" Anna explained to him. Her expression turned coy.

"I'm not nervous! I'm distracted. There is a difference, you know? And also, what's with the spelling?" Elsa grumbled. Her arms folded over her chest.

Millie's wide eyes turned to her and she tilted her head.

"Distracted?" Anna hummed. "That's interesting… what has you feeling so distracted, dear sister?"

Elsa lowered her brows as Anna turned over her shoulder. "I was thinking about how I should trade you in for a different sister- upgrade to the newer, nice model… someone who is less interested in my love life."

Gloating, Anna smacked Kristoff's arm. "Did you hear that? Elsa says she has a love life! I thought this moment would never come!"

Elsa's eyes rolled back to the window. She wouldn't tell Anna, but she was, in fact, very nervous. If she knew that, Anna might try harder to embarrass her. She always meant well, but Elsa hadn't known Honeymaren all that long; and Anna had a tendency to be, well… intimidating.

They pulled into the school right before two. Elsa regretted coming immediately. Cars lined the street. The back playground was a mobscene, and everyone was in full, head to toe costumes. Everyone except Elsa, that was…

Kristoff parked his truck in the far lot. As they stopped moving, Millie started in on a tantrum. Tantrums were a growing fad in the Bjorgman Household. Elsa was only thankful she could return home now after hers visits.

She turned to Millie with a small smile. Elsa worked quickly to unbuckle the restraints as Anna began to sing.

"Oh… well, would you look at that?"

Elsa's attention drew up to the car parking beside their's. Instantly, her cheeks were set ablaze.

"Our timing worked out perfectly." Anna flashed her panicked sister a quick wink.

Honeymaren stepped from her car. It was a different one than the Comet she'd driven on their first date. This one was a sedan- still black, but better-suited for someone with a young toddler. If she'd noticed them, Honeymaren hadn't made it apparent. She was pulling Ryder from his carseat, reminding Elsa that Millie continued to scream in her ear.

"Go on!" Anna encouraged as she took off her seat belt. "I can handle Millie. You go say, hello…"

The nerves she'd been fighting to hide were suddenly on full display across her face. "Say hello…" she hummed. "Okay…"

Slowly, Elsa undid her belt and pulled her hair behind her ears. Before she stepped out, she looked to Honeymaren's car once more. Her heart lurched. Elsa had been spotted. Honeymaren was rounding her car with Ryder against her hip.

Standing from the truck, Elsa smiled as they drew closer.

"What are you supposed to be?" Honeymaren greeted.

Elsa joined her near the tailgate. "Um… here?" She looked down at her clothes.

"Well, I can't argue with that logic." Honeymaren shrugged.

"Don't let her fool you…" Anna giggled. She climbed down the truck. "She's Clark Kent! It's the best I could convince her to do for me."

She tossed Elsa the hat from her bag. Grumbling, Elsa caught it, and slipped the hat over her head. To add to the ensemble, she pulled the glasses from her pocket. Elsa slid them over the bridge of her nose and stepped back. The final detail was her black jacket. She zipped it half way down to reveal a vintage Superman t-shirt.

"I'm Clark Kent." she tried again. Her eyes slowly returned to Honeymaren. "-and you're pirates! Very cute..."

Cute was an understatement, Elsa suddenly realized. The effect that knowledge had on her was maddening. Honeymaren was wearing skin-tight red jeans. Her white top hung off her shoulders, and a black leather belt corded around her waist. The boots she wore were knee high and heeled. Brown curls were left messy and untamed. They cascaded down her back and onto her chest, spilling out from beneath a red bandana.

Ryder was nearly matching his mother. The only slight difference was, he wore a black vest in place of Honeymaren's belt.

"Unfortunately, his hat was a no-go." she motioned to the hand at Ryder's back. "-but watch this… hey, Ry, what do pirates say?"

"Ah!" he bellowed, and Elsa laughed.

"You both look great!" she took Ryder's hat from Honeymaren, freeing up one of her hands.

"Thank you, and so do you…" she smiled.

Elsa didn't miss how Honeymaren's lackadaisical attention drew up from her feet. Nor did she miss the subtle darkening of her eyes. Elsa caught Honeymaren's stare briefly, and arched her brow.

If she were being honest, it was a nice change of pace to be admired.

They both turned away from each other as Anna approached.

"Wow! Look at you two! Look, Millie! Ryder's a pirate!" Millie's face pulled back from Anna's neck.

"Honeymaren, this is my sister, Anna… Anna- Honeymaren."

"Maren…" Anna beamed.

"Good to see you guys again," she winked.

Elsa lips pursed and she nodded. "Right, you both know each other from school… which is where we are…" Her toes dug into the dirt.

"Guilty…" Anna's face scrunched. "-but I don't believe you've met my husband yet? He's been pretty busy with work these days."

Kristoff was rounding the truck. His arms overfilled with candy and decorations.

"I heard my title." he mocked.

Kristoff dumped the Halloween supplies on the back of the tailgate before joining the group. He extended his hand to Honeymaren, and all at once; his eyes went wide. Both their heads tilted in unison. Faces laced with shock.

"Wait a minute… Maren… Maren Nattura… How did I miss that one?" His wide gaze turned from his wife, to Elsa, and back again. "This is who you guys have been talking about?"

To both Anna and Elsa's surprise, Honeymaren drew him into a hug. She was smiling when she pulled back. "Ice-Man! No way! You know, I had an inkling when I saw Bjorgman on the sign out sheet, but I completely forgot to ask! How long has it been?"

Kristoff pulled a hand through his hair. "Woah, I don't know… six… seven years?"

"Wait, wait! Hold up! You two know each other?" It was Anna who spoke, but Elsa was grateful she had.

This new information had rendered her speechless. By the weight of her jaw alone, Elsa was fairly certain she was staring. There was officially another person she could add to this list of people who knew Honeymaren better than she did.

"I played ice hockey with Maren's brother in grade school!" he explained.

"Hey now! And me! Honeymaren feigned a glare.

"Who could forget? You were the only person who could out-skate every guy on the Northuldra Knights before you were even in high school. You know, it's still a shame they wouldn't let you play because you were a girl… "

She waved him off. "They were afraid I'd mess up college scholarships for the boys. Besides, I'm over it now! It was their loss, anyway… wow, though! I can't believe you recognized me!"

He shrugged. "Longer hair, little bit taller- still Ryder's splitting image. It wasn't hard to put the pieces together."

Anna was staring. Her mouth had fallen agape like Elsa's. "You two. You went to school together?"

Honeymaren laughed. "Yeah, we grew up in the same hometown. What a small world!"

"Maren's mom used to make dinner for all the guys after our games. I spent more time at their house growing up, than I did my own!" Reminiscing, Kristoff's lips drew to the side. He looked down at his feet. "By the way, I was really sorry to hear about Ryder. I couldn't believe it… that's… it's a- I just wish I'd known sooner so I could have been there to support you and your mom."

Honeymaren shook her head. "No worries. Listen, my mom and I are doing well, but you should come by sometime and see her. I'm sure she'd like to make you dinner, just like the good old days."

His face brightened and Kristoff smiled. "I'd like that. It'll be good to catch up. Besides, the kids already know each other. Soon, your mom's going to be feeding a whole new generation."

As if she knew her father was talking about her, Millie began to squirm. The excitement from the cars and other children in costumes had finally piqued her interest. Anna compiled by setting Millie down on her feet. She was the Bat Girl to Anna's Poison Ivy; and Kristoff was their Bane.

Seeing his friend waddling to freedom, Ryder, too, demanded his release.

"Hey Kristoff, why don't you get the trunk set up and we'll start making the rounds?" Anna called to him, while Millie began pulling her toward the chaos.

He nodded. Kristoff rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath.

"Something tells me he knew that was exactly what was going to happen when we got here…" Anna whispered. "Well, come on now, ladies! We've got candy to collect so that we can steal it from our kids later!"

Her arm linked with Elsa's, and Anna tugged her along. "What's this called again?" she asked.

"It's trick or trunk." Honeymaren moved in at Elsa's other hip, Ryder walking between them. "It's easier for the younger ones to walk around here. You know, rather than taking them somewhere in the city."

"Kristoff and I were thinking about taking Millie through our neighborhood after, but now… seeing this…" Anna shook her head. "We'll have to see how it goes."

Millie stopped in front of the first row of cars. Her eyes lowered skeptically at all the decorations. Finally, when she saw the bright bucket of snacks being passed around, she nearly tore from Anna's hand.

"Go ahead, baby! Use your basket!" Anna followed close to her back, walking Millie through the drill.

Elsa turned to find Ryder hiding behind Honeymaren's legs.

She laughed. "This is going about as well as I expected."

Honeymaren tugged his hand and drew him closer to the cars. He protested, but his mother wasn't leaving him much of a choice. From the first car, to the second- Honeymaren was forced to do all the legwork. She held out Ryder's basket. She collected the candy, exchanging things when he complained, and then ushered him back in behind Mille.

Watching them, Elsa didn't go far. She continued between cars, giving good distance as the children collected toys and snacks. She laughed at the idle jokes parents made about their kids costumes, and smiled at her niece when she stopped to trade candies with a stranger. Elsa enjoyed her view from the sidelines.

Occasionally though, Honeymaren would turn back to check on her; as if wanting to make sure Elsa was okay. Elsa would flash her a smile in return, and wave a hand for them to continue on.

From what Elsa had seen, Millie and Ryder were fire and ice. Millie had little to no fear, while Ryder glued to Honeymaren like she was his teether to earth. Elsa could picture them as long-term friends. Millie would be totting poor Ryder along for life, and forcing him into things he never would have done on his own.

At the thought, Elsa giggled to herself.

"What's so funny?"

She turned to find Anna had snuck up at her side.

"I was thinking about how alike you and your daughter are…" Elsa teased.

"Yeah, I just passed her off to Honeymaren with no complaints. I honestly think she'd walk off with anyone… Kristoff is terrified, but she's a ball-buster... that daughter of mine."

"The complete opposite of Ryder, really. He's the ultimate mama's boy." Elsa sang with a quick shake of her head.

"Who knows, he could grow out of it! Besides, if you and Maren get married, Millie will be his cousin. That'll give her plenty of time to work her influence on him!"

Elsa flashed Anna a deadly glare. She smacked her arm. "I stand by the new sister comment from earlier- and you better not start making those comments in front of Maren!"

Her eyes glanced around, making sure Honeymaren wasn't in ear shot. Luckily, she spotted her pulling the kids across the far lot.

Anna laughed beside her. "Oh, you've got it bad, Elsa! I can tell." She bumped their hips together before dragging Elsa off toward the others.

The rest of the event continued without further commentary from Anna. Millie and Ryder finished scouring for candy, and had now retired to the playground. Anna spoke with some of the other parents. Elsa tucked in close at her side. Meanwhile, Honeymaren was on the other side of the fenced area, speaking with another family from Ryder's class.

It wasn't long before the chaos began to die down. Children started filtering back to their cars. Parents closed their trunks and stashed the candy. Even the playground slowed. Honeymaren waved off the family she'd chatted with before heading back towards Elsa.

"I'm going to help Kristoff clean up. I'll catch you both over there before you leave…"

Elsa pulled her eyes away from the approaching woman to smile at Anna. "Will do."

She watched Anna and Millie filter out of the gate with the other families. A brush of fabric touched her leg, and she knew Honeymaren snuck in beside her. Very slowly, Elsa turned to meet her warm brown eyes.

"So… those glasses…" Honeymaren smirked. "Are they real, or a costume find?"

Elsa mimicked her expression. "They're for driving, why?"

"You look good in them, is all…" She shrugged.

"Oh, is it?"

Tired of being ignored, Ryder reached out to her. Elsa flashed him a grin and kissed his hand.

"Alright..." Honeymaren groaned. "The glasses, and now you're loving on my son… Tell me, are you perfect?"

Elsa scoffed. "Stop it. Enough of that!"

Rolling her eyes, Honeymaren backed towards the gate. "Well, come on now, Snowflake. You're coming with us, aren't you?"

Honeymaren turned, leaving Elsa to follow. She did and smiled, because following Honeymaren suddenly felt like the most natural thing in the world.

Cheers,

-M.