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“I KNOW I ONLY LIVE a mile from work, Mr. Letcher, but I can’t make it in today,” said Charlotte, surprised her boss had actually picked up his phone and sounded alert at six in the morning. “The roads are all closed from the blizzard,” she added.
“Charlotte, obviously you aren’t going to make it in,” said Shane Letcher. “No one is. We’ve had the storm of the century. More importantly, are you okay?”
“Of course I’m okay,” said Charlotte, raising her eyebrows in surprise and nudging Ensar with her toe. They were wrapped in an old quilt, curled up together on her couch. The Christmas tree was twinkling and her apartment felt like a cozy little nest. She hadn’t meant for Ensar to spend the night so soon, but the previous night’s blizzard hadn’t given them any choice. Ensar had arrived at six o’clock, and by the time they had dinner, talked for an hour, and watched a movie, so much snow had fallen that Ensar couldn’t even get out of her parking lot. “Why would you ask if I’m okay?”
“There seems to be a lot happening in Windy Pines. I get their police scanner alerts and it’s been beeping all morning.”
“What are they saying?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been sleeping through them, but they keep coming through.”
Charlotte peeked out her apartment’s front window at the pretty snow-covered parking lot and the mountains in the distance. “Nothing to see here,” she said.
“Well, glad to hear it. Enjoy your day off.”
“Thank you,” said Charlotte, shocked that he was being so pleasant.
“Of course, if there are things you can do from home, you might as well do them,” Shane added.
“I will,” she assured him.
“Okay. Stay safe,” said Shane, before hanging up.
“That was strange,” Charlotte told Ensar. “Shane was actually rather nice, and he said that his police scanner has been going off like crazy for Windy Pines.”
“Doesn’t look like much is happening out there to me,” said Ensar. “Except for all that snow.”
“So,” said Charlotte, smiling. “Whatever are we going to do with ourselves today?”
“Good question,” said Ensar, reaching out to pull her closer to him.
“Have you ever experienced an American snow day?” asked Charlotte.
“Not yet.”
“Then you’re in for a treat. We’re going to go sledding, and then we’re going to warm up with hot chocolate. And then, tonight, if you’re comfortable with it, we’ll go to the Christmas market.”
“Why wouldn’t I be comfortable with that?”
“Well, I don’t know. Because of your religion?”
“I’ve been to Christmas markets before.”
“Okay. Just trying to make sure you’re comfortable,” said Charlotte.
Ensar laughed. “You say this after keeping me captive overnight a few feet away from a Christmas tree. Seriously, though, I’m very comfortable with you.”
“Good,” said Charlotte. “Me too.”
“If you came to Turkey, would you be open to learning about my culture?”
“Very much!” said Charlotte. “I’d love it.”
“So, yeah. I feel the same way about you and your culture,” said Ensar.
“Cool,” said Charlotte.
“So, does this ‘snow day’ start immediately?”
“Yes, but I left off the most important part: We get back into bed and sleep until noon.”