Looking for Julie Read Free Page B

called as promised. “Hey, Mom. I’m sorry. I forgot.”
    “You didn’t answer when I called last night.”
    “I was skiing, Mom. It’s snowing here. We’re going to eat and go out.”
    “Okay. Thanks for doing the wash and cleaning up the kitchen.”
    “No problem.”
    “Love you. Take care.”
    She mumbled, “You too.”
    Careful not to disturb Edie, they quietly wolfed down a few bowls of cereal and pieces of toast, cleaned up the dishes and left. The snow was falling so thickly that the windshield wipers failed to keep up. The roads were slippery. Whenever Jamie stepped on the gas or brakes, the rear end of the van tried to pass the front, and Sam’s adrenaline kicked in.
    Jamie laughed nervously as they slid sideways into a snowbank. “God, I hate it when the car is in charge.”
    “Slow down,” she said, leaning forward, trying to see through the heavy flakes.
    “We’re hardly moving, for chrissake.”
    They got to the ski resort without any accidents. Sam could barely see the nearest lift, much less the top of any hill. They carried their skis to the racks outside the warming house and went inside to put on their boots. She was excited now that they were here. There was nothing better than fresh snow.
    It slowed them down, the heavy snow, and wore them out. Visibility was about two to four feet on the runs. Suddenly there’d be a person in front of her and she’d swerve. They skied the black diamonds where there were fewer skiers. At five the ski hill shut down for an hour, and everyone had to pay again to ski in the evenings.
    “Let’s go back to Edie’s,” Jamie said, stomping clumps of snow off his boots before entering the steaming warming shelter. She did the same.
     
     
     
    Edie stood at the stove. “Chili and warm bread. You must be starving.”
    “It’s scary out there.” Jamie kissed his aunt’s cheek.
    “That hair gives you a ghoulish look, nephew. Does it glow in the dark?”
    “Yeah, it does. Can I help?” Sam said, glancing around the warm kitchen, but everything appeared to be done. The table was set, the bread cut, bowls ready to fill.
    “Lynn won’t be here tonight,” Edie said. “She has a meeting.”
    “You didn’t stay home because of us, did you?” Jamie asked.
    When Sam sat down, her stomach growled.
    “You were a good excuse. I didn’t want to go. I get tired of meetings. I get tired of trying to prevail.”
    What did that mean? Sam wondered.
    Jamie asked.
    “It doesn’t matter.” She turned and her mood turned with her. She smiled and her handsome face lit up.
    That was the only way to describe her, Sam thought. She was tall and handsome and lithe with an athlete’s grace. She filled three bowls and sat at the table with them. “So, how was the skiing today?”
    “Spectacular,” Jamie said. “Do you want to go tonight?”
    “I don’t think so. I worried about you. The roads are ice rinks.”
    Sam rejoiced inwardly. Her limbs were heavy and her eyelids drooped. She could fall asleep right there.
    “It’s a good thing Nita didn’t come. Nita is Sam’s girlfriend.”
    “She’s your friend, too,” Sam shot back.
    “Not that way she isn’t.”
    “Hey, knock it off, Jamie.” Edie lightly punched his shoulder. “You always were an annoying kid.”
    Jamie laughed and dug into his chili. “I didn’t mean anything. If I liked girls, I’d go after Nita Perez too. I’d bury my face in her long neck, kiss her dark eyes, run my fingers through her thick hair.”
    “I never went after her,” Sam whispered, her face red with embarrassment just like it had been when he’d started talking about Julie.
    Edie said, “You know, if you were a kid, I’d send you to your room, Jamie. I don’t allow rude people in my house. It makes everyone uncomfortable. Ignore him, Sam. He’s turning into a loudmouthed, ignorant man. His mother would be ashamed.”
    “I’m not a man,” he said.
    Edie looked at Sam and they laughed. It felt wonderful, their