Winters voices

 His long white beard and shoulder-length hair of the same color were momentarily shelter from the blizzard around him. Ice crystals became projectiles, hitting him with a force he'd never known and the wind like a pissed-off reed section. A youngster holding his mom's hand for dear life screamed at his appearance, which resembled a headless monster but was, in reality, just him with winter's fury capturing his head in white. He saw a red light a few steps away and knew it must be his destination. Opening the door into a toasty bar, friends greeted him while he removed his coat and shook his head to the dislike of others close by. Closing time always came too soon as he and the other all-nighters put on the layers and said goodnight. The blizzard had passed, leaving a calm and quiet winter wonderland as the last song on the jukebox rang in his ears. He reached his apartment and slowly walked up the several steps. Then, turning the key in the lock, he opened the door and was greeted by his wife of thirty-some years holding a cup of hot cocoa and handing it to him with a smile on her still pretty face. Busy night, she asked. He shook his head no, saying the storm kept a lot of folks' home. But he did his sets and ended up with forty bucks in the tip jar. He finished his cocoa and sat in front of a window, capturing all the untouched snow soon to be destroyed by snowplows and children doing what children do after a storm. The only sounds now were an occasional hiss of the radiator or creaks of the wooden floors as his wife headed for bed. She put her hand on his shoulder as she walked past him, reminding him the grandkids were coming by later and she would make cupcakes. He smiled himself to sleep until the sun rose to greet him into one more day of being who he wanted to be, and right then, he wanted about three cupcakes and matching cups of coffee to keep up with the small people coming over to challenge the snow hills around back. Life was grand, and no amount of time would ever change, that he said to himself, kissing his wife and dressing in his warmest clothes just in time to hear the kids screaming his name to come out and play.

MO