The Year It Snowed in April by Eva Bottiér

Author:Eva Bottiér [Bottiér, Eva]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Family Life, Fiction
ISBN: 9780312360603
Google: fekDmQEACAAJ
Amazon: B003DX0IHQ
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2010-03-30T04:00:00+00:00

SEVEN

A Christmas plant.

That was the only indication of it being the holiday season in apartment 7-I: a Christmas plant that sat in the left-hand corner of the living room, desperately in need of some tender, loving care. And it wasn’t even a real Christmas plant—like a poinsettia or a bunch of mistletoe. In fact, it was actually some sort of large hybrid cactus rubber plant with long and narrow deep green leaves that were browning at the tips.

After a night out on the town, only two days before the calendar read December 25, Carla had carelessly wrapped a string of white Christmas lights along the plant’s perimeter, smiled a toothy grin at her son, and with a Newport dangling from her lips sang, “Christmas time is here!” as if she were a member of the cast from A Charlie Brown Christmas. However, Carla’s makeshift tree was even more pathetic than the one featured in the classic holiday special—especially since it wasn’t even a tree.

Avery ignored the festive scene that played on the television as his eyes were drawn to the small bright lights rhythmically blinking off and on. The memory of the passion he had shared with Paige just days before was solidly etched in the crevices of his mind and he found himself rewinding his mental video tape multiple times a day. Though they had not actually had intercourse, Avery could still vividly remember the taste and scent of Paige’s body as he continuously savored the thought of their sensual exchange. He wondered if she was thinking of him as well or if she was cuddled up under Mr. Future Surgeon General, being that it was a Saturday night and all. But the thought of Paige in the arms of another man bothered Avery. Jealousy was somewhat of a foreign emotion for him, unless seeing Carla with her many suitors counted.

Christmas Eve had once been a joyful occasion for Avery. Wishing for a visit from the Ghost of Christmas Past, Avery longed to go back in time to relive the joyous holidays he had experienced during the early portion of his life. Relatives would gather at his grandparents’ brown-stone and exchange special gifts as a precursor to Christmas Day, which everyone would spend with their immediate families. Grandmother would create a feast fit for a king, and Avery would stuff his belly with all the holiday fixings and goodies it could hold. It would also be the one day out of the year that Opa would drink a little too much, losing himself in Grandmother’s special eggnog and creating comical scenarios that would be forever remembered. Avery smiled at the thought of those memorable moments, but was suddenly overcome with sadness upon remembering that those days were gone forever.

Since his Opa and Grandmother had died, there had been no Christmas trees, feasts, or gifts. December 25 was now as ordinary and routine as August 3. No laughter, music, or holiday cheer, no chestnuts roasting on an open fire, just

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