++ b/story/Snow.txt
really answer. That night she let me draw her. That picture was the first
one. She was so scared! The house was so chilly, too. I finally got out of
my little attic room for a few minutes and added a couple logs to the fire."
Jennifer grinned and wrapped her arms around her legs, trying to keep warm
in the chilly apartment. "Like this one."

"Only we had a wood stove."

"Yeah. What happened then?"

"I finished drawing, and we ended up cuddling for a while."

"I drew a picture of her every week that summer. They're in the book, too.
We had some extra time on Sunday nights, no school, my mom was out late at
meetings for her job that year. We'd have the night to ourselves. She stayed
at a friend's house in the town where the meetings happened, because they
always got done so late and she can't see very well at night. It always
scared her to come back at night alone."

Jennifer slowly leafed through the pictures as Alyson talked.

"One time we went out in the woods and she sat and posed by the creek. I
drew a dozen pictures that day. It was a warm day in the middle of fall, the
leaves were turning, and the whole world was burnt orange and yellow and
reds. The trees near the lake at home all change. The mountains are mostly
evergreen, but there's this hardwood forest around the lake. It's so pretty.
She dressed up in this old suit of her dad's, and a top hat she found
somewhere. We found this gorgeous scarf the exact color of the leaves.

"We took pictures, too."

Alyson blushed. "Some of them nude. I guess we were kinda pretentious, and
we called it art. I bet I have them somewhere if they're not at my mother's,
mixed with her photo gear. My mother has an obsession with cameras, she must
have a dozen. She gets them at yard sales and flea markets and wherever,
whenever we're some place and she sees one, the rest of the day is out
because she's got to tinker with it. She's good with delicate things. She
can fix pianos, too, and bicycles."

"Your mother didn't mind?"

"She found out we'd been taking pictures nude when she developed them.  I
was going to, in the little darkroom in the basement of that house. She
taught me how to develop film when I was eleven. I think she just tidied up
one day and found the film and threw them in the basket of rolls to process.
She asked me to help her print a couple rolls, and had them hanging to dry.
I looked up from the developing tank and saw her taking them down. She just
said 'I really like this one, Alyson. She's beautiful, and you captured it
well.' I think she would have framed it and hung it up in the hallway if it
wasn't her friend's daughter. I've always known my mother is one of those
really rare people who just gets it." And so far, nobody's been the
opposite. Yet.

"Wow. I wish my parents were that accepting. I wish my parents ... I don't
know. I wish I could run away, go live somewhere else." Jennifer sighed
heavily. "I've never had a day that good. I wish I could."

"That day was so amazing. That suit looked so good on her. We came home that
evening and kept playing around, taking pictures and being silly. I found
this dress that went with the suit so well, and put it on. We finally
settled down, and I helped her undress. I remember laughing and figuring out
why men's clothes button backward. Well, or women's do. So someone can help
you dress and undress!

"We both ended up in our underwear, and the house was so warm that we went
to bed that way. We had the wood stove going, but it got so unseasonably
warm that day. 

"I can still remember how it felt. We'd cuddled before, but she was nearly
naked, and so beautiful. I could remember how every bit looked as I curled
up next to her.  I undressed too. Nothing happened -- nothing like that --
but we stayed the whole night that way.

"I'm not sure she was okay with it. Not really. We never talked about it,
and she and I didn't talk so much after that. We'd go on long walks, but
whenever we started talking about attractions or love or whatever, she got
really quiet and she'd start just looking at trees and bark and leaves."

Alyson sighed.  "She was really important to me. I'm really sad about it
all. I don't know what happened. We just drifted apart really fast after
that."

Jennifer wrapped her arms around Alyson. "That's awful."

Alyson hugged Alyson back. "Thank you. I needed a hug. I think I forgot how
to ask for one."

"Any time you want one, you can get one from me." 

"I'd like that." Please no more than that right now, okay? Alyson sighed.
Just friends. 

The light in the room began to fade. Alyson stood up and snapped on the
overhead light, suddenly harsh after the barely-noticed twilight. 

"Oh! What time is it?" Jennifer looked at her watch. "Oh, no. I am in deep
shit. I'm missing dinner, and after dad demanded that I show up for
breakfast this morning, that is not going to go well. Can I borrow the phone
and call at least?"

"Actually, I never got a phone... I just couldn't afford it."

"Oh. Well."

"Yeah. I know."

"Okay, then. I've got to go. I'm going to be in deep trouble. Alyson? Thank
you so much. I'll be back tomorrow?"

Alyson nodded. "Come by. It's my one day off this week. I don't have plans.
I'm sure Raven's not going anywhere tomorrow either."

"Okay. See you!"

Jennifer ran out the back door so quickly that the wall rattled when she
slammed the door shut and bounced down the stairs and into the foot-deep
snow.

That was sudden, Alyson thought, and tried to collect her feelings. I wonder
how Raven is. She slipped into the bedroom and shivered at the chill. I wish
this place had decent heat! She touched Raven's forehead. Might be coming
down. That's good at least. Raven stirred under the covers and her eyelids
fluttered open.

"Hey" Alyson watched her wake up.

"Hey. You're ..." Raven looked like she was groping for a word or name.

"I'm Alyson."

"Alyson. Alyson." She closed her eyes for a moment and drew a breath.
"Alyson. I thought you were a dream."

"No, no dream. You're safe here. Warmer than outside anyway."

"Thank you." She couldn't tell whether Raven was nodding with the thank you
or out of exhaustion.

"Jennifer just had to leave. I think her family's going to be mad at her." 

"Yeah. She'll be back?"

"Tomorrow." Alyson felt herself admiring how direct Raven was. Is she like
this when she's not sick, she wondered.

Raven struggled to sit up, pulling the quilt with her. Alyson lifted her
shoulders. 

"So. Tired." Raven was out of breath. 

"Dear, you're exhausted. You were sick and out in the cold. It's going to
take a little bit to heal."

Raven nodded and blinked a bit more.

"Thirsty."

Alyson stood up and grabbed a glass water bottle off the counter by the
sink and sat down next to Raven again.

"Here. I'm sure you're dehydrated."

Raven carefully sipped at the water. That seems to liven her up a little
bit, thought Alyson.