The First SnowFall
Daniela Reyes
Torres Press
Copyright © 2019 by Daniela Reyes
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
For anyone looking for a Christmas adventure
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Acknowledgments
Also by Daniela Reyes
Chapter 1
The package fell out of the mailbox, right onto Laurel's half-frozen foot.
She bit down a curse word, knowing that one of her nosy new neighbors was probably listening. Then she slammed the mailbox closed and marched across the front yard right back to the kitchen. A gust of frozen air followed her into the house.
“You look… cold,” Holly said. Laurel’s older, half a head taller than her, fraternal twin stood behind the sink, rinsing off the last of her breakfast dishes. “What’s that?”
Laurel set the white box down on the counter. She turned it over, looking for a name. Between her parents' online shopping habits and Holly's, it was impossible to be sure.
Deliver to: Jasmine Peters
9805 Winford Road
Glensford, MA
"Huh," Laurel said. She was finally getting feeling back in her fingers. She slid the box over to Holly. "It's not addressed to anyone in the family."
“Jasmine Peters?” Holly asked. “I guess she must’ve lived here before we moved in.”
Laurel tried to remember the name of the people that had sold them the house. “You’re right. Mom mentioned someone named Leslie Peters.”
"I guess Jasmine's her daughter," Holly said. She slid the box back to Laurel. "Are you gonna open it?"
"That's a crime," Laurel said. "I'll just give it back to the mail lady tomorrow."
“She’ll probably throw it in the back of her truck and forget about it. Have you seen the amount of Christmas deliveries she’s been making? Might as well open it-”
“I’m not opening it,” Laurel said. She sighed. “Don’t you have to get to work?”
Holly rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me. It's my second week, and I already want to quit." Holly had started a new job for the winter break at a winter festival the Glensford Country Club ran. They'd called it A Winter Wonderland and made all the employees dress in all-white uniforms. They called them the festival's snow angels.
Laurel bit down a smile as she stared at her sister. She looked like she would blend in with a pile of snow.
"Stop judging my uniform," Holly said. "I know it makes me look like a human snowflake, okay?" She stepped out from behind the kitchen and threw on a white beanie over her, short dark brown hair, covering almost all of it.
Laurel nestled the box closer to her. "Your words, not mine. Just enjoy it. Your winter wonderland might be the only chance you get of seeing snow this year."
"It'll snow," Holly said. "Trust me. Everyone at work has a running bet of when it'll happen. Apparently, Glensford's never gone this long without snow in December. Anyway, I should head out. "
Holly wrapped herself into her jacket and headed out the door, leaving Laurel in the kitchen with the mysterious white package.
Laurel sighed. She should've taken up her mom's offer to get her an application for a holiday job. Even if it'd been at A Winder Wonderland festival handing out hot chocolate to six-year-olds, she wouldn't have minded. It beat sitting at home watching Christmas movies all day until her parents got back from work, or Holly's shift ended.
Holly had only taken the job because she was saving up for a trip to Europe after their high school graduation. Laurel wasn't invited to that trip, since despite being twins, Holly was a senior, while Laurel was a junior, which meant they had no friends in common. Their elementary school back in Florida had let Holly skip second grade. Laurel shuddered at the thought of that lonely year.
She distracted herself by looking at the package again. She held it up to her ear and shook it. Whatever was inside didn't move, probably bubble-wrapped. Laurel grabbed the pen beside her mom's Christmas to-do list and quickly wrote 'return to sender' beside the shipping label. Then she buttoned the top button on her jacket and headed back outside, knowing that if she kept the box any longer, with her impending boredom, she'd end up opening it.
By the time Laurel reached the mailbox again, more neighbors were out on their lawns, some going to work, others admiring their Christmas decorations. That was another strike against this neighborhood; everyone seemed ready to outdo everyone else on their Christmas decorations. Which, of course, meant Laurel's parents were ecstatic. Back in Orlando, they'd always been known as that house, the one that took Christmas decorating way too seriously and made every other neighbor look like they weren’t trying.
In this neighborhood, though, they looked like the underachievers. Laurel knew it was bothering her parents. Her mom kept buying Christmas decorations after work, always asking Laurel and Holly (when she wasn't working) if they wanted to join.
Laurel reluctantly waved to a neighbor who caught her gaze. The woman wore a Christmas sweater when Christmas was still five days away.
“Already returning gifts?” she asked.
Nosy, so nosy.
Laurel forced a smile on her face. She'd be living near this lady for at least another year. Holly could afford to be rude; she couldn't.
"No. I think this one is for the previous owners."
The woman’s ears perked up. “What’s the name on it?”
“Jasmine Peters-”
"Oh, Leslie's youngest."
"Yeah-"
"I would take it back to the address on the box. I bet you it's a local store. It'll be faster than waiting for the post-service to get that readdressed to Jasmine."
Laurel started to lose feeling in her fingers again. "It's fine. I'm sure they'll get to her." Her eyes scanned the shipping label. It was, in fact, a Glensford address.
The neighbor lady gave a dismissive wave. "It's local, isn't it?"
“Yes, but I’d prefer to let the postal service take care of it.”
The lady shrugged, suddenly looking disappointed. “Well, if that’s easier for you. I’m sure Jasmine can wait for her Christmas gift.”
Laurel breathed in the frozen air. She kept a hand against the mailbox, feeling her neighbor's gaze still on her. The woman probably already knew Laurel spent almost all day indoors. Laurel didn't open the mailbox. She turned and held the box out to show the woman, who she now realized was the same woman who'd brought them cookies the day they'd moved in. That small gesture had brightened up her mom's day.
She had to be civil.
"You know what, I'll see if I can drop it off at the sender's address."
The smile returned to the woman’s face. “That’s the Christmas spirit,” she said.
Laurel hated herself right now. She was freezing, and this would be the first time she drove on iced-over roads. The worst part was, she actually kind of wanted to solve the mystery of who'd sent the box.
Chapter 2
1312 San Mateo Drive
It was a lot farther than Lauren had anticipated. To make things worse, it was in Glensford's historic district, San Mate
o. She'd been stuck at a crosswalk waiting for a group of tourists to walk by, but it was a never-ending line. She switched the radio station again, but it was another Christmas one. All of the preset stations in her mom's car had some holiday theme.
Laurel sighed and turned the radio off. She watched as one last tourist finally passed by at the pace of a turtle.
“Finally,” Laurel said to herself. She sped forward only meet another crosswalk a block later.
“Your destination is on your right,” the GPS said.
Laurel eyed her phone screen. A minute ago, it had told her to keep going straight. She double-checked the map, and sure enough, a bright red dot marked 1312 San Mateo drive to her right. She let a smaller group of people pass and then parked into a parking spot in front of a Melo's Coffee. A few minutes later, she was inside of what looked like a Christmas themed shop that smelled strongly of pine and peppermint.
“Welcome to The Christmas Stop,” a girl said from behind a wall of ornaments. She stood on a ladder, with a box tucked between her and the shelf. Her smile stretched from one side of her face to the other. “Is there anything I can help you find?”
Laurel tried to give a polite smile back, one that Holly always liked to say looked too friendly. "I got this package in the mail, and it listed your store as the sender."
Grant it, the package hadn't had the store's name, so Laurel had thought it was a residential address. She held the white box up for the girl to see.
“Is there a problem with the order?”
"Oh, no," Laurel said. "It's just that the person it was addressed to doesn't live in the house anymore. I don't know her new address, so I brought it here."
The girl's smile wavered. She balanced the box in her arm and stepped down the ladder. As she walked to Laurel, her feet jingled. Laurel realized it was because the girl wore an elf costume.
“Can I take a look?” she asked.
Laurel nodded and handed the box over. The girl studied it.
“I’ll have to open it to see the order number,” she said, looking up at Laurel as if to get permission.
“Uh sure,” Laurel said. “I’ll leave it with you-”
"It won't take too long," the girl said. She walked Laurel over to the check out counter and popped the box open. When she fumbled through all the bubble wrap, the object showed.
It was a snow globe, with a winter setting inside of two houses surrounded by snow and pine trees. It looked way too realistic, expensive too.
The girl pulled an order slip from the bottom of the box. "Okay," she said, typing it in. "It looks like it was purchased by Kevin Rosen, who lives here in Glensford, about three years ago."
“Three years ago?” Laurel asked.
The girl nodded. "He bought two others, one to be delivered each year to the address on file. I guess he didn't know the person it was meant for would move."
"So, can you send it back to him?" Laurel asked. The question on her mind was, why was this Kevin guy sending Jasmine Peters snow globes three years in advance?
“We can,” the girl said. “But to be honest, it’ll probably get thrown out. Our store’s policy is only up to the shipping portion. We aren’t responsible for changes in address or problems with delivery. And this guy didn’t leave a phone number, so we have nowhere to send this.”
"Oh," Laurel said. "Well, I guess Jasmine doesn't get her snow globe." She wondered if she sounded like her nosy neighbor now.
"You should just take it," the girl said, her voice more youthful, less customer service. "Those snow globes are customized. They're expensive."
Was she telling Laurel to take a gift that wasn't for her?
When Laurel didn't answer, the girl turned her computer screen over so she could see the price.
“Two hundred dollars for a snow globe?” Laurel asked.
The girl nodded as if saying,'told you so'.
Laurel looked around. No one else seemed to be working.
"I can give you Kevin's address," the girl said. "In case you want to try and deliver it to him yourself."
She wrote the address down on one of the box flaps, then slid it back across to Laurel. "I'd take the snow globe, but then I'd get fired. But if you take it, my boss can't do anything."
“Is this legal?”
The girl shrugged. She practically handed the box over to Laurel, who had no choice but to take it.
“If there’s nothing else I can help you with, I have to shelve some new ornaments,” the girl said.
Laurel watched her walk off. Then not knowing where else to go, she went back to her car and settled the snow globe into her lap. It didn't look like it was worth two hundred dollars. Still, she handled it carefully, closing the box back up and placing it in the passenger seat.
What was she supposed to do now?
She couldn’t keep it, no matter what the girl had said,
Laurel should have just left the box in the mailbox and left it to Glensford's post service to handle. She could've been watching Christmas movies right now. Then again, she would probably be doing that tomorrow. Without another thought, Laurel typed the address into her GPS and headed out of the historic district.
Chapter 3
Laurel waited a good five minutes before she got out of the car.
It wasn't snowing, but it felt like Glensford had fallen into sub-arctic temperatures. She double-checked the address on her GPS, against the address the girl had written down. Then she eyed the number on the mailbox she'd just parked in front of.
521 Lakewell Lane
This time it was an actual house, a charming brick two-story one, with a sparse layout of Christmas decorations. Laurel wondered if the obsession with Christmas was specific to her neighborhood. She looked around. Most of the other houses had the same minimal Christmas decorations. She didn't see any neighbors trying to figure out who she was or what she was doing here.
Laurel made it to the front door, double-checking the number near the doorbell against the one on the box. Okay. She just had to drop it off here, and the Kevin guy would find it and mail it to the correct person-
The door opened.
Laurel stepped back; her foot slid against the concrete. She didn't find her balance. Instead, she found the ground. A quick shot of pain traveled from her legs up to her back. At least she hadn't hit her head.
“You okay?”
Laurel looked up to find a stranger staring at her from the doorway. He tilted his head as if trying to decide whether or not to help her. After a second, he walked toward her and offered her a hand. It gave her pause enough to look at him.
He was cute, in the goofy way that Laurel's ex back in Florida had been, with an expression like he was trying not to laugh. Although, due to her current position, she wasn't sure if that was the stranger's usual expression, or he was trying not to laugh at her.
"Kevin?" she asked because it was the only thing her brain could come up with.
The guy took his hand back. “Yeah-”
Laurel took the chance to hoist herself up, somehow still keeping the snow globe intact, tucked under her arm. She wiped her hand on her sweat pants. Her skin stung. She turned her hand up and saw dots of blood and scratches on her palm.
"Sorry, who are you?" The guy now confirmed to be Kevin asked.
"Laurel," Laurel said. She held out the package to him. The faster she got this over with, the sooner she could go to her car and drive away in shame. "I live at that address. The girl it was addressed to moved away, and um the store from the sender's address gave me your address, and I thought I'd drop it off."
Kevin looked at the box; the goofy expression now was gone. He didn't take it. His brown eyes looked back up at Laurel. "Why didn't you just return it to the sender through the mail?"
Laurel was starting to wonder the same thing. She forced a smile on her face. "I probably should have done that, to begin with. But since I'm here now, here." She held the box out to Kevin again.
"I don't want it."
“Sorry?”
“Thank you for bringing it here, but I sent those to Jasmine years ago. You can keep it.”
Why was everyone insisting she keep it? Laurel knew Holly would've shoved the box into Kevin's hands by now.
“It’s not mine to keep. You can return if you want,” she said. He still didn’t take the box.
“You already opened it,” Kevin said.
“I didn’t open it. The girl at the store did, to look up the order.”
“Okay, well, then give it back to her.”
“She told me to bring it to you,” Laurel said. This time her voice rose just a bit.
Kevin sighed. “Look, throw it away. I don’t care. Okay?” And now he looked ready to close the door on her.
Laurel stretched her arm out and pressed the box against Kevin's hands. She thought she'd caught him off guard, but he pushed the box back to her. The edge of it scratched her palm.
"Ow," Laurel said. She let go of the box without thinking, and it fell to the floor.
“Sorry,” Kevin said. He looked at her palm, ignoring the snow globe on the ground. “We have a first aid kit.”
“It’s fine,” Laurel said. She stopped soothing her palm. “Just keep the snow globe.” Aside from not wanting to go into a stranger’s house, Laurel just wanted to go back home and hide under her covers. This had been a terrible decision.
“I don’t want it.”
"Well then throw it away yourself," Laurel said. "You're so rude about this."
Or maybe she was. She didn't care anymore. Before he could answer, she turned and walked back to her car. Luckily, Kevin didn't follow. He stood in the same spot she'd left him, looking at her as she drove off.
Laurel gripped onto her steering wheel the whole way back. She didn’t touch the radio, for fear that another Christmas song might start playing. She cleaned the scratches on her palm as soon as she got home and spent the rest of the afternoon watching Christmas movies.
The First Snowfall: A Holiday Short Story (All I Want For Christmas Book 1) Page 1
