Winter Wonderland

“I’m f-f-fr-fr-freezing!” she said as she turtled her head into the collar of the vintage fur coat.  Normally, she espoused the idea that ‘fur is dead’, but tonight she was very thankful for the small fur-bearing animals that had perished for her coat.  The leather of the seat groaned, as if in protest, as she scooted closer to him in an attempt to steal some of his body heat.

“The fire looks cozy, but it’s not doing a thing to keep the frostbite from my toes.”  She glanced down at her freshly pedicured feet shod in Jimmy Choo heels.  “I guess these aren’t exactly the right shoes for winter, particularly in January.”

“Ah, but they do fantastic things for your legs,” he commented with a grin.  “Here, give me your hands.  I should have thought to remind you to bring some gloves.”

“And a hat. What was I thinking? When you offered to take me back to the Twin Cities for the holidays, I was so excited.  Who knew that my blood would have thinned so much in the three years since I moved away?  I swear I can see my breath.  I shouldn’t have ‘re-gifted’ those gorgeous cashmere mittens and scarf that your mom sent me.”

“Aaahhh!”  She moaned and bounced on the seat trying to increase the circulation in her limbs and attempting to generate some body heat. 

Just then, a tone sounded through the intercom system mounted on the privacy panel. 

“We’ve arrived, sir.”

“Thank you, Graham.”

As he flipped a nearly concealed switch, the fire disappeared from the LCD screen in front of them and the privacy screens disengaged from the windows.  Warm air flooded into the car through the floor vents.  The winter fantasy was over.

The Hummer limo pulled into the circular drive in front of The Setai and a uniformed doorman started forward.

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t really get you back to Minneapolis this year,” he said as he helped her step down from the car. “And, as good as you look in that fur, I think it’s a little much for South Beach, even in January.”

She smoothed a hand over her sequined gown, and smiled up at him as they started  toward the sounds of the New Year’s Eve party that could be heard faintly in the distance.

“Oh, but for a little while you made me remember that not all of my memories of the north country are ‘warm and fuzzy’. There’s nothing like Miami!”