“This is the weather forecast for Zermatt. Due to the winds from the North Atlantic Ocean, the Federal Office of Meteorology has issued a yellow alert for blizzards this week. People living in Zermatt should make preparations with sufficient supplies. Avoid going out…”
The reporter was currently conveying the updated weather report in the weather forecast segment. Although it was still dark outside, everyone had begun to wake up and gather by the fireplace in the living room.
Although Victor did not understand what was being said on the television, he was able to make an educated guess by looking at the swathes of yellow on the map and the ghastly snowstorm slamming against the windows.
A blizzard only happened once in a hundred. years, yet they were unlucky enough to be here for it. “We are so cursed.” Jolly dejectedly sighed. “Why is there a blizzard going on right now? From how bad the storm is, the train will not be able to get here at all, so Gloria won’t be coming.
“Even if the train can get to us, the ski resort will not open with this weather,” said Leroy. “Since the excuse you guys used was that you wanted to go skiing, she will never come now.” Rachel sighed as well, at a loss on how to comfort the rest of the group.
“Don’t be so down,” Hernandez said while patting Victor on the shoulder. “You still have other chances. This is not your only chance to propose to her. As the saying goes, the road to happiness is strewn with setbacks.”
That drew a chuckle from Jolly. “Your Spanish has improved. You know the proverbs now?” “I know more, like ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way”.”
“Amazing. Let me test you on another.””Test away.” Hernandez was a certified lawyer in multiple countries. If he took a test for Spanish proficiency, he would definitely ace it. There was no way Jolly did not know that, but she was merely trying to liven up the air..
When Victor slipped out of the room, Rachel followed out of worry. She then saw him trying to take a picture of the fridge full of red roses.
“Victor.” “Rachel,” he acknowledged, turning back to look. at her. “Don’t be upset. You will have other chances. This is just an accident.”
“I am not upset.’ He smiled. “Everyone has helped me so much that I practically did nothing. Frankly speaking, I came here empty handed. I only thought it was a waste that the flowers were bought for nothing, so I wanted to take a few pictures of them.”
The walk-in fridge was stuffed full of roses. They were to be used in the proposal, but they were unexpectedly trapped here, like everyone else. Hearing that, she found it wasteful too.
“It is the intent that matters. When Ria knows about this, she would be so touched.” She then held out her hand. “Come, let me take a photo of you with the roses.”
“It’s fine.” Victor was the stereotypical guy who did not like having photos taken of him. Thus, his face went pale with fear.
“Fool,” she said, snatching his phone away instead of just waiting. “If you are not in the photo, how will Ria know you did this? How would she know you actually prepared all this?” “She knows I will never lie to her.”
“Enough with the excuses. Stand still.” She soon ran out of patience and snapped a photo of him before he could even try to block his face from the camera. With a loud snap, his stiff expression was immortalized.
“This won’t do. You do not look like you are going to propose. Instead, it looks like you were forced to get married.” Rachel swiftly switched back to the camera app. “No way. Let us take another.”
“How about we just leave it at that?” “What sort of secrets are you two whispering to each other?” Jolly and the others had heard sounds coming from the fridge, so they came to check it out. When they were told what Rachel was going to do, they immediately joined in the fun.
Jolly insisted Victor got dolled up. She even had her makeup kit ready. The sight made him go stark white. “Spare me, please! Rachel!”
“Cry all you want. This is all for Gloria. If you guys ever get into a fight, you can use these photos as protection. We are helping you! Stop being so ungrateful.” “Can I not want protection?” he sighed..
“No way.” Although the storm raged on outside the building, it was cozy and warm inside because of the fireplace. Rachel stood back and watched as the group bickered and chattered. Although it was a pity that Gloria was not here, they were all here because of her. There was nothing to regret about this trip.
After a while, the group then split off to do whatever they wanted. Some played video games while some played card games. It felt as lively as a Christmas party. When Rachel realized Justin was missing, she went looking for him. In the end, she found him. in his bedroom.
Charlotte had woken up sometime in the morning. She was sitting on the bed, blearily looking at everything around her as she held onto the glass of warm milk Justin had prepared for her. With a few big gulps, she soon finished most of her milk.
“Daddy, I want to have a snowball fight today.” “That’s not possible. He glanced out at the storm raging outside. “Just look at the storm. If you try to run around outside, you will be gone in a few seconds. How can we throw snowballs at each other then?”
“You just don’t want to play with me.” Charlotte huffed and pouted. “Samuel said he would always have snowball fights in the winter. You never once do that with me.”
Tears soon began to well up in her eyes. Guilt rose in him. He smoothed her hair back, tucking it behind her ears, before patiently saying, “I am sorry for that. I will be living with you, Samuel, and Mommy in the future. We can have snowball fights whenever we want in the winter.”
“You just don’t want to play with me! Hmph! I am ignoring you!” Charlotte then buried herself in the blankets and stopped speaking to Justin. At once, exasperation filled him..
Just then, he noticed Rachel coming into the room. However, when he was about to speak, she put a finger to her lips and silently moved toward the bed.
He shifted to give her space to sit. Then, Rachel tried to tear the blankets away from the bed. However, Charlotte was quite strong and insisted on staying in bed. “I don’t want to talk to you! Go away!” the kid under the blanket wailed.
“Let me see,” Rachel said, patting the blanket. “Which little piggy is angry and hiding under the blanket?” Charlotte froze. “When the little piggy gets angry, her nostrils will grow big. Let me see, where are her nostrils?” Rachel’s hands began wandering across the top of the blanket, patting it every so often.
As Charlotte feared being tickled the most, she immediately squirmed out with a giggle before pouncing at Rachel.
“I am not a piggy!” Charlotte’s kiddy voice echoed through the air as she wrapped her arms around Rachel’s neck. “Mommy!”
For some reason, the sight brought a watery shimmer to Justin’s eyes.
