Daydreams and Nightmares
by Joseph Paul

The winter can be harsh at times. The cold wind cuts through your clothes and you can feel the chill to your bones. It seems as though you can no longer remember the warm air of the summer. It seems so long ago. You remember those hot days and yearn for their return. The months seem to pass by slower, making the cold that much more difficult to bear.

You know that this time of year can really put a damper on your sex life. It's just too cold to do anything about. You wish you were one of those people who truly enjoyed this season but you can never seem to acclimate yourself. You need warmth. Visions of tropical islands come to mind. How nice it would be to just lay on the beach and absorb the warm rays of the sun. The soothing salt water, gently washing on your feet, which cools you.

Unfortunately, you had to have a boyfriend who seems to not care what the temperature is; he just loves the cold air. Snow to him is a pleasant time to get those muscles back into shape. God knows there has been enough of that white stuff this year to turn any man into a developed weight lifter.

You think to yourself that perhaps you should get out there and shovel some snow instead of working out in some warm gym somewhere. That thought quickly passes.Celeste peered out her window looking at yet another pile of new fallen snow when the phone suddenly rang waking her from her dream of a tropical island. She put her hot cup of coffee down and picked up the phone. "Hello," her voice still mellow from her daydream.

"Hi, Celeste! Are you ok?" John, her boyfriend, asked from the other end of the phone.

"Oh! Hi, John! Yes, I'm fine, I was just daydreaming as usual. You caught me by surprise."

"Listen! I was thinking that you and I haven't had much time together and I thought we should perhaps do something about it. I know that I've been working long hours with this snow, but it's the time of year that I make the most money. Snow plowing is not an all year business. Anyhow, Ijust wanted to know if you had time tomorrow to meet up with me. It is Saturday and things should be slow for me. They don't predict any more snow tonight so it should be ok for tomorrow. What do you think?"

Celeste thought for awhile, after all this was not her ideal time to be thinking about going
out anywhere. She then thought it was really sweet that John had come up with an idea and she would hate to burst his bubble and say no, not after all the thought he put into this plan.

"John, I think that is a great idea. What time did you think about going?" She knew she was not being truthful but would have felt guilty had she not made a big deal out of it.

"Well! How about I pick you up around nine?"

Celeste had to think once again. Nine o'clock in the morning, when she could be sleeping in? Oh well, she would hate to disappoint him.

"John that would be great. What should I wear? Give me some idea where we are going at least."

"Just bundle up a bit they predict some pretty low temperatures tomorrow; it should be a great day". John said very enthusiastically.

Celeste immediately began mentally kicking herself for agreeing to this Arctic journey."Ok! John, I'll be ready tomorrow morning. I'll need to dig out some of my old ski gear just to make sure in case the temperatures really drop. I'll see you tomorrow morning then. Is there anything you want me to bring?"

John was jubilant hearing that Celeste was so cooperative for such a short notice. He knew the winter was not her time of year.

"No, Celeste! Just be ready when I get there. I'll be bringing all we'll need. I'll see you in the morning. I love you!"

Well that did it for Celeste. Hearing those three little words would make her agree to join a dog sled race in the middle of Alaska.

"I love you too, John! I'll be waiting for you tomorrow morning. I can't wait!" Oh man, she thought to herself, I can really lie when I have to. Celeste went about digging out her ski equipment from the basement. The chill of the basement gave her chills; how would she persevere the next day? She thought it best to get this part of the trip out of the way and get to bed early so that the winter cold wouldn't be that unbearable.

When she finally had her clothes laid out for the following morning, she took a hot shower in an attempt to get her body heat back to somewhere normal. It was off to bed then and setting the alarm clock so that she was sure not to oversleep. She did not want to disappoint John. He was such a stickler for promptness.

The next morning the alarm awoke Celeste. It was all she could do not to send the alarm clock hurling at the closest wall. As soon as she stepped onto the floor in her bare feet she realized that she forgot to check the thermostat again. It was freezing in her bedroom. She quickly reached for her robe and put it on but it too was cold from the room temperature. She quickly went downstairs and turned the heat up. Her feet were still freezing but the carpet was much warmer then the hardwood floors of her bedroom.

It was time for yet another hot shower to warm her up. She stayed in the shower longer than usual, hoping that the temperature of the house would quickly rise.