Four Seasons: Christmas Presents [ FF, light bond, cons ]

By Crimson Dragon (dcrimson@yahoo.com)

It snowed for Christmas. The soft flakes had coated the trees and the 
fields in a dazzling display of white as far as Kate could see. She had 
awoken and gazed out her window for a half hour before she could even 
bring herself to tear her eyes away from the scene outside. She almost 
expected to see the proverbial sleigh drawn by reindeer emerge from the 
over the low rolling hills surrounding her home.

She wrapped her dressing gown around her body as she spotted her father 
trudging through the fresh snow from the barn. She ran down the stairs, 
practically leaping into her father's cold arms as he entered the house.

Laughing, he swung his daughter around before placing her on her bare 
feet.

"What's that all about, pumpkin?"

"Merry Christmas Eve, Daddy," she replied.

"Merry Christmas Eve. How's my clever psychology student this morning?" 
He was referring to her university transcript that she'd brought home 
with a flourish at the beginning of the week. Not a mark below 80. He 
was inordinately proud of his only child.

"She's just fine. Hungry. But fine."

"Let's see about breakfast, then."

Kate gathered the fresh eggs from the refrigerator as her father 
assembled the rest of the cooking utensils. Together they whipped up a 
huge batch of scrambled eggs and toast. After the smells had driven them 
crazy, they sat and savoured the breakfast.

"You heard from Linda?" her father asked as they noisily ate. "Wonder 
how she's doing? Haven't seen her at all since September."

"She hasn't called." Kate desperately wanted to know about Linda as 
well. For different reasons. She'd called the Millers early in the week, 
but Linda wasn't expected until today or even tomorrow. Her parents 
weren't even sure that Linda was coming home for the holidays. Her exam 
schedule had been much more hectic than Kate's.

"That's too bad, pumpkin. Maybe later today. You going to be alright on 
your own today? I've got some work in the barn to finish up. We can 
still have a wonderful dinner, if you'll brave my cookin' again."

"I'll be alright. I've got some reading to catch up on. And I love your 
cooking."

Kate rose and cleared the table after they finished eating. She washed 
and her father dried. Just as they finished cleaning up, the phone rang. 
Kate rushed to answer it.

Linda's voice emerged from the earpiece. "Hey, girlfriend."

"Where the hell have you been?" Kate cringed at the look from her 
father. Even the word 'hell' was frowned upon in this household. Kate 
felt bad that she'd slipped. Her father looked a little disappointed, 
but he would never say anything to her. Kate idly noticed that his 
unspoken disappointment hurt more than if he'd chastised her. She tried 
to slip back into home mode.

"Unlike you, I've been studying my pretty brains out. I just got in this 
morning," Linda's voice replied over the line.

"Can we see each other? My father is ditching me."

"Of course, sweety. I thought you'd be lonely today and I managed to 
score you both an invite for dinner. Sound good? You two shouldn't be 
alone on Christmas Eve."

"Hold on." Kate turned to her father who was looking quizzically at her. 
"Linda's invited us for Christmas Eve dinner."

"Sounds good to me. I love Pam's cooking. And I'm afraid I didn't have 
much planned. Just you and me and some Kraft Dinner." He looked 
sheepishly at his daughter.

"Actually your plan sounds nice, too, Daddy, but I'll tell her we'll be 
there." She raised the telephone back to her lips and relayed the 
decision.

"Good. I'm looking forward to seeing you. Hey. You want to come over 
early? We can do some riding? I promise I won't force you to pull any 
more Lady Godivas." Kate could tell that Linda was grinning on her end 
of the phone. Obviously, Linda had found herself a private extension.

"You minx. It's far to cold out there for those games. What time is 
dinner?"

"I don't know. Six-ish? Why don't you come by in an hour or so, we'll 
take Starr and Lady?"

"You got it." Kate gently replaced the receiver into its cradle.

"What the heck was that all about?" her father asked.

"Dinner's at six, I'm going riding until then."

He smiled. "Dress warmly."

"Daddy. I know. I'm not a little girl anymore."

"Sorry. Sorry. I know you aren't. You're my big grown up university 
girl. You are beginning to really remind me of your mother. She hated it 
when I babied her as well. I guess I just liked my little girl. Guess 
I'm not used to my little woman, yet."

"You don't like your little psychology major?" Kate pouted.

"I don't just like her. I think I love her." Her gathered his daughter 
into his arms and squeezed her until she gasped. He released her and she 
scampered towards the stairs.

"See you later, Daddy. And I love you too."

She raced up the stairs and into the bathroom. She peeled off her 
nightgown and threw herself into a hot shower. In a half hour she 
emerged, dripping and refreshed. She quickly dried off and ran naked to 
her room where she threw on a warm sweater and jeans.

She scampered downstairs and wrapped herself in her down ski jacket and 
boots. On her way out, she poked her head into the barn where her father 
was messing with some kind of leather work. She watched him for a few 
moments, her breath making steam in the air. He looked up and smiled at 
her.

"Aren't you gone, yet?"

"I'm on my way out." She pranced over to his chair and kissed his 
forehead.

"You be careful. Don't get lost."

"We won't Daddy. Don't be silly," she tossed over her shoulder as she 
closed the big barn doors.

She stopped and gazed around. The world was suddenly pure white, the 
bright sunshine reflecting off everything. It didn't even seem real. The 
snow seemed so peaceful and pristine. She almost hated to disturb it by 
walking on it, but she wouldn't see Linda if she didn't. She began to 
make her way slowly along the old path to the Miller residence, her feet 
making crunching noises in the snow.

Halfway along, she spotted deer tracks through the snow. She hadn't seen 
a deer since last fall. The horses would probably scare them, but she 
was hoping to spot one on the ride.

As she approached the Miller home, she saw Linda standing on the back 
porch, her bare hand extended in front of her. As Kate approached, she 
noticed the birds. Chickadees swooped out of the trees and landed on 
Linda's hand, only to pick up something and flit away with their 
distinctive call. Linda's face was a mask of childish wonder, watching 
the small creatures trusting her. As Kate walked closer the birds became 
skittish and stopped their flights. Linda broke out into a smile as she 
spotted her best friend crossing the back lawn. She let the remainder of 
her birdseed fall to the snow and ran out to embrace Kate. Kate's mind 
flashed back to a warm October night with a harvest moon when Linda had 
practically flown into her arms.

The two friends hugged fiercely. Linda whispered in her ear, "I missed 
you. God, I wish we could do more than this." She placed a wet kiss on 
Kate's cheek and broke the embrace. Linda's face was a little flushed, 
but whether is was the cold, or something deeper, Kate couldn't quite 
tell. Kate's stomach was in knots just from seeing her.

"Dad's got the horses saddled for us. Care to join me?"

Linda grabbed at Kate's hand and pulled her towards the barn. Kate 
wasn't sure that she was going to be able to see the back of that barn 
without remembering the tack closet, but she was sure going to try. She 
could feel her face flush as she remembered that night. Just Linda and 
her and the moon. It was the last time that she had seen Linda.

As the girls approached the barn, they heard whistling from within. 
Linda pulled open the doors to find her father just tightening the last 
straps on the saddle. The horses looked anxious to go.

"Merry Christmas, Reverend Miller."

Linda's father looked up and walked over to the two girls. He gave Kate 
a big kiss on the cheek.

"Merry Christmas. How's my Kate?"

"I'm fine, sir. Looking forward to riding Starr again."

"And she's looking forward to taking you. Where are you two off to 
anyway?"

"Just around." Linda answered.

"Be back for supper. And be careful out there. It's cold." He checked 
Linda's parka as though she was still twelve.

"Daddy. I'm dressed. Relax."

"Alright. Alright. Can't a father take care of his daughter anymore?"

Linda stepped up on her toes and gave him a kiss. "You can take care of 
me as long as you want."

The girls stepped past Linda's father and towards the horses. Like 
experts, the two girls mounted and cantered out of the barn. Linda 
kicked her horse into a gallop and Lady sprang happily into gear. Kate 
urged Starr into a gallop and together they flew across the fields, the 
cold air biting at their unprotected faces. The Reverend watched the two 
girls as they disappeared over the rise, smiling. He closed the barn 
door and slowly walked to the main house. The two girls were both 
daughters to him. He couldn't imagine life here without either one of 
them. He missed them both terribly when they were away at school, but 
there comes a time when you have to let them go. It was the natural 
order of things. His head swam with ideas for his next sermon. The 
natural order of things.

Laughing, Kate and Linda raced over the empty fields towards the forest 
that bordered the east side of the Miller property. The horses' hooves 
thundered over the frozen ground, their breathing hard and fast. The 
horses seemed almost happy to be let free of the barn. The girls stopped 
their mounts just outside of the treeline. The snow coated everything. 
The branches of the trees bent under the weight of the snow. It was like 
a postcard. Kate would have given just about anything for a camera. The 
girls just sat quietly, marveling at it. Winter wasn't quite as clean 
and bright in Kingston or Waterloo. They guided the horses slowly down 
into the trees, where they knew the path was somewhere beneath the snow. 
They had played here so long they probably could have found the trails 
blindfolded.

They talked easily back and forth. University. Professors. School. 
Grades. The topic slowly revolved to friends. A knot formed in Kate's 
stomach as Linda described a new friend of her's, Lorne. Seeing the 
stricken look on Kate's face, Linda reassured her.

"Come on, Kate. He's just a friend. Cute. But just a friend. He's got a 
girlfriend. Just like I do."

The horses moved together and stopped. Linda leaned over and gently 
kissed Kate's lips. Both girls' lips were curiously cold from the winter 
air, but they quickly warmed with the contact. The knot in the pit of 
Kate's stomach dissipated. She still wasn't sure exactly what Linda and 
her felt. She knew that they'd always be friends, no matter what 
happened. But that knot was an indication of far more than friends, and 
Kate knew it.

Linda broke the kiss and laughed. She kicked her horse and the girls 
chased one another through the forest. They continued to talk throughout 
the day until they finally ended up at the stream. Morning had crept 
into afternoon. They had to get back soon and warm up. Kate looked over 
wistfully at the moss covered boulder on the other side of the frozen 
stream. Linda and Kate had made love there once in a warmer time, just 
rolling in the leaves, laughing. It was so hard being apart.

They dismounted and walked over to the boulder. It was large enough to 
support both of them. They brushed off the snow and sat down together 
gently swinging their legs. The horses ranged without fetters on the 
opposite side of the stream, ignoring the girls.

"Linda?"

"What's up?"

"This was really nice. It's beautiful out here."

"Isn't it? Merry Christmas, sweety."

"I was afraid I wasn't going to see you. It was driving me nuts."

"I know. I know. I had to get up at four this morning to catch a ride 
back here. I wanted to see you too. And I know my parents are going to 
drag me around for the rest of the week. Our only chance was today."

Linda leaned forward and allowed her hands to snake around Kate's neck. 
Linda bent her head and touched Kate's lips with her own. Kate sighed 
and responded to the kiss. Her breathing quickened as she felt Linda's 
tongue softly trace her lips. Kate swallowed and broke the kiss.

"Linda?"

"What's the matter?"

"You know I love it when you do that. But. You know we can't exactly 
take these things off." Kate sighed and tugged at her jacket.

"What's the matter? I'm turning you on? We'd just be cold for a while." 
Linda smiled mischievously.

"Are you serious?"

"No, honey. I don't think we'd be very happy in the snow. Cool us off 
awful quick."

"I guess." Kate looked disappointed.

Linda leaned in and kissed Kate again. The girls kissed until Linda 
sighed and broke it again.

"Maybe later, if we get a chance," Linda whispered.

Kate nodded glumly, knowing that the chances that they would get were 
slim to none. Her body was aching for Linda's soft touch. She was doomed 
to frustration. At least they'd stolen this time together.

"My butt's frozen." Linda laughed and raised herself off the boulder to 
her feet. Kate followed, rubbing at her own bottom, brushing loose snow 
off her jeans.

The girls walked back to the horses, both of them breathing a bit 
heavier sending plumes of steam into the frozen air. They mounted the 
horses and raced back to the barn. They carefully brushed down the 
animals, and de-saddled them, returning everything to where it belonged 
as they been taught nearly since they'd been born.

They wriggled out of their jackets as they entered the house.

"Hi Mom!" Linda greeted her mother who was cooking. The smells of turkey 
and sweet potatoes permeated the air. Kate felt her stomach rumble 
having missed lunch.

"Merry Christmas, Mrs. Miller," Kate echoed as they entered the kitchen.

"You two were gone forever out there. Aren't you cold?"

Kate thought back to the stolen kiss at the stream and thought to 
herself, quite the opposite, actually. She kept her thoughts to herself.

Linda's mother handed the girls steaming cups of hot chocolate and 
ushered them out of the kitchen. They found their way into the living 
room and curled up in front of the fire, quietly sipping at the steaming 
mugs. The Miller's Christmas tree was bedecked simply with lights and 
tinsel. Presents adorned the floor below it, brightly wrapped.

They stole a quick kiss just before Linda's father walked in. The girls 
separated at the sound of his footsteps. Kate scrambled over to grab a 
board game before he stepped into the room.

"Hi girls." He remarked. "Went down to the stream? How was it?"

Linda and Kate both exchanged glances and nodded. They both struggled to 
control the flush that threatened to rise into their faces. "Pretty out 
there," Kate managed to say. She hoped that the quiver in her voice was 
only noticeable by her.

Kate spread out the Monopoly game on the floor in front of the 
fireplace. The Reverend settled down in his easy chair and sipped at his 
eggnog. He was perfectly content to watch the girls play.

An hour later, Kate's father entered the room. He bent and kissed both 
girls, with a chorus of Merry Christmas's. The Reverend and Kate's 
father fell into some religious discussion as the girls just idly played 
their game. It was hard to concentrate on the game when all they could 
think about was the other girl across the board. Linda's brother 
wandered in a couple of times but returned to his video games, not 
really wanting to be stuck in some boring conversation or play with his 
sister.

Finally, Mrs. Miller poked her head into the room.

"Dinner's on."

"Thanks Pam," Kate's father was the first to rise. "It smells divine."

The girls quickly cleaned up and ran to the table. Everyone was already 
seated. Grace having been said, they dug into the delicious turkey 
dinner. Conversation revolved around school, and the church. Kate, if 
asked, wouldn't have been able to remember a word of the dinner 
conversation. She was far more distracted by the soft toes that kept 
caressing her calves and thighs beneath the table. She was completely 
absorbed by the sensations and struggling to ignore Linda's evil grin. 
Her frustration mounted as the dinner progressed.

After dinner the family gathered in the family room. The older folk got 
involved in talk of the church and neighbourhood gossip, sipping at 
their after dinner Cointreau. Linda and Kate sipped at their Kahlua and 
tried to follow the conversations, but seemed distracted. Linda's 
brother broke into the conversation.

"Anyone mind if I go play Sega?"

The Millers waved, giving the boy his freedom.

"Excuse me," Linda spoke softly. She rose to her feet and padded out of 
the room, leaving Kate alone with the parents. Kate sat on the floor and 
just listened to the droning voices, sipping at her liqueur. She slipped 
briefly into a memory of an apple tree and a midnight rendezvous before 
she caught herself. She smiled as Linda returned to sit with her on the 
carpet.

"Uh. Mom?" Linda asked. Her face was flushed a bit.

"Yes dear?"

"You mind if Kate and I run upstairs for a while? We have a lot of 
catching up to do. And I'm not going to get to see her tomorrow."

Her mother nodded. Kate and Linda rose off the floor and made their way 
up the stairs.

"God. They'll be talking down there until doomsday. And I doubt that 
they'd notice it even happened."

Kate laughed. "I thought I was going to die of boredom."

"We'll see if we can change that." Linda smiled mischievously.

The girls entered Linda's cluttered bedroom and Kate sat down on the bed 
which was about the only place that was reasonably clear. Linda remained 
standing by the door.

"I got a present for you," Linda whispered.

"Oh Christ. I didn't get you anything. I thought we agreed not to get 
each other anything. Since like three years ago."

"It's actually something for both of us."

"What?"

Linda looked around carefully, took a deep breath, grasped the bottom of 
her sweater and pulled it off in one quick motion. She let it drift to 
the floor at her feet.

Kate gasped. Linda was wearing nothing but red ribbon beneath the 
sweater. The ribbon wound around her, over her shoulders and gently 
around her bare breasts, ending in a bow between them. She was breathing 
a bit harder as she watched Kate.

"Oh my God. Is that why you excused yourself?"

"Of course."

"What if your parents come up here?"

"They usually knock."

Linda hooked her fingers into her jeans and gently pushed them down her 
long legs. No underwear. She pulled off her socks with her toes. She 
grinned at Kate.

"Merry Christmas," she whispered spreading her arms wide.

"You. You can't do that. We can't. Not here."

"Of course we can. We just have to be quiet and quick."

The nude girl knelt down to her desk drawer.

"And here's your final present." She pulled a pair of steel handcuffs 
from the bottom drawer. "Put them on me. Please?"

"We. Can't." Kate's protests were losing steam.

Linda walked over to Kate and dropped the handcuffs into her lap. She 
bent down and kissed her full on the lips. Kate moaned and responded.

"I'll stop, if you really want me to," Linda whispered in her ear.

Kate reached up and closed her eyes. "I don't. God. I don't."

Linda pushed Kate down onto the bed and they embraced, still kissing 
passionately.

"God, I've missed you. And your kisses," Kate whispered.

"Put them on me. Please?"

"But your parents. Your brother."

"Well, yeah. My brother hardly ever knocks. The weasel."

"I. I'm not sure I can do this."

"Can you be quiet?"

"I guess."

Linda picked up the cuffs and dangled them in front of Kate.

"They're yours. I'm yours."

"Your parents."

"Look at it this way. If they walk in on us, it ain't going to matter 
much whether I'm handcuffed or not. Either way, my father is going to 
have a coronary." Linda grinned mischievously.

Kate slowly took the steel from Linda's fingers. Linda held her hands 
loosely behind herself and waited as Kate took a deep breath. The steel 
closed around her wrists, and Linda shuddered. Helpless. She pulled at 
the steel, loving the sensation of her restraint.

Kate flushed, but her desires were beginning to build. Just seeing Linda 
in that silly bow and handcuffs. She looked around and quickly peeled 
off her clothing. Linda watched with furtive glances at the closed door.

Kate pulled the bound girl down onto her bed and kissed her again. The 
kisses ignited both girls and soon Kate's fingers were playing up and 
down Linda's soft skin. Touching her. Her breasts. Her legs. Her toes. 
Linda lay back on the bed, sighing as she spread herself slightly. Kate 
let her fingers stroke her friend as she kissed her. Linda squirmed, 
wanting more. So much more. Slowly, Kate entered Linda with her fingers, 
letting her thumb find the rhythm on Linda's swollen clitoris. She 
kissed Linda to muffle the moans and soft cries. It wasn't long before 
Linda climaxed hard. Her body arched and she cried out into Kate's 
mouth. Finally the waves subsided and both girls lay quietly, trying to 
determine if the house had heard. They held each other, content with the 
soft feel of one another.

"Alright," Kate said quickly. "That was your Christmas present from me. 
Can we get dressed now?"

"Don't be dumb. They are going to be down there all night talking about 
heaven and hell, or whatever it is they are talking about. Come on. I 
don't want to leave you hanging. It's not fair. Especially at 
Christmas." Linda thrust her lower lip out in a pretend pout.

Linda worked herself off the bed and knelt on the floor. Kate took a 
deep breath and sat on the edge of the bed. She sighed, knowing that she 
wanted this as much as Linda did. She needed it. To hell with the 
danger. It was Christmas. She let her legs rest on Linda's bare 
shoulders and lay back, gasping as Linda's soft tongue found her. Kate's 
fingers brushed at her own nipples as she concentrated on Linda's mouth. 
Linda teased her, running her tongue up and down the sensitive slit, 
loving the soft cries falling from Kate's lips. Knowing that they 
probably had risked far too much as it was, Linda began to circle Kate's 
clit with her soft tongue, knowing the rhythm, gently kissing and 
sucking. Kate exploded with a small scream. Linda's mouth wasn't there 
to muffle the sounds. Kate writhed as her muscles contracted in unison, 
struggling to keep quiet, almost pushing the handcuffed woman from her 
task. Finally Kate lay back, gasping, whispering Linda's name softly. 
She closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing. She lifted her 
head and gazed into Linda's deep brown eyes. Linda smiled and gazed back 
from between Kate's legs, her long hair surrounding her face like a 
halo, her perfect breasts rising and falling with her ragged breathing. 
Kate lay her head back down, closing her eyes and relaxing into the 
afterglow.

"Linda?" a feminine voice called. It sounded like it had come from the 
foot of the stairs. Kate's eyes snapped open and she scrambled for her 
clothes.

"No time," Linda hissed. "Just answer her."

Kate scrambled off Linda's bed and padded over to the door. She prayed 
that Linda's brother was still downstairs. She opened the door slightly 
and poked her head out. Anyone in the hallway was still going to get an 
eyeful of her, if they were in the right position.

"Hi, Mrs. Miller," Kate called down, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Are you two alright? I thought I heard a cry."

"That was me, I'm fine. Just stubbed my toe." Kate fervently prayed that 
her unstifled cries of ecstasy resembled her cries of pain.

"Alright. You sure you're okay? You want me to look at it for you? You 
didn't break it?"

"I'm fine, really." Kate called down. Mrs. Miller was going to get more 
of a look at her than her pretty toes if she came up here now. And for 
extra measure, she'd get a nice view of her bare daughter cuffed, 
ribboned and kneeling on the floor which she could probably do without. 
Please let her go back. Please let her go back, Kate prayed to herself.

"You two anti-social girls coming down anytime soon? You've been up 
there an hour."

An hour? Kate couldn't believe that they'd been making love for an hour. 
Her father was down there.

"We'll be right down. Give us a second."

Kate closed the door and tried to control her breathing. Linda was 
softly laughing, still on her knees.

"That was close," she got out between giggles.

"It's not funny."

"You had fun, didn't you?"

Kate tried to give Linda a stern look and failed miserably. She dropped 
to her knees beside her best friend and hugged her, feeling their bare 
breasts touch again. She felt tingles running all up and down her skin.

"Yes, lover, I had fun. I've wanted that for a while. But I want to be 
able to do it again, too. They catch us, and it's game over."

"Me too. Now. You think it would be a good idea to get me out of these 
things?" Linda rattled the chain of the handcuffs on her wrists.

"Where's the key?"

"Key?" Linda looked at her with a very serious face.

"Yeah. Key."

"I. I don't remember."

"You what?"

Linda broke out into a grin and began to giggle again. "In the top 
drawer of the desk."

Kate let her breath out. "Don't do that to me. You scared the crap outta 
me."

Linda just continued to giggle as Kate retrieved the small steel key.

"I have half a mind to leave you like that. Ribbons and all. Let your 
father find you."

"You wouldn't."

"I would. That was mean."

"I'm sorry." Linda just continued her giggling as Kate unlocked her 
wrists. She rubbed at them as she got to her feet.

"Come on. Before they get more suspicious than they already are."

Kate slipped back into her clothes and then sat and watched as Linda 
pulled her sweater over her ribbons.

"You are keeping them on?"

"What? The ribbons? Yeah. They'll remind me of you when I strip to go to 
bed tonight." Linda handed her the handcuffs. "And these will remind you 
of me. Anytime you want, you can use them on me."

"How the heck am I going to get these home?"

"Your purse?"

"I didn't bring one."

Linda glanced around the room. She slipped into the closet and brought 
out a brightly wrapped present.

"I hid this one. My brother shakes 'em." She began to unwrap the present 
carefully. She pulled out the game cartridge that she'd gotten her 
brother and slipped the handcuffs into the box. She then carefully 
re-wrapped the present. She handed the small box to Kate. "There. 
Camouflaged. Just don't open it in front of your father tomorrow." She 
grinned as she slipped the game cartridge into a drawer to re-wrap 
later.

"Thanks. I really needed that. Christ, I thought I'd died and gone to 
heaven. I couldn't control the scream. I'm sorry."

"I really needed it too. And I would have screamed too if you hadn't 
been kissing me," Linda whispered. "It's alright. When are you going to 
be home next?"

"Probably Easter."

"Christ. I can't wait that long."

"Me neither, but I guess we'll just have to." Kate leaned in and pressed 
her lips against Linda's, tasting herself on Linda's lips. The girls 
broke the kiss with an effort.

"You better wash up."

"No way. I'm going to taste you until I fall asleep tonight. Especially 
if it ain't going to be until Easter."

Kate ran a brush through her hair and then brushed out Linda's for her. 
They checked themselves in the mirror and made sure their breathing was 
calm.

Just then Linda's younger brother burst into the room. Without knocking. 
Both girls looked at one another and sighed a huge breath of relief, 
smiling.

"Mom says to get your butts downstairs."

"She didn't say that."

"Well, not exactly. But she wants you down there, pronto. I think it's 
time for Kate to leave. It smells funny in here." Linda's brother 
wrinkled his nose.

Realizing that the scents of both women were probably still strong in 
the closed room, Linda hurried her brother out.

"We're coming. We're coming. Go on. Tell Mom."

Linda's brother thundered down the stairs to report. Kate and Linda 
looked at each other at the top of the stairs.

"That's it, huh?"

"Yeah. They're dragging me all over hell's creation over the next few 
days. I doubt if we'll get a chance see each other. I'd really like to, 
but try explaining why to my parents."

Tears welled in Kate's eyes. "Linda? Easter. Okay? You promise?"

"I can't promise. But I'll sure try. Okay?" Tears had already broken 
free of Linda's eyes. She wiped at them with the back of her hand. 
"Remember me with the cuffs. Okay?"

Kate kissed Linda's lips for the last time and they held hands as long 
as they could as they descended back to the family. Both girls somehow 
managed to control the tears before they walked into the family room.

Kate's father already had his jacket on.

"What the heck were you two doing up there?"

"Just talking. Catching up," Kate replied softly. She was afraid to say 
more, afraid that she'd say more than she could, afraid she'd start 
crying again.

"You women. Always gabbing. Time to go, tiger. These fine folk want to 
go to bed. It's after midnight and tomorrow's Christmas."

Kate walked back out to the kitchen and slipped her parka over her 
shoulders. The girls exchanged glances, trying not to cry. Linda 
followed the two of them out onto the porch, shivering, after they'd all 
said their good-byes. She hadn't even slipped on her boots.

Linda hugged Kate fiercely as Kate's father moved on ahead a bit. She 
whispered in Kate's ear. "Remember the ribbon. I'll be thinking of you. 
And I think I love you. Merry Christmas." She quickly brushed her lips 
against Kate's.

She gave Kate a push and retreated into the house before Kate could 
respond.

As she moved unwillingly away from the Miller home, Kate turned to see 
Linda waving from her window, holding a bright red ribbon. She swallowed 
heavily, missing Linda's touch already. Holding hands, Kate and her 
father trudged slowly through the snow towards their house a mile away. 
It was far too dark for Kate's tears to be noticeable.

