"Katie in the Snow"
She wrapped his coat around her
It felt soft on her skin
And she fancied herself
That's what she did
She fancied herself
What a peculiar phrase
But it rang true
She was naked
She was glowing
She was covered by a man's coat
A man she'd only met an hour earlier
She was a filthy slut
She was fabulous
She was a new woman
A new naked woman
On the top floor
Of the Hotel Wonder
It was snowing outside
The entire downtown area
Where she worked
Was blanketed
That's the word writers use, isn't it?
Blanketed?
The downtown area
Was under two feet of snow
And it was a gorgeous sight
Katie hated work
She hated commuting into the city ever day
And then she hated going back
To her little apartment
On the outskirts
Where there was just enough crime
And not enough sunlight
And every morning
The first thing she felt was heat
The heat of a neighborhood
Where a tree wouldn't last a week
And the smell of garbage
Permeated into every surface
And probably every inch of skin
On her body
So when the snow started falling
And it was clear
She wouldn't make it to the bus stop
Without freezing to death
Katie was only too glad
To dash into the Hotel Wonder
Having an excuse to sit at the bar
Like a certain kind of woman
And flirt with whatever businessman
Might just be in town
It was only a coincidence
That she met Frankie
Who was not a businessman
But a Starbucks' employee
Who was also gladly trapped
At the nicest hotel
In the state
During a snowstorm
He was two years younger than her
But she felt like a predator
He bought her a drink
He smelled like coffee
His arms had that nice
Muscular bounce to them
Not strong, exactly
But solid
Arms you could depend on
She told him about her work
How she worked with numbers
How she worked with two brothers
One was always sick
The other was always miserable
It was hard to tell them apart
Her boss was just as unhappy
As everyone else was
And he'd often talk to her
About his marriage
And his dreams
And Katie would let him
Because it would help extend
Her first break in the morning
The city looked different under snow
She sat on the chair near the window
Letting her fingers run over the glass
As if they were going down
The body of her lover
She was caressing the image
The image of a metropolis
Frozen in place
By a snowstorm
Nothing violent
Just a firm hand
Placed on the shoulder
Of a cluster of lives
Saying 'Slow down' or 'Stop'
'Let's try this again'
'Not so rough.'
'Easy does it.'
'Softer.'
Katie had no money in her bank account
But the young man came from a wealthy family
And working at Starbucks was the job he maintained
So that his parents felt justified
In helping him out
By paying for his school
His car
His credit cards
And rooms in hotels during snowstorms
Where he would spend hours
Making love to women
Who did not come from families like his
Katie got dressed
She was careful
Very careful
Not to wake the sleeping boy
Whose forehead she kissed
Right before leaving the room
But not leaving a number
Or a way to get ahold of her
Should he desire to do so
She took the elevator down
Down to the lobby
And walked out into the snow
It was another two blocks down
To her bus stop
But she had a feeling
That the buses wouldn't be running
So she stopped where she was
Wondering what would come next
Another boy
Another snowstorm
Another stroke of luck
To her right
She saw a group of kids
Maybe five or so
Having a snowball fight
In front of a diner
That didn't seem to be closed
She knelt down
Put together a snowball of her own
And snuck up behind the group
She waited until one of them
The largest boy in the group
Was ready to throw his snowball
At a girl she'd wager was his sister
Then lobbed it at his head
And ducked into the diner
As the other kids screamed
With surprise
Having seen an adult
Act like a child
They were destroyed
By their own laughter
Katie sat the counter
All alone in the diner
Except for a young man and woman
Eating pie at a booth
Near the other end of the establishment
The waitress approached her
And asked what she'd like
Katie didn't know what to say
She wanted to go back to the room
And run a hot bath
Soak in it until her skin turned hot pink
She wanted to go back to her apartment
Catch up on some cleaning
Drink wine and watch the weather channel
She wanted to quit her job
She wanted to find a man
She wanted to leave this city
And move back home
Where it never snowed
And it never needed to
Because if you needed another chance
To start over as someone new--
You just...did it
She ordered the pie
Because it looked good
From where she was sitting
Because at that moment
It was what she wanted
And it wasn't until then
That she realized
Just how much she wanted
And how deeply
She watched the snowball fight outside
And thought how wonderful it was
To have something hit you so hard
And be able to laugh about it
Take the hit
And start all over
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