Hot Cocoa

Holding my palms to the heat of the fireplace and then pulled the blanket around me, snuggling deeper into the over-stuffed chair. Outside the window, I could see the snowflakes as they made their way downward. The smell of hot cocoa in the mug on the table next to me made me smile. Momma used to make it from scratch and served it with marshmallows floating on the top like a rafts in the lake of chocolate. She always seemed to make it when we needed her love the most, like after “The Great Snowball Fight” of 1962, as we called it. I was nine years old at the time and Billy was twelve.

I can still see my brother Billy, and Gary from next door in the heat of the battle, snowballs flying. I had been Billy’s partner in crime that day because Momma insisted on sending us outside to play. Billy, having been saddled with his bratty little sister for the day, put on a good front. We spent the better part of the morning building a snow fort in the front yard of our house. We painstakingly made brick after brick of snow, packing them tightly and then melding them together with a bit of water. The fort was in the shape of the letter “U” and ended up being about three feet high. It was a beautiful piece of architecture, if I must say so myself.

Once Billy determined it to be finished, we set out to create our stash of ammunition. Near the rear of the fort, we tried stacking the snowballs but they kept rolling around. Frustrated, Billy ran into the garage and came out with a cardboard box. Into the box we loaded the snowballs, higher and higher until there must have been 40 or 50 of them. We were ready for anything!

As Billy and I were building, I had noticed Gary’s face appear and disappear from the window next door many times. Finally Gary came barreling out the front door of his house, bundled in his red coat and orange snow pants. He looked so funny. I giggled but I didn’t dare say anything. Billy, having never backed down from anything in his life, laughed out loud at him. Little did I know, that was Billy’s call to battle.

Gary quickly saw he was out-numbered with no fortress or ammunition. Frantically, he looked around until he spotted Jerry and Mark down the street on their sleds. He shouted to them and they came running. Lucky for Gary, there were two very large oak trees in his yard so he slipped behind one, waving Jerry and Mark behind the other.

Suddenly the air was full of flying snowballs. I did a pretty good job, I think, but Billy was the real star thrower. He connected with Jerry a couple times. One time Jerry turned his back, only to be clipped in the back of the head. He shouted out in pain and then let out a few curse words at Billy. A few minutes later, I could see Jerry take off running. Billy just laughed loudly.

The battle ensued for quite a while. I could see our ammo box was dwindling but there was just no time to stop and make more. I stood up tall, threw one with my best effort and caught Mark in the shoulder.

“Great shot, kid!” said Billy smiling at me. I grinned back at him. Suddenly, from the other direction, in the corner of my eye, I saw something coming straight for my face. Wham!

Everything stopped. Billy, Gary, and Mark stood in shock. I think they were waiting for me to start crying. Despite the pain, there was no way I was going to cry… Not where they could see me that was for sure. Then I heard Billy yell, “Ewwwww…..get in the house!” He quickly grabbed me by the arms and ran with me to the back door. “MOMMA!” he shouted.

Momma came to the door and when she saw my face, she grabbed me, carried me directly to the little bathroom in the hallway and plopped me down onto the toilet seat. She pushed my head backwards, resting it on the back of the toilet and then ran to the kitchen for some ice. She assured Billy that I was going to be fine and sent him back outside.

It took a while but finally the bleeding stopped. Momma cleaned my face up enough to assess the damage before she proclaimed, “You’re going to have quite a shiner in the morning!” Hey, at least I was going to live! I walked out to the living room and climbed into the over-stuffed chair, warming my hands near the fire. A few minutes later Momma arrived with my hot cocoa with the floating rafts of marshmallow. I sat and watched Billy and Gary out the window. Poor Gary, I thought. He never stood a chance against Billy.

Now, gazing out the window at the softly falling snow, I remember how Billy and I had our fights, for sure, through the years. Snuggling into the old over-stuffed chair, wrapped in a blanket and sipping my hot cocoa in front of the fireplace, I think of how lucky I have been to have Billy for my brother. I still have his back and he still has mine.

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Tags:

blood, brother, love, mother, snow and snowball