Tuesday's Tales - Great

Welcome to Tuesday's Tales! This week's prompt is the word "great". Eric and his sweetie are trapped in the snow, but he has plans to keep her warm. :)

To read the rest of the stories by some fine authors, visit the Tuesday's Tales Web Site.

Eric poured a little orange juice and a lot of champagne into my glass. We were trapped in our home beneath three feet of snow, and we were making a romantic evening of it. Wind whipped and howled outside, battering snow against the upper windows in the living room. The lower windows were already covered with a mountain of snow. There was so much snow covering the windows we could barely see outside. Neither could the cats. Lucky sat on the windowsill, bewildered he couldn't play his favorite game of spot the sparrow.

I pushed aside a blind and looked outside. "It's really coming down." Lucky mewled at me and I scratched him on his head.

"Great. It's going to be coming down until tomorrow afternoon. Good thing Monday is a holiday, because our car won't be shoveled out any time soon. I just hope the parking lot is plowed by Tuesday since I can't miss work."

"What about shoveling out the car? Do you want to do it in stages?" I asked.

"Nah. I'll pay one of the neighborhood kids $20.00 to do it. Frank did it for us the last time it snowed like this."

"Which was only one week ago." I returned to the couch next to Eric.

"Let's not talk about being trapped. That's depressing. We can turn this into an adventure." He handed me my mimosa and then pushed a few buttons on a remote control. The trippy trance tunes of Armin van Buuren filled the living room. "I have something special for us I snuck in here without you seeing it."

Now that caught my attention. "Oh, what is it? I love surprises." I sipped my mimosa and sat it on the coffee table. It was the perfect blend of champagne and orange juice. Heavy on the champagne.

Eric walked into the kitchen and opened a cabinet. I loved Eric's surprises. He showed his love for me by showering me with small gifts now and then. His actions only made me love him more. When he returned, he carried a brown paper bag in his hands. He handed the bag to me.

"Open it." He said. "I bought it yesterday just for today because of the snow. We can use it to warm up."

I reached into the bag and felt smooth glass. A bottle. I pulled the bottle out of the bag and squealed when I saw the label. "Benedictine! My favorite! I love this stuff."

He grinned. "So do I. You're going to share with the class, aren't you?"

"Of course." I said as I opened the bottle. He knew exactly what to do to make me happy. It was the little things that counted the most. "You want to get the brandy snifters?"

"Aren't you going to finish that mimosa I sweated over to make for you?" He asked with mock indignation in his voice.

"Of course I am. I'll drink the Benedictine, too."

"So you're a double-fisted drinker. I knew I fell for you for a reason." He walked to the crystal cabinet, opened it, and grabbed two brandy snifters. After he returned to the couch, he sat down, placed the snifters on the coffee table, and took the bottle out of my hands. "There's nothing like a glass of Benedictine to heat things up. My dad used to buy this stuff by the case. He deducted it on his tax returns as medicine."

"No he didn't. That was just another one of his tall tales."

"Yes, he did, and he was proud of it."

"And he got away with it?"

"This was Italy back in the 50s. He got away with a lot."

Eric poured and within seconds the warm fire of the liqueur flowed down my throat. Such a smooth drink. He introduced me to it when I first met him, and I've been hooked ever since. Then, without warning, he took the glass from my hand and sat it on the coffee table next to his. He wrapped one arm around me and leaned in for a kiss.

The room went dark. The music stopped playing. Momentarily disoriented, I wondered what had happened.

"Great. We just lost power. You got matches?" He asked.

"They're on the coffee table." I grabbed a box of matches and lit the two pillar candles sitting in front of us. "We were expecting this, you know. The wind probably knocked down some power lines." I grabbed one of the candles and stood. "Let me get the oil lamps. We're going to need them now."

"I'm glad you refilled them and checked the wicks. Good thinking on your part."

"Thank you." I said as I walked to the back room. I returned with two oil lamps. After lighting them, I sat one on the kitchen table and one on an end table in the living room. I also had crackleglass tealight holders with winter snow scenes painted on them above the TV. I lit those candles and returned to the couch. The living room glowed amid flickering candlelight.

"This is very romantic," Eric said. "Let's take advantage." He handed me my glass of Benedictine. "Let's make a toast."

"What should we toast to?"

"To us getting it on while the power is out."

"That sounds like a good idea." We clicked our snifters together and drank. Molten ambrosia flowed down my throat, and I felt my insides warm up. I could have curled up and purred, I felt so good.

"This is fun but it's too bad the power went out. It's not like we can watch a movie or anything." Eric said.

"You'd rather watch a movie than play with me?" I asked.

"Not a chance." He took my snifter before I could take another sip, sat it on the coffee table, and took me in his arms.

I liked playing in the dark.