“It’s winter,” Josh chuckled. “You do realize it’s supposed to snow in winter, right?” he asked Nancy. The pair did not know each other for long, but their friendship grew fast. They were in the middle of their weekly lunch date when Nancy confessed something that was bothering her. The mid-20s woman shook her head; her blonde curls bobbed with the motion.
“That’s not the point. It’s March 3rd already, it’s been snowing since New Year’s!.” Josh shrugged.
“Last I checked we’re still in winter.” Nancy sighed.
“Think! It’s been snowing non-stop for two months, right?”
“Still wint-“
“LISTEN!” Nancy covered his mouth with her hand. “Snowing for two months….” She scooted closer to him in the booth, leaned in, then whispered in his ear. “…where is all the snow?” Josh’s coffee-brown eyes glazed over and his brows furrowed in confusion. Nancy pulled her hand away.
“Huh.” He said.
“It should be stories high by now, but it’s never any more than a couple of inches deep.”
“Any dessert?” Their cheerful waitress asked suddenly, neither of them noticed her walk up.
“No thank you,” Josh said, and Nancy repeated it. The waitress nodded, smiled and gathered their used plates; she seemed intently focused on Nancy as she did.
“Just call if you need something,” she turned and left their table with the dishes. Once she was gone Nancy leaned closer to Josh again.
“Isn’t it weird that no one’s noticed?”
“Yeah, a little bit I guess,” Josh said. “So you noticed. Now what?” he asked. Nancy shrugged.
“Get more people to notice, I guess. Maybe some scientists could figure it out. Anyway, you ready?” Nancy asked and reached for her purse.
“Uh, hold on. Gotta visit the restroom first,” Josh excused himself. The moment he stepped away, the waitress appeared next to the table.
“Can I ask you a question?” she asked; Nancy nodded. “When’s the first day of spring?”
“19th this year,” Nancy replied without hesitation. The waitress’ smile grew from ear to ear.
‘I knew it!” She exclaimed then leaned in closer to Nancy. “I heard you talking about the snow,” the waitress said while her eyes flitted around the restaurant.
“You noticed it too?” Nancy asked. The waitress nodded eagerly. “Shhh,” she pushed a small piece of paper. “We can talk later, it’s not safe here.”
The waitress stiffened; Nancy noticed Josh was on his way back from the restroom.
“Don’t trust anyone that doesn’t know when the first day of spring is.” The waitress whispered then turned away from the table as Josh approached.
“What?” Nancy asked but she did not catch the waitress in time. She stuffed the scrap of paper into her purse and stood when Josh reached the table. “You know, all this talk of snow, I can’t wait until winter’s over,” She said.
“Uhuh,” Josh replied as they headed toward the exit.
“I can’t remember, is it the 19th or 20th this year?” she asked.
“What?”
“March 19th or 20th. You know, the first day of spring.” Josh stopped walking and looked at Nancy with a curious look.
“The first day of what?”
