[Critique Group 1] April 2020 Submission

[Deanna Noriega]

453 words

 

Snow Angels

By DeAnna Quietwater Noriega

Lisa tucked the sleeping puppy into the outgrown fleece lined slipper Ryan
had donated to the cause.  His tummy was round and hard filled with milk.
She checked the time on the alarm clock, in two hours, it would be Mike's
turn to feed him.  Lisa looked out of the window to where her brothers were
playing.  They had been flinging themselves down onto the untouched snow,
moving their arms and legs back and forth to make angel impressions in the
soft whiteness left by last night's snowfall.  Ryan lay perfectly still with
his eyes closed.  Lisa watched him for five minutes.  Surely, he hadn't
dropped off to sleep in the cold?  she slipped on her new coat and sped
outside.

"Ryan! What are you doing?" she called.

Her six-year old brother stirred to look up at her out of large, solemn
brown eyes.  

"I just wondered what it would feel like if mama had decided I was too
little to keep and put me out in the snow," he said.

Lisa bent to pull Ryan to his feet.

"Don't be silly!  Mama would never do such a thing!  Little or not, mama
loves you as much as she loves me and Mike. Someday, you will probably grow
to be bigger than me. All babies start out little, but boys usually get
bigger than girls do.  Now come inside and get warmed up," his sister
scolded.  "I need you to take your turn feeding the puppy you know.  Mike
and I can't do it all."   I reckon we'll have to keep you even if you are
just a runt."

As her three children trooped into the kitchen, Mary Swan slid a pan of hot
biscuits from the oven.  Beef stew and biscuits wasn't a ham or turkey, but
her budget wouldn't stretch to much more than the stew meat and at least it
was filling.

Lisa helped Ryan strip off his wet mittens and coat.  She explained to mama
what he had been doing.

Mary looked at the three earnest flushed faces of her children.  She reached
to pull them into a group hug.            

"there will always be plenty of room for all of you in my heart," she said.
"Don't you know that love stretches?  The more people you hold in your
heart, the bigger it gets.  Little or big, there is always enough room for
all, even one little no account puppy with a black patch round his left eye.
Now get yourselves washed up for supper while it is nice and hot.  That
puppy of yours will be hollering for his before you know it, so, you'll want
to have yours done by then."

 

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