Page 12 of Love Under Snowfall

Once again, he didn’t nod or make so much as a grunt before turning his attention back to the papers on his podium.

She’d been dismissed.

QUIET PLEASE

TESTING IN PROGRESS

The laminated notice, in all its caps lock glory, was anything but quiet. It screamed at Frankie, reminding her that the next three hours would dictate whether she’d be allowed to remain in Professor Clark’s demanding family law class. No amount of preparation had been effective in shaking her nerves, and she remained anxious despite her tutor’s assurances that she knew the material.

A tall, slender woman pushed through the door and propped it open with a stopper. “Family law midterm, Professor Clark. Fifteen minutes until the exam begins. The doors will lock at commencement. Donotbe late.”

Frankie filed in with the rest of her classmates. An unsettling hush emphasized the tension that rippled throughout the auditorium as everyone found a spot. She unloaded her allowed supplies: computer, pens, blank papers (to be left with the proctor following the midterm), refillable water bottle, and snacks. Many of the professors allowed their students to use notes and even casebooks in their exams. But not Clark. Nope. He wanted to test his students blind in order to, as he put it, “separate the weak from the strong and thin the herd.”

She checked her watch and decided she had enough time to use the restroom and get water. At the fountain, as a steady stream of cold water filled her Nalgene, she felt a familiar chill creep up the back of her neck. Frankie turned and froze. Professor Clark stood at the end of the hallway, mid-stride, staring at her. Though he was some distance away, his frigid glare was unmistakable.

Frankie raised her hand, wiggling her fingers in a friendly—ok, fine—mocking wave. Was she poking the bear with her taunt? Sure. But she refused to allow his childish intimidation tactics to sabotage the countless hours she spent buried in her casebooks.

He huffed and then stomped away, probably off to blowdown some poor sap’s house of straw. She found odd satisfaction in bothering him as much as he bothered her.

Imbued with a sudden rush of confidence, Frankie knew to her core that she was going to ace that test and take great pleasure rubbing Professor Prick’s nose in it the rest of the quarter.

Chapter six

Two weeks later, Seattle: Benjamin

Benjamin’s long strides beat the icy pavement in time to his measured breaths. The late autumn air filled his lungs, emitting misty puffs with each exhale. His snug running beanie and gloves—which he’d pulled from his cold weather bin that morning—managed to ward off the chill of the shifting seasons. The Verve’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony” piped through his earbuds as he let the familiar melody quiet his busy mind.

That morning, he felt lighter. Why he’d woken up on the right side of the bed after having been perpetually surly the last two months was beyond him. Nothing had changed. Miss Miller continued to sit in his class and Dean McCaffery continued to demand weekly updates on her progress. He was in an impossible situation, one he’d been fighting against daily. But when the clear, crisp morning greeted him, despite his ingrained hatred of cold weather, he felt strangely at peace.

Perhaps it had something to do with his upcoming trip to Leavenworth for his best friend’s wedding. He and Johnny had met on the first day of macroeconomics their sophomore year, became roommates a week later, and best friends shortly after that. They remained inseparable until a year after graduation when Johnny got the call to return home to Leavenworth. His father had cancer and needed him to pick up the slack at Off the Beaten Adventures, the family guiding business. He eventually took over the guiding company once his father lost the battle and passedaway. A few years later, tragedy struck again, claiming Johnny’s wife in a white water rafting accident.

Benjamin wanted to head east countless times to support his friend, but between the chaos of law school, getting immediately hired by Hewitt, Moser, and Pratt upon passing the bar, and then making the switch to teaching, time simply slipped by. Well over a decade had passed, and he hadn’t once made the two-and-a-half-hour drive to see how his friend was doing—not even for the funerals.

Some friend I turned out to be.

But next month would be different. Johnny was getting married again and—despite the distance and lapsed connection—he’d asked Benjamin to be his best man. He had no excuse not to attend the wedding. Not that he wanted an excuse. He missed his buddy and was happy to be there to support the happy couple.

Even if their marriage was doomed.

Something about spending six years as a divorce attorney and witnessing the absolute destruction of his own mother’s world when he was twelve left him jaded where marriage was concerned.

Perhaps Johnny and his blushing bride would beat the odds. He hoped for his best friend’s sake they would. And if the marriage failed, Benjamin would be first in line to help him handle the divorce.

It’s the least he could do.

Benjamin’s watch buzzed against his wrist, pulling him out of his hazy runner’s high and wandering thoughts.

“Shoot.” He’d lost track of time and forgot to backtrack sooner. He was about three miles off course and needed to hoof it in order to make it back to his condo in time to shower and stop by his office before class.

Benjamin made it to his office with just enough time to drop off his things and scan his email for anything critical. His computer took its sweet time booting up, so he snatched the spare protein shake from his desk drawer. Of all the things in his morning routine, skipping breakfast seemed the easiest to drop and save the maximum amount of time. What he hadn’t accounted for was how hungry he’d be by accidentally extending his run that morning.

He shook the chocolatey breakfast in a carton and called up his email once he logged into the campus server. He twisted off the cap, but before taking a gulp, the subject line of a particular email jumped out and slapped him in the unshaved jaw (another thing he dropped in his routine courtesy of his accidental detour).

FAMILY LAW MIDTERM EXAM RESULTS

Yes.

Finally.

---