Page 26 of Scrooged for the Holidays
Cooper’s furry body runs past again, bounding onto the porch near the door. He turns, looking straight at me as he plops down. His face is covered in the white hair around his nose and eyes that I remember as a kid. He’s been gone for a long time, but here he is, sitting and wagging his tail. He looks so real I want to reach out and pet him.
“Cooper?” I call, louder this time.
His ears perk up, and he barks. A bubble of laughter erupts from my chest, and the bridge of my nose stings.
“Come here, boy!”
He takes off from the porch and runs toward me and Kai. Kai’s quiet as my dog bounds at us in excitement, his older body spryer than I remember it being.
I kneel to greet him, but he doesn’t slow down. I let out a strangled yelp, thinking he’s going to crash into us, but the impact doesn’t come. He runs right through me as if I’mnot even there. I don’t feel anything except a slight chill and pressure, the same type of sensation of wearing wet clothes but also not.
“What the hell?!” I gasp.
“You’re not really here, Greer,” Kai says.
I can’t compute what he’s saying, so I turn to see where Cooper is going. I’m about to ask Kai a question, but it dies on my lips as Cooper barks, and the giggles I heard before start again. My shoulders lock in place, and my spine snaps up as if I’ve been frozen.
“Is that…?” I ask, turning to find two young girls playing with my dog. Their bulky winter clothes look straight out of an early 2000s time capsule.
I step closer and know, without a doubt, the girl in the brand-new bright-green puffer jacket and matching snowpants is Avery. I remember her outfit because I was jealous of the damn thing. It was just the right color green and was perfect in every way. I knew it would make my red hair stand out, too. It was my dream snowsuit at age ten, and of course, Avery got it, and my parents couldn’t afford it.
“Greer!” Little Avery scream-giggles. “Cooper is licking my face!”
I knew before she said my name who was with her, but now she’s confirmed it. My gaze falls to my past self, and I take Little Me in. She’s wearing a pink hand-me-down snowsuit that clashes with her coloring. It’s a size too small, yet somehow she looks like a giant pink snowball. My past self struggles to move in the snow, and I remember hating how hard it was to play in it, always wondering if I was going to rip it.
A strong wind ruffles my hair, and I tuck it behind my ear, watching as my younger self pulls down a green knit hat with a black poof on top over her short red hair.
“Cooper!” my high-pitched kid self yells playfully. She tugs on Cooper’s collar, and he turns his attention from Avery to her. His big body nearly tackles her to the ground, and she giggles.The two of them roll around in the snow, and soon, she and Avery are making snowballs and throwing them in the air for Cooper to try to catch with his mouth. Every time the snowball bursts, they erupt in laughter.
My heart beats quicker as a hazy memory comes to the surface. This was a snow day, and Avery and I had gone sledding on a hill down the street from here. We spent hours there before the sun started to set then came back to play in the yard before we had to go home for dinner.
“Why am I dreaming of this?” I ask Kai.
His gaze remains on the two children as he says, “You look happy.”
My brow furrows at his non-answer, but my attention is drawn back to the girls. Past Me throws a snowball to Cooper, and he misses. Her face lights with a bright smile, one I’d forgotten I even have the capability of producing.
He’s right; I was happy that day. What kid wouldn’t be after getting a snow day and sledding with their best friend?
A squeal draws my attention to Past Avery. She has snow on her face and is snort-laughing. “Oh, you’re so gonna get it, Greer!”
Avery makes a ball and throws it, then Past Me reciprocates. This goes on for a minute before they call a truce and drop back onto the snow, Cooper running excited circles around them. I walk a bit closer, observing the two friends looking up at the colorful sky. A minute later, Cooper lays down, and Past Me shifts on the snow with an uncomfortable grimace.
“What’s wrong?” Avery asks.
“There’s a hole in my snowsuit; my back is wet.”
Avery scrunches up her nose before she smiles bright in excitement. “Do you think Santa will bring you a snowsuit like mine? I know you wanted one!”
The happiness Young Me felt winks out completely. She looks into Avery’s blue eyes, and I know before she speaks where this is going. This was a great day until it wasn’t. Until thisconversation. This is why I didn’t remember at first, because I tried hard to forget it.
I turn to Kai, deciding it’s time to get some answers. No more dodging.
“Why am I dreaming about this?” My question comes out like a whip. When he doesn’t answer, I continue with my hands on my hips. “Better yet, why are you here with me?”
“Watch, Greer.”
“Kai, answer me—”
