Excerpt: The Exploding Cemetery (or It's In The Water)

The snow started coming down around sunrise. Brooke laid there for a long while, huddling naked under the covers, looking out her bedroom window at the falling white crystals. This was her one solace for living so far away from home.

This was not Florida; land of sunshine and hurricanes. This was the land of gray winter skies and Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Yet there were unexpected things happening in her life conspiring to keep her here. No, it was not Martin. He was simply a curiosity, someone to bide the time with until her ultimate move back home.

He could not understand her pain or the complexities of her life. Brooke needed to look out for Brooke.

This morning it would be too easy to just roll over and sleep all day. She needed activity.

So she got out of bed and walked over to her closet, selecting a pair of tan-color boots. She put them on, stood up, and looked in the mirror. How much taller these boots made her look. She grinned at her reflection.

The coat she selected was almost the same shade as the boots, and went almost to her ankles. This was a spontaneous act, well almost, for she did take her wallet. She left her apartment building unsure whether she was heading around the block or further.

Despite the snow, the temperature was actually not that cold. The maintenance crews were already plowing the sidewalks. It would only take a couple days for this Christmas-like scene to melt into a slushy mess.

Christmas in April, she mused. It was over a week since Easter and there was a foot of snow on the ground. She loved this day; her outside, naked but for a coat and boots, thinking about Christmas shopping.

A serendipitous moment; she reached a bus stop just as the bus stooped and opens its door. Brooke steps inside, feeling around her jacket pocket for change. Yes that will do. With some difficulty, she sat down and watched the frosty suburban images of change to that of the city.

It was like going back to a time before suburbs, back to when the downtown department stores ruled. There were fewer of these now, all having cut out departments and services. Yet to walk in to the main entrance, dazzled by the lights and glistening display cases was to realize some of their magic still existed.

Brooke hated shopping, Christmas shopping most of all. But this was her own thing. A voyage into nostalgia foreign to her. She considered her shopping list; Neal, Faye, Evie, Iris, Nina, and Martin.

Oh, what to get Martin, she wondered. Perhaps something outwardly nice but with a little joke only he would get. Shower gels? Yes, that would work very well.

The off-season Christmas party went well. There was eggnog and carols. "Emergency" gifts pulled out from closets. Everyone reminiscing about their own childhood holidays.

As she walked with Martin back to his house, Brooke looked at the already receding snow. "Quite a difference from this morning," she said.

"Springtime," Martin replied, smiling. "You just need to live here longer."

"Maybe I will," she said, wistfully.

"Are you all right?" Martin asked, noticing the mood change.

"Yeah," she replied. "Just doing a little thinking." She looked around, and for the first time, could see the neighborhood as Martin saw it. Maybe it was a Christmas miracle; she felt she was home.