Sliding to Work

The snow started falling in December that year. The changing weather brought more people into the restaurant to get away from the cold. Granted this meant that Miles saw fewer animals, and Oliver found the snowy scape inspiring. Other than this, work carried on as usual.

Ramona had a love/hate relationship with snow. It was beautiful from inside a window, watching it cover the ground. But once she was outside, that's when the trouble began. Luckily, snow caught her fall, but ice - ice was her hubris.

After the first snowfall, she clung to any vertical surface, trying not to lose her balance as she wobbled to school. It was the ice's fault that she was even clumsier than before the ice-skating accident. But the ice seemed to make it a mission to have her fall as often as possible. She was gripping the sidewalk rails for dear life as she approached her biggest challenge yet. The parking lot to the back door of the dinner. There was no support to brace her between the rail and the building. She would have to take her time, slowly releasing the railing as she stepped into the lot.

She took another step, wobbling a little before regaining her balance. She took another step, already slipping before her foot could feel solid ground again. Before she hit the ground, someone's arms caught her. Ramona looking up to see Miles.

"You alright?" he asked, his voice full of concern as he pulled her back up, only for her to slip and fall onto his chest.

"Sorry," she mumbled into his chest, not sure if the heat was from her embarrassment or him.

"It's fine. Let's get you inside."

He turned her around and directed her to the door.

"I take it the ice makes the tripping worse?"

Ramona nodded, clinging to his arm for dear life as the inched across the lot.

"How do you manage to get to school with the ice?"

"I hug the walls and railings. It helps a little."

"But between the railings" Miles said, looking to the railing then ahead, "and the door. There's nothing to keep you from falling."

Ramona nodded again, her feet slipping a little, but Miles was quick to steady her.

"If you want, I can walk you to the diner before and after work to make sure you get across the parking lot without falling."

"Thank you," she mumbled, certain her face was red. The moment they were near the door, she grabbed the rails. She tried climbing the steps to get away from the strange feeling when her feet slipped out from under her to find Miles catching her again.

"Careful, hold onto me until we are inside," he cautioned as he guided her inside the building.

"Nice and warm in here," he commented as he shut the door behind him.

Ramona nodded, "Thank you for helping me."

She looked up to see Miles as happy as ever, apparently not as affected by whatever she was feeling.

"No worries." He then walked off towards the men's changing room, Ramona following behind. She hid in the girls; changing room, sliding to the floor behind the door to calm her heart. Miles had caught her plenty of times before, which had made her heart do little flipflops. Now the sensation warmed her entire being and her heart felt like it was on a merry-go-round.

After a minute, her heart calmed down, and Ramona felt her temperature lower. It was probably just appreciation for his helping her. Miles offered to help her. None of her other co-workers had helped her before, so the new feeling was probably someone helping her. Plus, the weather. The weather had a strange way of making a person's temperature fluctuate.