A Snowy Christmas Journey

It had, of course, seemed like a really good idea at the time Shannon thought as she guided the truck onto the off ramp. The snow was coming down in clumps, and the wipers and defroster were fighting a losing battle to keep the windshield clear. Her husband had been in Denver on business, and it had just made sense to fly the twins there when their classes ended for the semester, rather than back home to Albuquerque. The three of them would drive down to Colorado Springs, she would drive up from Albuquerque, and they would spend Christmas with her husband's parents.

Then there was a crisis at work, which prevented her from leaving when she'd planned, followed by this damnable blizzard. If she'd left on time, she'd have been there by now, but instead she'd been creeping along the highway for the last two hours, fighting the snow and ice. At least she'd taken her husband's truck, and wasn't in her BMW, she thought, giving the steering wheel an affectionate squeeze as the turbo-diesel chugged along. She was also grateful that her husband had called damn near every hotel along the highway in order to find her a place to stop. They would undoubtedly be closing the highway soon and she wasn't going to make the Springs before then.

She gently brought the truck to a stop at the end of the offramp. She surveyed the area as she waited for the light to change. She could just make out the sign for the La Quinta through the snow. There was a pair of gas stations, a Longhorn Steakhouse and a McDonalds huddled around the intersection. The light turned green and she crossed the road, then turned into the hotel parking lot.

She found a spot mercifully close to the front door, and was texting her husband to let him know she'd arrived when a battered looking Toyota pickup pulled into the spot next to her. She kept a wary eye on it as she put on her jacket then gathered her purse and overnight bag off the passenger seat. Two people got out, already wearing heavy coats and gloves, grabbed a bag from the back of the truck and hurried into the hotel. Shannon followed their lead, picking her way across the snow-covered parking lot.

A blast of warm air hit her as the automatic doors slid open, she hurried through the second set, some corner of her mind not wanting to "waste" all that deliciously warm air. The occupants of the Toyota pickup were at the front desk. She could finally get a good look at them. Both were small, that much was obvious even through the heavy coats they wore, a man and a woman, both maybe 5ft 4in tall a good 6 inches shorter than her own 5ft 10in, and slender with light blonde hair, short cropped for the man, a pixie cut for the woman. The man was talking to the desk clerk, his companion looking around the lobby nervously, almost like a mouse afraid it had been caught in the open. Their eyes met, and Shannon smiled at her.

"Glad we managed to get off the road," Shannon said conversationally.

The younger woman, Shannon guessed she had to be 19, maybe 20, smiled back, still obviously nervous, "Maybe, I don't think they have any more rooms," she responded the weariness in her voice unmistakable.

Before Shannon could reply another desk clerk called to her. She excused herself and stepped over to the waiting clerk.

"Reservation for Thompson, Shannon Thompson."

"Ahh yes Ma'am, I have that right here."

Shannon handed over her ID and credit card as the clerk went to work.

She listened to the other clerk apologizing to the young man, "I'm really sorry, but we just don't have anything, I understand about the weather and," he looked around conspiratorially, "you're welcome to stay in the lobby. We don't normally allow that kind of thing but..." he gestured to the increasingly heavy snow falling outside.

The clerk assisting her put a stop to her eavesdropping by placing a card key on the counter and handing her license and credit card back.

"I've got you in room 608, it's one of our extended suites, with two queen beds. Is there anything else you'll be needing?"

"No, that sounds wonderful. Thank you."

"The elevators are right down the hall to your left, there is a continental breakfast starting at 6, also, we've talked to the manager at the Longhorn, they are going to be open."

Shannon picked up her bag and turned to head down the hall.

The other two travelers were sitting on one of the couches in the lobby. The girl had a battered cell phone in her hand, searching for something while the boy looked on. They were twins Shannon realized, they had to be.

The girl looked up from her phone at her brother, "next hotel is 25 miles down the road, and they might be full too," a tear started to form in the corner of her eye," and it's just so cold."

He looked down, hiding his shame, "I know... I'm sorry, I really thought there would be more time to get the heater fixed, and the parts were so expensive. I just..." his voice trailed off.

She tucked the phone away and slid closer to him putting an arm around him, "I wasn't blaming you; we always needed the money for something else. It wasn't like you wasted it buying magic beans or something."

That got a laugh from her brother and he looked up. When he did, he noticed Shannon watching them.

"I'm sorry," Shannon said quickly, "I don't mean to be rude...it's just that... you're obviously having a tough time right now. I've been there too, and well, you're twins, aren't you?"

They both nodded.

"Well, I've got twins of my own, probably about your age, they're 19, off in college right now, and if they were stuck out in this storm like you are, I'd hope somebody would help them."

She took a deep breath, steadying her own nerves, she knew what she was about to say was insane, but she also knew she wouldn't forgive herself if she didn't at least try to help these two.

"I've got a room, it has two queen beds, and I obviously don't need two. So, if you want to sleep on the other bed, you are welcome to it."

The twins looked at each other, neither saying anything for a minute. Then the girl nodded at her brother, he shrugged his shoulders, she looked up at Shannon. "We'd really appreciate that."

"Well, let's get going then."

The trio headed down the hallway. They found the elevator easily enough and were soon headed to the 6th floor. As the elevator door closed behind them, she extended her hand to the young man, "I'm Shannon by the way, nice to meet you".

He shook her hand, "I'm Jerry, and this is Jenny, it's nice to meet you too, and thank you so much."

"It's nothing really."

"We really do appreciate it," Jenny added.

Shannon located their room and opened the door. Suite was a bit of an overstatement she thought. There was a small kitchenette just inside the door, with a bathroom to the immediate left. The room was long, if a bit narrow. Two queen beds with a large nightstand between them and a TV mounted to the wall opposite. Past the beds, a couch and loveseat formed a small sitting area with an identical wall mounted TV and large windows overlooking the snow-covered parking lot.

Shannon tossed her bag on the first bed, then turned the heat up a bit. She took the jacket off, and hung it up in a small closet.

Jenny and Jerry took off their heavy coats, both were wearing heavy sweaters underneath them and they removed those as well. In just their jeans and shirts they were every bit as thin as Shannon had first thought. Neither one could weigh much more than 100 lbs., and Jenny's small breasts were the only thing that differentiated her body from her brother's. Jenny carefully hung the jackets in the closet and folded the sweaters and placed them on the couch.

Shannon glanced at her watch, "It's almost 4 now, I was going to relax for bit, then fight my way across the parking lot to get some dinner around 530."

The twins glanced at each other nervously.

Shannon held up a hand, "Look, let's not make this awkward, ok? You two are going to go with me, and I'm going to treat, no different than if you were a couple of my daughters' friends, ok? I've bought more meals for their friends than I can count, two more isn't going to matter, and like I said, I've been there. I've skipped meals to make sure I had my rent money, so 20 years from now you can help someone else out. I'm going to have two teenagers arguing with me constantly starting tomorrow, let's not start today all right?"

Both twins grinned, "all right" they said in unison.

She kicked her shoes off, pulled a book out of her bag and stretched out on the bed.

"Mind if we turn the TV on?" Jenny asked.

"Go right ahead. Mi casa is su casa".

The twins flipped channels for a few minutes then settled on HGTV. A few episodes of House Hunters filled the next hour and a half, with the twins sitting on the couch next to each other, debating if shoppers had picked the "right house" for each episode.

At 530 Shannon got up, used the bathroom, then put her shoes back on.

"Well, shall we?" she asked.

"We shall, I'm starving," Jenny commented.

The two put their coats back on, abstaining from the sweaters. Shannon pulled a hoody out of her bag and slipped it on, then put her much lighter jacket over it.

They managed to navigate across the parking lot and to the restaurant without incident. There were only a handful of diners eating and most of the staff seemed to be sitting around the bar watching a basketball game.

They still got a friendly greeting and ushered promptly to a booth, the twins sat next to each other and were soon poring over the menu, occasionally glancing up nervously at Shannon.

"Order whatever you want, it's fine."

That seemed to reassure the two and they were ready when the waitress returned. Shannon ordered a sirloin, along with onions rings as an appetizer and the twins went for the New York Strip.

They wolfed down most of the onion rings, tore through their salads and made short work of the steak and vegetables. Shannon smiled to herself, fond memories of her twins, and their friends wolfing down food after a soccer game, or tennis tournament. Then her thoughts turned dark, as she remembered these two weren't hungry because they had played hard and had a wonderful time, they were hungry because they hadn't eaten, because they couldn't afford to eat. She fought back the sadness, keeping a smile on her face as she finished her own meal.

"I'm on my way to Colorado Springs for Christmas, where are you two headed, if you don't mind me asking?"

The twins glanced at each other again, then by some unspoken agreement Jerry started, "Heading to Fort Collins. We've got some friends up there; they can get us a job where they work."

"One of my friends is a Colorado State Alum, it's a lovely place."

"We've never been," Jenny added, "but it was time for a change of scenery."

They chatted about Fort Collins, and Shannon gradually drew them out of their shells.

The waitress came by, asking about drinks or desert, Shannon ordered a strawberry margarita, the twins confessed to only being 19 and settled for sharing a molten lava cake.

The conversation resumed and she discovered that they were from Fort Sumter. Their mom had died when they were toddlers, their dad had raised them, but he was diagnosed with cancer when they were 15. They caught it late, but he swore he'd make it until they turned 18 and graduated high school. He had, but was gone a month after they did. There wasn't much money left after they buried him and they'd ended up down in Roswell looking for work. That had lasted until this month and now it was off to Fort Collins and hopefully a better life.

Shannon listened to the story, the way the thread passed back and forth between them, finishing each other's sentences, all those same things her daughters did, wondering how the two of them would have fared in these terrible circumstances.

"Are you okay," Jerry asked.

"I'm fine, just lost in my own thoughts for a second," she noticed a bit of chocolate cake on the corner of Jenny's mouth and reflexively she picked up her napkin, leaned over the table and dabbed it away.

Both the twin's eyes went wide, and Shannon quickly pulled her hand back.

"Oh, I'm so sorry...really, I didn't mean to" she stopped and took a breath before continuing, "I was just thinking about my twins, and I guess...maternal instinct took over. I'm really sorry."

Jenny smiled at her shyly, "It's ok, I'm sure my mom did that for me, but I don't remember it, and now I know what it's like."

She sat up a bit straighter, "It was actually kind of nice." She used a finger to scrape the last bit of chocolate from the plate then smeared it on her cheek.

Shannon laughed, picked the napkin back up and cleaned her off again.

"Thanks Mom."

"You're welcome."

"They don't exactly need the table," she said looking around the still sparsely filled restaurant, "but I'm exhausted. Shall we go?"

The twins both nodded.

Shannon waved the waitress over and asked for the check. With the check paid and a healthy tip left as a thank you for braving the terrible weather the trio began the trek back to the hotel. Jerry gently patted the battered Toyota as they went by it in the parking lot.

"Men and their trucks," Shannon commented, "My husband loves this one." Pointing a finger at the big GMC.

"It was our dad's" Jenny explained, "It's one of the last things we have of his, but he did really love it."

"I'm just glad he can't see it now," Jerry said a forlorn tone in his voice.

"He'd understand," Jenny consoled, putting a hand on her brother's shoulder.

"Right, Mom," she added, turning to look at Shannon.

"I think he would," she answered.

Back in their room Jenny asked if she could take the first shower, the others agreed and she grabbed a few things from their suitcase and disappeared.

Shannon pulled her wallet from her purse and dug around for a minute.

She looked at Jerry, "You're a bit of a mechanic?"

He nodded.

She handed him a business card. " That's my husband's, when you get to Fort Collins and get settled email him. He's in the auto industry, he knows EVERYBODY, it's pretty ridiculous. He'll know where to send you to get what you need as cheap as possible, and set you up with people if there is anything you can't do yourself. His Grandpa's old Ford pickup is in my garage. He get's this kind of thing."

He stared at the proffered card for a minute then took his wallet out and tucked the card into it.

"And while you have your wallet out," she added holding out a $100 bill, "take this. I wish I had more cash on me, but this ought to cover gas to Fort Collins and tomorrow's lunch as well."

"I can't take that."

"You can and you will, I thought we established a strict no arguing policy?"

He grinned at her sheepishly and took the money, "Yes, Mom, Sorry, Mom" he said with mock petulance.

"That's better young man," she said stifling a laugh.

The bathroom door opened, and Jenny came out looking refreshed wearing a loose nightgown.

Shannon pointed towards the bathroom, "You're up Jerry."

Jenny sat down next to Shannon on the bed while Jerry gathered his things, then disappeared into the shower. She leaned against the older woman, and Shannon instinctively put an arm around her.

"I just really wanted to say thank you again," Jenny began. "Things were going really well in Roswell, and I thought things were finally going to work out for us. Then...".

Her voice trailed off and Shannon gave her a squeeze, "You don't have to talk about it." Jenny pressed tightly against her and Shannon wrapped her arms around the younger woman holding her tight, feeling her sob gently.

She kissed the top of her head, "It's going to be all right". They were still like that when Jerry came out of the bathroom wearing a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt. He looked at the two women, a mixture of fear and confusion on his face. Jenny pulled away.

"It's OK Jerry," she said weakly. She gave Shannon a squeeze then stood up.

Shannon grabbed her things and headed for the shower. She closed the bathroom door and quickly stripped. She turned to examine herself in the full-length mirror on back of the door. She still looked good for 41 she thought. She probably couldn't still fit into her prom dress, but it wasn't by much. And her husband was pretty happy about some of the changes, running her hands over her large breasts. She turned the water on, and was soon savoring the warmth of the water as it flowed over her. She took a long luxurious shower, washing her auburn hair, the water so hot she was practically pink when she finally got out.

She wiped the condensation off the mirror, dried her hair and got ready for bed. She hadn't really planned for company, and the only sleepwear in her bag as a purple silky chemise. It did cover the things that needed to be covered, but not much else. She slipped into it, along with the matching panties and stepped out of the bathroom. She was grateful the lights were off. The only light in the room was what spilled past the curtains from the lights in the parking lot. Jenny and Jerry were under the covers in the far bed, she sent her husband a quick "good night" text and slipped into her own bed.

She woke up with a strange feeling, she almost jumped as she realized Jenny was standing right beside the bed.

"I'm sorry, it's just earlier, when you were holding me, it felt, it felt really nice and I was wondering if maybe..."

Shannon lifted the covers and she slipped under them, spooning back against the older woman. Shannon dropped the covers and Jenny pulled them tightly over the pair. Shannon draped her arm over her and closed her eyes. Feeling the girl's warmth pressing against her made her think about how long she had been sleeping alone. Her husband's business trip had been seemed to take forever and she had really been looking forward to seeing him tonight. The thought of making love to him in his childhood bedroom had been burning in her mind for days now. One more day she thought...one more day.

She felt Jenny take her hand, holding it for a moment, pressing it against her chest, then it was moving, Jenny was guiding her hand, it slid under the nightgown, she felt her fingers on the smooth, soft skin then her hand was on Jenny's breast, Jenny's fingers over her own, squeezing the small breast.

"Please," she heard Jenny whisper as she pressed her self back against the older woman.

She hesitated for a moment, then began to play with the offered breast, running her fingers over it, gently stroking the nipple, feeling it harden at her touch. She gently kissed her neck, then down to her exposed shoulder. Jenny let out a soft moan, pressing her bottom back into Shannon, grinding it into the other woman's groin. Shannon continued kissing her, hand exploring more of her body now.

After a few minutes, Jenny twisted around facing her, their lips met, softly at first, but with an increasing hunger. Jenny pushed the older woman onto her back, kissing her harder, hands finding her breasts, squeezing them through the thin fabric of her chemise. She continued moving down her body, Shannon felt small, delicate hands take hold of her panties, and she lifted her hips allowing Jenny to slide them free. Jenny hesitated for a moment, then pressed her face into Shannon's sex. Slowly at first, the tongue gently probing her, then more forcefully, faster, pressing into her, probing into her.

Shannon ran her fingers through the blonde's short hair, enjoying the moment. She caught motion from the corner of her eye and glanced over to the other bed. Jerry was awake, watching the whole thing. A naughty shiver ran through Shannon's body and she pulled up the chemise, exposing her breasts for Jerry, and began to play with them. Squeezing and pulling on her nipples, putting on a show for Jerry as his sister continued her ministrations.