Stormwatch - Thundersnow

Stormwatch - Thundersnow

Thundersnow is a rare weather occurrence that occurs in New England, Nova Scotia and in Western New York State on the downwind end of Lake Erie. In the Buffalo area Thundersnow may occur once in a decade, or several times in a season. It's similar to a summertime thunderstorm, but the precipitation is much different.

December is normally dreary, dark, and gloomy in Buffalo NY. One wants to think that with Christmas just around the corner, the ground would be covered with snow and Victorian carolers would be on every street corner. No such luck this year, Autumn was warm and dry, and the warm weather held off until after Josh and Veronica's wedding at the end of October. November came in like a bad flu, dank, dark, and dreary, the month rolled in with a gloomy, grim attitude and sat sullen like a diseased elk. The temperature remained between 35 and 40 during the day and a mild drizzle blanketed the area day after day after day. December stumbled in with little improvement. Occasionally a bleak flurry of snow would fall but the flakes would melt the moment they touched anything.

Veronica stepped out of Erie County Hall in downtown Buffalo and looked at the sky, the concrete gray clouds were almost as permeable to light as actual concrete. It's four in the afternoon and it's almost as dark as dusk. A cold drizzle fell from that dismal sky and the chill seemed to permeate every layer of clothing she could wear. But this was the end, the project to expand the Andalon datacenter has finally been approved, she has all the paperwork signed, notarized, stamped, filed and all bureaucratic nonsense that was required was complete. She headed over to the contractor's office to deliver the good news.

It took Veronica almost an hour to get to the contractor's office in Cheektowaga, a town adjacent to the city, normally a 20-minute drive from County Hall, even quicker if you don't stop for an extra-large double-double at Tim Horton's, but it seemed like the weather had turned the traffic into a dreary copy of itself. She got to the contractor's office just before they closed for the day. As she and the executive secretary, Delilah, got the slightly soggy pages that they need from the stack so they can get construction started, Veronica scoffed, "Everybody is just so miserable this week! Everywhere I go everyone is gloomy!"

"You said it," said the secretary.

"I sure hope the weather changes and cheers everybody up," said the assistant secretary, a slim young blond who just made several copies for Veronica. She stopped when she realized that Veronica and her boss Delilah were staring at her in shock.

"She's new here," said Delilah as she placed the documents that she needed to hand to their engineering team in a neat stack.

"Obviously," said Veronica with a shake of her head.

"What did I say?" said the young thing, starting to panic.

"It's not the weather, we're used to the weather," said Veronica.

"It's the Bills!" said Delilah. The Buffalo Bills lost on Sunday in a squeaker against the Raiders. Bills fans are not fair-weather fans, while Bills fans don't love the miserable weather, it's their weather. Buffalo lived, breathed, ate, and slept the Bills, the Sabers, and the Bisons, and with a loss on Sunday and a playoff berth still not clinched, the population of Erie County New York and surrounding areas are near suicidal with angst over their Bills. It's been often (and accurately) said that Buffalo is a drinking town with a sports problem.

"Are you going to the Miami game?" Veronica asked Delilah. The Miami game is the Sunday before Christmas and it's going to be a big one, both teams are tied for the lead in the AFC east and the fans are hoping for a "Snow Bowl" to "squish the fish."

"Oh, hell yeah!" grinned Delilah. "We have seats on the forty, eight rows up and three seats from the aisle, on the Dolphins side. Are you going?"

"No," frowned Veronica. "The tickets we use are company tickets, and Anthony has a client that needs schmoozing, so Josh and I will have to watch the game on a big screen TV... in front of a warm fire... in a log cabin." Veronica put on a huge show of looking disappointed, but in reality, she was happy. The seats are great, Club Level, near the 50-yard line, but the stadium which is visible from where Veronica works is an open-air stadium. The people of Western New York wouldn't have it any other way, but after mid-November it's a bit cool for Veronica's blood.

"You poor thing! I'll keep you in mind when the snowballs start to fly," smiled Delila as she handed the papers back to Veronica.

As Veronica got back to her Lincoln, she glanced at her phone, a text from Josh had come in. "Meet us at Worzil's" it said. Worzil's is a local bar just a couple of blocks from their home where they love to go for fish fry on Fridays. Normally Josh would say why, like Julissa is having a special on wings or something like that, but he didn't. She looked at her watch and sighed, then replied, "Running a bit late, I'll text you when I leave Andalon."

About forty-five minutes later Veronica strolled into Andalon, most of the day shift was gone, only the sales staff and a few programmers were still in their cubicles. The rain was steady now and Veronica's hair and coat were soaked from her walk through the rain to the building even though she was parked as close to the building as possible. She had noticed that Josh's Jeep pick-up was not in the lot meaning that he actually left the building at a decent hour.

Now that Josh was running the hardware side of the data center, he's been working some long hard hours, rarely putting in less than a 13-hour workday. As a wedding present, Anthony Freidman gave Josh a huge raise and new responsibilities that made the money look like chicken feed.

Before stepping into her office to file the documents she poked her nose into Anthony Friedman's office. He was on the phone but waived her in. She waited a few minutes as he finished up the call, then he glared up at Veronica. "That was Sorolla Construction, it appears that you gave Delilah the impression that you're not going to the Miami game?"

"You have a client to schmooze, so I'm going on that honeymoon I was promised two months ago," said Veronica as she shook the raindrops off her coat.

"I gave you time off," said Anthony, the Founder and CEO of Andalon.com, "what did you do with it?"

"You also gave my workaholic husband a challenging new position and a new data center to build," she said as she shook the folder full of the legal documents that New York requires to start a building project. "He disappeared the day after the wedding and only came up for air on Thanksgiving, and then I only got to see him when I could pry him away from you."

"Ok, I'll take Dave Shapiro from Mercy Hospital," smiled Anthony. Dave Shapiro was the VP of IT at Mercy, and they were ripe to start looking for an offsite data storage solution.

"Who else?" asked Veronica as she leaned into her office through the connecting door and placed the documents into the filing cabinet. Andalon had four seats and quite often when the tickets were free, they went to almost anyone, usually the salesman of the month and guest.

"Billie and Linda," chuckled Anthony as he grabbed his overcoat. His 13-year-old teenage daughters love the Bills and both have swooning crushes on the quarterback. Locking his office door closed, Anthony led Veronica through the darkened lobby "By the way, I approved your Valentines vacation request."

"Ok, see you Monday," said Veronica as they headed toward their cars. Then she stopped and loudly called out, "What Valentines vacation?"

֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎ ֎

It was completely dark when Veronica finally made it to Springville, their hometown, and the wet and damp conditions made nightfall even darker. The whole village was lit up for the holiday season with garland and lights across Main Street, light poles wrapped with garland, wreaths crowning the faux gas lamp heads, but the merry lights did little to penetrate the bleak darkness. She stepped into Worzils Grille and was met by the hostess and co-owner Julissa Tanaka who greeted her with her typical aplomb. "You look like a drown rat, bitch."

"Fuck you too, you're a doll yourself," groused Veronica as the two friends hugged.

Normally here in Springville would be snow, they were much higher in the hills in an area known as the Snowbelt. No matter how much snow you hear about hitting Buffalo, twice as much snow hits the snowbelt... but not tonight. The cold, dreary rain made Veronica miserable. Even the cheery Christmas lights throughout the village and the decorations inside Worzils did nothing to lift her spirits. "Where did you park my husband?"

"In the back with the rest of the troublemakers," said Julissa. As they walked past the bar, Julissa's bartending husband Ayato set a glass of wine on a round tray which Julissa picked up as she led Veronica to the back room. There next to a long table was seated her husband Josh, her father Mike von Koster, and his new wife Audrey. Veronica's new stepmother was 12 years younger than she was. It's not like her dad had an eye out for a young girl, Mike was a hard-working man whose wife left him to raise two girls by himself. Hard times fell on him, and he moved in with Josh and Veronica and he fell in love with a friend of theirs. Mike and Audrey got married the same day Josh and Veronica got married although Audrey was a few months pregnant by then

Sitting at the table next to them was a crowd of people centered around Andi Jarecki and her husband Paul. They were neighbors and good friends, with them was Paul's brother John and his wife Macy. Paul held his year-old son Daniel safely as he sat on the table next to his year-old cousin Katarina who held by her dad John. Andi's daughters, the twins Madeline and Sandy, six years old but nearly half the size of a kindergartener due to their preemie birth, were sitting in booster chairs cheering on Danny and Katty as the one-year-olds tried to figure out how to eat a cupcake for the first time. The twins squealed with laughter as Danny and Katty leaned forward to bite the cupcakes without using their hands. The happy mothers shot photo after photo and the proud fathers basked in the joy of the event.

Both brothers, Paul and John, were first-time fathers so they had no idea what to expect when Macy suggested giving the cousins un petit gâteau (a cupcake) at their party. At first the little ones didn't know what to make of the cupcakes. Daniel's cupcake was chocolate with chocolate frosting and Katarina's vanilla cupcake had white vanilla frosting. The cupcakes were chosen because they contrasted with their complexion, Daniel was as fair and light blond as his older sisters, and Katarina has a beautiful mocha complexion, a blending of her pale skinned father and her black French-Canadian mother.

Veronica sat next to Josh and deflated. "I missed their birthday... I'm sorry." Daniel and Katarina were born before the company party where Josh proposed to Veronica and watching them grow was a big part of Josh and Veronica's year together.

"Nica," Josh said softly as he kissed away a tear from her cheek and handed her the glass of wine that Julissa brought from the bar. "It's ok, I completely forgot myself until Audrey texted me." Veronica watched her new stepmother who was sitting next to the twins watching Danny and Katty as they slowly got the idea that they could eat their cupcakes and began to spread the frosting on their faces. Audrey was laughing joyfully, anxious for the day that the new life growing in her would reach this stage.

That's when Josh noticed that rather than enjoying the spectacle, as the other families that came to eat dinner were doing, Veronica was beginning to look anxious, then upset, then she began to tear up. Her hazel eyes began to brim with tears and her expression grew sorrowful as her heart screamed at her, telling her over and over that she gave up her chance at this kind of joy years ago for a career in beauty pageants and modeling. She saw the happiness on Andi and Macy's faces, and she thought of her four nieces that her sister produced, Veronica wanted a baby, she had been off birth control for eight months and not even a missed period. "What's wrong?" asked Josh.

"No," said Veronica. "I love you Effi, but you run around trying to fix everything... some things you can't fix." Effi is the private nickname she uses for Josh, his real name is Efraim, in return he calls her Nica privately.

"Challenge accepted," said Josh whose entire life was dedicated to fixing things. From a sweet old Hallicrafters radio for Paul, to a ratty old Ahrens lawn tractor that he rebuilt to nearly new condition for Veronica to use at the cabin, from B-52s to Army Jeeps, from network servers to network data centers, Josh can fix things. "Give me an idea what the problem seems to be."

"No, Josh, it's not that easy," she bit her lower lip as the sight of the laughing mothers filled her vision and the dread that she never will be one poisoned her heart.

"I can't fix it if I don't know what's broken."

"Please... stop. You can't..." Veronica suddenly whooped as Josh stood and pulled her chair back and scooped her up out of her chair. "Put me down!" but he refused. The look in his eye wasn't anger, it was concern, and it felt good that he was so concerned that he would do something this silly. For some reason it was almost a turn-on to Veronica. Rather than fighting him she put her arms around his neck as he turned toward the back door that led out to the smoking area.

Suddenly Julissa called out across the dining room, "What do you think you're doing?"

"We'll both have the beef on weck," called out Josh as Veronica started to kick, "and I'll take a Jenny."

"Make him stop!" called Veronica across the dining room. "And I'll have another glass of wine!"

"You want pickle with those sandwiches?"

"Yes please," they both called out and they were out the door and in the cold. The rain had finally changed to snow, small, perfectly formed crystals that drifted down from the sky and melted on contact, but that will change soon.

"Now that you humiliated me," she huffed after he set her down. "I'm going home!" God that was hot! Rhett Butler hot! She was tingling all over.

"I know you're not leaving your Lincoln behind," said Josh as he held up the starter fob to the love of her life, her Lincoln Navigator luxury SUV.

"What the f... How did you get that?"

"That doesn't matter, what does matter is why you're so jealous of Andi and Macy," said Josh.

"That's silly, I'm not jealous of them. The crying, the diapers, the feeding..."

"The quiet moments together, their little laugh, their first word," countered Josh. He knew that his words touched exactly where she was vulnerable. Veronica turned to hide her sadness. He let his South Georgia accent speak for him when he wrapped his arms around her from behind and said, "If it happin' Ah wanna share that experience with you. Ah know ah didn' come from a shinin' example a family life, but ah think ah can learn... with your help."

He knew that he was playing dirty, Josh found out early in their relationship that his deep baritone voice and his South Georgia accent had an effect on Veronica, it seemed to calm and reassure her. "You don't have to..." she whispered.

"No, ah don't, but with you, if it's what you want, it's what I want also." She didn't move so he continued. "I know what you're doing, and we don't have to time our sex to your cycles, we can make love any time we want, and when it happens, it happens, and we'll be a family."

"And if it doesn't?" she asked.

"We'll still be a family. We can go to a doc and see what kind of fertilizer we can use..."

"Fertilizer?" She finally turned around, even through her tears she was laughing. "You think there's some powder you can sprinkle on my ovaries?"

"They ain't?"

"You goofball."

"Tell you what," said Josh after their lips parted, "we'll go to my doc next week and see if my swimmers are fully armed, and we'll go from there."

"And if they're not?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Gee... I wonder who we know that can help adopt us a baby..." he said as he stroked his beard. A good 50% of Veronica's job is assisting Marjorie Friedman with her adoption advocacy organization.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" asked Veronica.

"If it's with you, yes, more than anything."

As they re-entered the warmth of Worzil's, Julissa was bringing them their roast beef sandwiches. "Ayato says that you have the whole baby thing figured out. Good, it's about time." There are no secrets in Worzils. Julissa's husband, Ayato, may be blind as a bat, but he has a bat's hearing also.

"We've only been married a month and a half!" exclaimed Josh.

"And you're not getting any younger," scolded Julissa as she set out their beef on weck. "Now eat before your dinner gets cold."

Beef on weck is the food of Buffalo. Chicken wings were for tourists, chicken wings with exotic flavorings were for yuppies and food elitists. Beef on weck was the go-to food of the working man and woman of Western New York. Roast beef cooked rare, sliced thin, and piled high on a kimmelweck. The kimmelweck is a roll, soft and fluffy in the inside with a crispy crust that is adorned with kosher salt and caraway seeds. The top of the kimmelweck is dipped in au jus and the roast beef is festooned with horseradish so hot you could light a cigar with it.

"You're killing me with this food," said Veronica as she bit into her sandwich. It was sooo delicious, but her waistline is not going to survive.

"You're the one that moved to Buffalo, you should have known about the food," chided Josh. Food in Buffalo was a celebration of culture, restaurants featuring the cuisine of Greek, Italian, and Asian of all kinds saturated the landscape and small servings don't exist. No one escapes Buffalo with a narrow waist if they have taste buds of any caliber.

Josh and Veronica sat so they could watch the babies explore their first cupcakes. Their faces and shirts were covered with crumbs and frosting and right now they were exploring each other's faces with frosting covered fingers while their parents laughed so much their sides hurt. Josh was going to assure Veronica "that will be us soon," when her dad, Mike, and his new wife, Audrey, sat down. "Can we talk?" asked Mike, he looked a bit embarrassed.

"What's up dad?" asked Josh. It had to be important, if it wasn't a major issue Mike would have come right out with it.

"Audrey and I would like to spend some time alone together and we just don't..." Mike was embarrassed to say it, he wanted to spend some quality time alone with his wife Audrey before the baby makes it difficult, but he has no money for a hotel. They live in an in-law suite in Veronica and Josh's home, which is great, but with Josh and Veronica coming and going all the time, there's no chance to be as spontaneous as a newlywed would like.

"We want to use... maybe the cabin..." started Audrey softly.

"Sweetheart, we get it," Josh interrupted before she or Mike went any further, "hold on a second." After a hushed conversation with Veronica he said, "No. We're not going to loan you the cabin."

Mike and Audrey looked crestfallen, and Mike started, "We understand, I'm sorry to bother you."

"No wait, dad stop," said Veronica. "Neither of you have spent a winter here in the snowbelt, if you were in the cabin and something happened to either of you or to the baby, help may not be able to get to you."

"We could, if you like, get you a suite in a nice hotel downtown," said Josh.