Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Christmas Coda 2


Drew and Fraser from MUMMY DEAREST 

 

 

“What was that?”

“Thunder.”

“That didn’t sound like thunder to me.”

“It’s thunder.”

“We should have stayed at the monastery.”

“No we should not have.” Fraser’s hazel gaze met mine and I cleared my throat.

“Mm. Possibly not.” I was not about to let that smug look sit on his face one second longer than I had to. “Why do I let you talk me into these things?” My moan could barely be heard over the moan of the icy wind outside our tent. Our tent in the northern Nepal. You know: the Himalayas. Home to Meh-Teh. AKA the Yeti. AKA the Abominable Snowman.

Fraser grinned at me over the rim of his mug. His red-rimmed eyes sparkled in his ruddy, wind burned face. His teeth were white in the gold frame of his beard. “You always say that, but you know you love every minute.”

“Love every minute!” I spluttered.

“You have loved every minute of the past five years.”

“You’re starting to hallucinate. Move closer so we can conserve body heat.”

Not that we could really get any closer. “Here.” Fraser held out the thermos and I let him top up my mug. “You have to admit, it’s a lot better than garden parties and the opera.”

“No I don’t.”

“I took you away from all that.”

“I’m not forgetting whose fault this is.”

“I saved you from a life of boredom.”

“I wasn’t all that bored.”

“Yes you were. And you’ll thank me for this in the end.”

“Which will be any minute now. They’ll find our mummified remains in an ice cavern. Beneath an avalanche.”

“Locked in each other’s arms.” Fraser continued to beam at me while I slurped my steaming cocoa.
Not bad. The cocoa, I mean. Although the other was alright too. In fact…

I took another cautious slurp and frowned suspiciously. “What’s in here?”

“Peppermint schnapps.”

Schnapps? Are you trying to get me drunk?”

 “Of course. Drunk and debauched.”

“Let’s just skip to the debauched part. The hangover isn’t so bad.”

He touched his plastic mug to mine. “Cheers, Drew. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christ—” I nearly dropped my cup at the boom of sound bouncing off the mountains around us. Fraser's blazing look of joy told me all I needed to know. “Hey. That was not thunder!”

 

 

 

 

29 comments:

  1. How delightful! So funny and sweet — just like Drew. This really was a brilliant idea, Josh! I have a feeling I'm going to spend December re-reading your books...

    Thank you again for making me feel Christmassy. :)

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  2. That was fun! A very different kind of Christmas!!

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  3. “Let’s just skip to the debauched part. The hangover isn’t so bad.

    LOVE THIS LINE!! Thanks for this, Josh :)

    AMI

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  4. Great way to start the day - with a smile

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  5. loved it - although it's making me wish we got to know a little more :) Maybe a sequel? :)
    I'll be re-reading a lot of your books over Christmas - should be a perfect escape from the seasonal madness :)

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  6. That was so much fun! What a brilliant idea. :-D Ideas. Both the scene and these codas.

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  7. :D Fraser's gonna be the joy and death of Drew! :P

    Thanks so much, Josh. This is like you're taking us to peek into each of the couples' lives after the last page of the book!

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  8. CUTE! Chuckled (ok--giggled) all the way through.

    “Let’s just skip to the debauched part. The hangover isn’t so bad.” -- brilliant XD

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  9. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this!! You do snark better than anyone!! Even me! Thank you so so much! I love Drew and Frasier.

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  10. Another great example of opposite attract. Drew is in fine "long suffering" partner form :-)

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  11. These codas are the 'ultimate tease'! But I'm loving them. Keep them coming. And thanks, Josh.

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  12. I have this scene pictured perfectly in my head. :-D (That Yeti looks like he is trying to decide if he wants to take on Fraser or not!)

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  13. :-D :-D :-D

    This was a fun one, I must admit!

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  14. With the exception of the Petit Morts, this was the last one of your books/short stories/novellas that I hadn't purchased. When I saw which coda you posted, I figured I could ignore it, since I didn't know the characters, or I could buy the book, and get to know them. You can guess which one I chose, and I'm so glad I did. The story was great and the coda was absolutely perfect for those two! Thanks! :-)

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  15. Excellent, Josh! I also love the "Let's just skip to the debauched part" lines. So funny! And so nice to know that Fraser is still dragging Drew into all sorts of adventures. I'll bet it's been an interesting 5 years!

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  16. Five years later! Love long term relations, and all the wonderful adventures they have been involved in. All the potentional stories!!! Hooray!

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  17. Thanks, Josh.
    This was a nice little pick-me-up after a tough day at the dreaded day job. I may have to go unearth the Schnapps hidden in the pantry...

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  18. Thank you all for taking the time to comment on the codas! I appreciate it. You always want to know your gifties were at least safely received. ;-D

    I'm having fun writing them!

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  19. Oh this was funny and Drew is being cute! ^_^

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  20. I love Fraser! I do! This was so perfect! I'd love to see him running ahead to find what the noise was.
    This is one of my favorite couples.

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  21. You codas are so warm and snuggle-y and cozy, no wonder the yeti looks like he is thinking about squeezing in between Fraser and Drew!

    Thank you for the great stories - such a treat :D

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  22. Thank you all for these kind comments! You're just encouraging me to keep going, you know! ;-D

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  23. Those guys, they're hilarious! Thank you, Josh! I'm so looking forward to their future adventures. :D

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