Frozen

“You want to take some-“ She stopped for a second, took a deep breath and continued, willing her voice to not rise an octave, “time… apart?”

Silence filled the room, lying on top of the already frigid atmosphere. He forgot to turn on the heater again, She thought. Typical. Now we’re both going to freeze to death.

“I think it would be a good thing.”

He took his arm from where it had been resting on her shoulders and moved further away on their light blue couch. The lady at the store had called the color ICE. It sure felt like ice today. Without His warmth She started to fear that She’d freeze to the couch and no longer be able to run from the room in tears, as She’d been planning to do as an end to the conversation. Now not only would the running turn into a strangled attempt to unstick herself, but the tears would freeze on her face.

“Why?” She asked, shivering.

He stood up, walked to the mantle and picked up a snow globe. That one they’d gotten on their trip to Chile. He’d bought it in the store the night the blizzard hit. Inside there were two people kissing. She’d always worried that they wouldn’t like being stuck in a tiny room, constantly stared at by other people. Maybe they didn’t even like each other anymore, but they were stuck in a moment that everyone dreamed of, frozen to each other by the mouth during a snow storm. He always made fun of her when She brought stuff like that up. She had always been the sensitive, caring one. He was taciturn. He froze her out when He couldn’t deal with his emotions. Sometimes She wondered if He felt like He was in the snow globe, kissing forever a woman in a little glass ball, unable to get unstuck and out.

She shivered again. They’d been together for seven years. What on earth could make him want to get out of their perfect little snow globe? Except for the freezing part. She could definitely understand if He wanted to get into a warmer glass ball. She’d pay lots of money to be in Hawaii right that second. But it couldn’t be that bad. He just wanted time. Nothing that bad would happen-

“I’m not in love with you anymore. I don’t know if I ever was.”

She froze.