A Hazy Shade of Winter

The guys needed to start getting serious, Jimmy thought. Robert's back to his Black Country reefer days and John Paul's been disappearing with Bonzo at the local pubs, getting pissed even though Pat and Mo told him Bon had a drinking problem. Am I the only one still trying to keep this band together? It's been six years and I'm still the one pulling all the weight.

Then there was Bianca. Besides his problems with the boredom of Zeppelin, Bianca had teased him far beyond his capacity. She was just another mouth to feed now, and even though he was wise with money and the like, he couldn't help but wonder whether she was worth keeping around. These days it seemed the only reason he kept her around was because she and Jenni didn't have a home otherwise and she served him well. What kind of bird would impose two tenants? The last thing he wanted was for Daphne to live with them. Good Lord! Lord forbid he ask Bianca to find Daphne a home. For sake's alive, man! Grow a pair and move them out before you grab a fist full of hair and just let rip.

The one person he wasn't so inclined to evict was Jenni. She was interesting and rebellious; fairly pretty, pioneering, and hysterically comical even when he was in the worst of stress spouts. Another thought hit him: Bianca was at work, Daphne was in her room beside Bianca's, Jonesy and Bonzo were in the sound room, inseparable as they always were, and Robert was out with his wife and son. Jenni was out at the pond, shooting the first snowfall of the season with her Eastman Kodak. Should he join her?

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪

A snowball came whizzing by my head and shattered on a tree. Surprised, I turned quickly to see the beautiful contrast of Jimmy in his black pea-coat against the white snow. His hands were shoved so deep in his coat pockets that his shoulders were higher than they would have been in a comfortable standing. He let his shoulders drop as he walked toward me, grinning and sniveling. His nose and cheeks were already rosey and he hadn't even been outside for five minutes.

"Getting some good shots?" he asked as he reached me, his hair curtaining his rosey face perfectly. His straight white teeth glinted at me through his smile and I couldn't help but shiver, but not from cold.

I gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah. I almost got the perfect shot of a man taking my head off with a snowball, thanks."

He shrugged and laughed. "I thought you could use some company."

"With a snowball?"

"With me. We could do a candid session. Take some film, do some raunchy photos; it's up to you." He laughed again and leaned on a tree. "Have you been to the pond yet? I bet it's brilliant."

"I was actually heading that way. Want to come? I can already tell you it isn't cold enough to freeze over. The snow is already melting-- probably getting ready for another rain storm tomorrow."

"I wouldn't put it past Surrey. We're the rain capitol, you know." We both smirked and I turned to head to the lake. He jogged up and walked beside me as we walked down the snow-hidden path. "Do you have pockets in that coat?"

"No."

Then Jimmy did the most wondrous thing, making my blood boil and my mind spasm; generously, he took my right hand and laced his fingers through mine, pulling my hand into his coat pocket with his. As if he didn't know what he was doing to me, he asked, "Is that better?"

"Much," I breathed, watching my breath rise to the sky in vapor form. In a worried tone, I added, "This doesn't go back to B, okay?"

"None of this will."

"None of this?" Were there more things that Jimmy was going to do? I thought. Oh God, I hope so.