“I do not know about this Donal’.”

                “Come one Joe, I promise it will be okay.”

                As Jose stepped out onto the front porch, I had to try and smother a laugh. He looked like a marshmallow in a winter coat.

                “Joe,” I said, still biting back laughter, “when I said to dress warmly, I didn’t mean to put on every sweater in the house.”

From between the matching knit hat and scarf set, Jose glared at me. “I do not do well in the frio,” he said. He looked around the yard. The night before Duckburg had been hit by a major snow storm, leaving everything covered in a beautiful blanket of white. This, I knew, made Jose very nervous.

                I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me that before yesterday Jose had never seen snow before. He grew up down in the warm south, in a city where the only snow that anyone could find was in a snow globe. Standing in the airport, Jose had taken one look out the window and then asked me if he had suddenly gone color blind because everywhere he looked outside it was white.

                “It’s snow Joe,”  I told him. “Haven’t you ever seen snow before?”

                “Only in the filme,” he confessed. “Never, as you Americans say, up close and personal.”

                That got the cogs in my head moving. I wanted to show Jose all the fun things that you could do in the snow. So the next morning at breakfast, I announced we were going to spend the entire day outside. Jose’s eyes had grown wide at this idea. I couldn’t tell if he was excited or afraid. I guess everyone gets that way when faced with something new, although I couldn’t believe that anyone could be scared of something as harmless as a couple little snow flakes.

                “I do not know about this Donal’,” he repeated, tone hesitant as his eyes turned back to me. “I was built for the sol and the sand, not the cold and the wet. Maybe we should just call this off.”

                “Just give it a chance, Joe!” I said . “You don’t know unless you try right?”

                “Sim, I guess so,” he admitted, still not sounding so convinced.

                I smiled. “Come on, I promise if you don’t like it we can go inside.”

                “You promise?”

                “Yes, I promise, now would you just get down here?” I was really eager to get this day started, because I really wanted Jose’s first snow day to go well. I mean he had shown me so many things about his home in Brazil that I wanted to show him something new in mine. I wanted Jose’s first Snow to be a huge success.  I watched as he had to waddle down the steps to stand on the snow covered ground. Now that I had him actually down on the snow, I knew I had overcome the first hurdle but the biggest one was now to come. “Let’s start with an easy activity first,” I suggested. “We are going to make snow angels.” I fell back into the fluffy white stuff. “Now this is easy, you just lay here and basically move your arms up and down while moving your legs back and forth.” I proceeded to show him exactly how to do it. After a minute I stood up again. I turned around and looked at my creation. It looked pretty good. “Okay Joe, now it’s your turn.”

                He cocked up an eyebrow. “You want me to lay in the snow and flap my arms and legs?”

                “It’s fun, just try it.”

                Jose didn’t look convinced but I knew he’d try for me. So he fell back into the snow and he instantly let out a yelp.

                “What’s wrong?”

                “It is muito frio!” he gasped, visibly shivering.

                “You’ll warm up once you start moving,” I said, “now just move your arms up and down.”

                “I cannot.”

                “What do you mean you can’t?”

                “I mean, I cannot move my arms,” he said, looking me up with sudden concern. “I think that I have too many clothes on."

                I sighed. Yeah, so far, operation ‘Jose’s first snow day’ wasn’t looking so good.

…
               
             About half an hour later, and a quick clothing change, I had managed to convince Jose that maybe it was better to have just a couple sweaters and that we should maybe try something other than snow angels. As I get him back down onto the snow again, I tried to remember that even the best plans have a little foul ups and that I could do this.  “The next thing we are going to try is making a snow man,” I suggested.

                “Oh I have heard of this,” Jose said, the slight bit of excitement in his voice helping to boost my confidence in my plan.

                “First you have to learn how to make a snow ball.” I took a bit of snow into my hand and I began to shape it, rounding it. Within seconds I had the a snow ball in my hand. “Now you take the snow ball and you roll it.”

                Within an hour we had our snow man put together, with a carrot nose and a couple rocks for eyes. At that point we stepped back and looked at our creation. I had to say I was proud of what he had made together. “He looks pretty good,” I said with a smile.

                “Hmmm,” Jose hummed tapping his lips. “I think that he is missing something.”  He picked up a couple of pine cones and gave the snow man an angry pair of eyebrows. Then he picked up some more stones and gave the snow man a frown. “Still missing something…” Jose said thoughtfully.

                “Hey!” I cried as he snatched my hat off my head and put it on the snowman’s head.

                Then he stepped back and smiled. “There,” he said with a little laugh. “I think I have made the first snow Donald.”

                I looked at the snow Donald and I wondered, did I really look like a grump all the time? The feeling of Jose shivering beside me snapped me from my thoughts. “You okay?” I asked.

                Jose flashed me a small smile. “Sim, I am just a bit cold.”

                He did look a little cold to me. This gave me a good idea. “You know there are some people that say that the best way to keep warm is to keep close to someone else.”

                “Oh?” Jose said, cocking up an eyebrow with a little smirk.

                I had a little smirk on as well as I wrapped my arm around his waist, pulling him in close. I was feeling a bit warmer myself, especially as he wrapped his arms around me. “Feeling warmer?”

                “Sim, much warmer,” he said, snuggling in close. It never failed to surprise me just how perfectly the two of us fit together, like it was meant to be. I was then suddenly struck with an even better idea.  

                “There is a way that you can get really REALLY warm.”

                “Really?”

                “Yeah,” I said, grinning. “You could kiss me.”

                “Donald Duck,” Jose said in mock shock. “If I did not know better I would say that you were trying to get me to kiss you.”

                “Maybe I am,” I chuckled, grin growing wider. “Is it working?”

                 “As if you even have to try,” Jose murmured as he leaned in and kissed me. His lips were cold but with a warm kiss like that, the cold didn’t matter anymore. It was like a fire running through my entire body. Even if I had been butt naked I still would have been warm and toasty after a kiss like that. It was like sunshine and summer, of course that’s what you get when you kiss Jose Carioca.

I would have liked to stay in that moment forever but it was swiftly interrupted when I felt something hard, cold, and wet slam into the back of my head. My head shot up with surprise. “What the heck-“ I started to turn around and got a big face full of snowball. It knocked me back onto my behind, sputtering in surprise. As I wiped away snow from my face, I heard a familiar laugh and I didn’t even need to wonder who had thrown that snow ball. “Panchito!” I growled.

                Yep, there stood the most-sexy-aggravating-lovable-jerk, Panchito Pistoles, leaning against the side of house, looking as smug as could be. “Hola, mis amigos,” he said in his oh-so-charming way, “I believe that I am ready to show Jose my favorite thing to do in the niege.” He grinned as he tossed a snowball casually in his hand. “A bola de nieve lucha.”

                I quickly got to my feet and glared at Panchito. I probably should have known he was plotting something like this, especially when I had asked him that morning to help with giving Jose a special snow day, and he said that he had ‘a great idea’ on what to do. “Panchito Pistoles!” I snapped. “You were planning this from the beginning weren’t you?”

                Panchito smirked. “You just look so funny when you get all flustered,” he chuckled, “ I couldn’t help myself.”

                “Yeah well leave it to you to hit a guy when his back is turned!”

                “Well your back is not turned now is it Donald?”

                Before I could even answer, I was hit with another snow ball, right upside the head. But it wasn’t from Panchito.

                “Jose?” I sputtered in surprise.

                “You are right Panchito,” Jose said, smiling at Panchito. “This is fun.”

                “I told you,” Panchito said as he grinned back.

                It probably wouldn’t be a surprise to say at that point I was starting to feel the rage bubbling inside. It was getting close to the point of no return as I felt a different type of heat take over my body. Quickly I scooped up some snow and began to make a snow ball. “Take this!” I said, and in my anger fired the snow ball at Panchito’s head. Panchito managed to duck and then, with the speed of a champion bull fighter, fired his snow ball back at me, hitting me directly in the face again.

                “Better start running now!” I heard him call out to Jose, and the two of them took off like a shot, laughing.

                That was the last straw. “When I get my hands on the both of you-“ The rest of my words were lost in various angry shouts as I took off after them.  
…
                After a long lengthy snow ball battle (which I would like to say I won, although I’m sure those two would tell you differently) I managed to cool my hot head and I made the suggestion that I we maybe move on to the next activity. For the second time that day Jose looked nervous.

                “I do not know about this,” he said.

                “Just take baby steps, Joe,” I instructed.

                It was kind like a magic moment as Jose stepped out onto the frozen pond with his skates. Panchito and I took a moment and watched as our friend took his first fledgling steps out onto the ice. This of course was clear as his feet almost promptly slipped out from underneath him and he hit the ice hard with his behind hard. Panchito and I winced.

                “You okay Ze?” Panchito asked as we skated over.

                “Sim. Although meu fundo is now numb from the frio,” he confessed. He looked down at the skates on his feet. “I do not know if this is such a good idea, I mean the snow is nice but the ice is cold and hard.”

                “Come on Joe,” I said, for the second time that day trying to sound encouraging.

                “Don’t give up now amigo,” Panchito added with that big stupid grin on his face. “Just think of all the things that you have tried today and enjoyed.”

                “Yeah, and this time Panchito and I will help you,” I said as I offered out my hand to him. “If you don’t then we can stop and go inside and have hot chocolate.”

                “With marshmallows?” Jose asked.

                “Yeah, sure.” I said with a smile.

                “But first you have to give it another shot, si?” Panchito said, offering his hand as well.

                Jose looked at the both of us, our faces shining with confidence, and he sighed in defeat. “Sim, alright. But remember you promised.” He took our hands and we got him up onto his feet, or his skates. He wobbled at first but with Panchito holding one arm and me holding the other, we manage to get him steady again. He looked even more nervous than before if that was possible.

                “Okay Joe, just take baby steps,” I said. It was slow going at first, we all wobbled a bit as Joe wobbled, but amazingly we balanced each other out and were able to stay upright for at least a minute or so. I grinned. “You’re doing it Joe!” I cheered.

                “Felicitaciones a mi amigo!” Panchito said, smiling.

                Jose smiled, looking rather proud of himself. “You were right Donal’,” he said, his face beaming with pride, “this is a lot more fun when you get the hang-“ I guess you could say that we all had spoken too soon because suddenly Jose’s feet slipped out again and as he fell he took both Panchito and me with him. We all hit the ice hard, landing flat on our backs. I don’t think any of us were really hurt, although I did get the air kind of knocked out of me. As I lay there a moment, trying to get the air back into my lungs , I heard Jose’s voice.

                “I think I would like my chocolate quente com marshmallows now.”

                I don’t know if that was what started it but I couldn’t help but laugh. It wasn’t just a chuckle but a deep belly laugh that I couldn’t stop even if I had wanted to. It just came pouring from my lips in a whole lot of steamy air. After a minute, both of my friends join in, and suddenly the empty air is filled with a trio of laughing idiots who are freezing their butts off laying there on the ice. But we really don’t care, we just continue laughing. We continued laughing and in that happy moment with the people we loved. After a while our laughter died away and we just lay there looking up and smiling.

                “You know what?”

                “What Donal’?” Jose asked.

                “I think that this has been one of the best snow days I’ve ever had,” I said, smiling like an idiot. “I am glad that you guys are here.”  I heard Panchito chuckle.

                “Our patito is so fluffy is he not Jose?”

                I sat up and shot him a glare. “I am not fluffy!”

                “You are the fluffiest hombre I know Donald,” Panchito said sitting up and shooting me that annoying grin again. He reached across and pinched my cheek, waggling it like an annoying relative. “But that is what makes you mi patito, my little duckling.”

                I pushed his hand away. “Stop that! That’s it Panchito! No marshmallows for you!”

                “Now you are just being mean!”

                “Shhhh!” Jose said loudly, sitting up quickly.

                “Joe what is-“

                “Quieto! Just listen!”

                So we did. We listened and there was a noise. It kind of sounding like a cracking sound, starting soft kind of distant but was getting louder and closer. Suddenly I realized what it was but before I could even able to speak…

                Splash!
…
                “ACHOOOOOOOOOOO!”

                “Abençoe meu amor,” Jose said with a small smile as he handed me a tissue.

                “Thanks,” I said, sniffling as I took the offered tissue. I glanced over at our wet clothing hanging over the heater, drying after all three of us took an unexpected dip into the frozen water. Stupid snow had covered the ‘Warning: Thin Ice’ sign. We were lucky to make it out alive. Of course I guess I was also to blame. Things were going so good that my bad luck had to have the last laugh. I should have known that nothing good lasts too long. Now there were sitting wrapped up in bed, wearing nothing but our underwear.

                I looked up as Panchito came through the door wearing nothing but his boxers, carrying a tray on which was our hot chocolates (with marshmallows). He hurried across the room, quickly placed the tray down on the bed before hurridly getting underneath the covers. “Dios mío hace frío!” he said, shivering as he slid on my other side. His feet brushed mine and I let out a little yelp.

                “Panchito! Keep your big cold feet on your side!”

                “Lo siento mi patito,” he chuckled, grinning as he handed hand around the cups.

                There is nothing better on after a cold day then a cup of hot cocoa. But as I watched Jose sip at his drink, I felt just a bit of regret hit me. “I’m sorry Joe.”

                Jose looked at me in surprise. “What are you sorry for Donal’?”

                “I’m sorry that your snow day didn’t end as planned,” I said, “I mean, if it weren’t for my bad luck-“

                “Parar ali Donal’!” Jose said, bringing up and waggling his finger warningly. “It was not your fault that we fell into the água. It was an accident that could have happened to anyone.”

                “Si, he is right Donal’,” Panchito added.

                “Yeah but-“ I started. I was about to point out that these things happen more often to me then anyone else, but Jose leaned in and kissed my lips gently. I think I blushed just a little.

                “I had a wonderful day, meu amor,” he said smiling. “I got to experience many new things with the two people who make life exciting. I even got to end the day in a warm bed with the same two people, the people I love very much.” He smiled more. “I think that I am going to say that ‘Jose’s first snow day’ was a resounding sucess no?”

                I couldn’t help but smile as well. “Yeah I guess it was,” I admitted. I guess my luck wasn’t so bad after all. Or, rather, it was just how one looked at it. I took a sip of my hot chocolate, suddenly feeling better about myself.  As I pulled back the mug back from my lips I heard Panchito chuckle. “What?”

                “You have a chocolate moustache mi patito.” Before I could do anything he leaned in and kissed my lips firmly, licking away the chocolate. I could feel my heart beating hard in my chest as he pulled back, grinning. “Mmm, tastes even better then usual.”

                Before I could say anything Jose spoke up. “If I remember correctly I believe that someone mentioned the best way to warm a person up is to kiss him.”

                I looked at him in surprise and then at Panchito. I didn’t like the way that both of them were smirking at me. “Don’t either of you even think about it.” But they did and then they did exactly what all three of us were thinking about.