Snow Way Out (25 page)

P
inky, Erin, Mark, and I sat together at a table in Brew Ha-Ha trying to convince ourselves that Archie, our friend since childhood, was really in jail for killing Jerrell Powers.

Mark cleared his throat. “Archie told Clint that he had Powers’s wallet at his house, so that sort of sealed the deal.”

“He’s getting a good defense attorney, so we can be hopeful about that,” Pinky said.

“It’s really sad that all these years Archie thought of me as his long-lost daughter.” Erin swirled a straw around in her drink.

“He was always the most protective of you. You know what I thought for a long time?” I said.

“What?”

“That he felt that way because of all the little children he’d seen in Vietnam, having to go through the war there. He told us that over the years.”

“Yeah, that’s close to what I thought, too,” Erin said.

Mark grinned. “I thought it was because you’re such a little pipsqueak.”

Erin reached over and gave him a tap on the arm. “Wanna fight?”

Mark laughed, and the rest of us joined in, and then we got quiet again.

“Benjamin Arnold paid the little boy for the use of his bike. And the church didn’t press charges so Benjamin Arnold will be on his way to Cottonwood County soon, and out of Brooks Landing for good, I hope,” Mark said.

“Except now he found out he’s got a niece and an ex-sister-in-law. May,” I said.

“But they don’t live here in Brooks Landing, so that won’t bring Benjamin back to our town,” Pinky said.

“True,” I said.

Mark took a sip of his coffee then set down the cup. “Visiting hours at the jail are from one to three on Sundays. It’d be nice if we’d go see Archie.”

We all agreed to do that.

I reached out and picked up Mark’s hand on my left and Erin’s hand on my right. “Let’s make a pact.” Erin and Mark locked their other hands with Pinky’s. “We’ll do what we can to help Archie get through this whole ordeal. Friends stick together and we all know he would never have hurt Powers unless he was in fear of his life. Each one of us can be a character witness and testify on his behalf. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” the four of us said and dropped our joined hands on the table in a united tap to finalize our decision. It was comforting having my friends back like in the old days and I felt a surge of gratitude that left me smiling long after we said our good-byes and headed home.

• • • • • • • • • • • •

SUPPLIES

• Snow globe base and dome, or a jar and lid. These may be purchased at craft stores, or online at snow globe–making supply sites. Jars and lids are available at grocery or hardware stores.
  
• Benzoic acid, available at pharmacies, chemicals stores, or online.
  
• Scene figurines. There are figurines for sale at craft stores or online. A favorite photo can be laminated and used. A treasured trinket may be the scene of choice.
  

Select either a glass jar with a lid, or purchase a premade base and globe. Select the figurines of your choice to use in your scene.

Heat approximately five tablespoons of water in the microwave or on the stove top. Heat to just before boiling.

Stir in one gram of benzoic acid to the hot water and allow the acid to dissolve. Cool the mixture to room temperature.

Drop a bead of hot glue onto the lid of your jar, or globe base. Set the figure for the globe onto the glue. Hold the figure until the glue dries and it is secure.

Pour the room temperature benzoic acid solution into the clean jar or globe.

Fill the rest of the jar or globe with room temperature tap water from a measuring cup. This will help prevent overfilling the jar and ruining the benzoic acid solution.

Screw the lid or base, with the figurine glued in place, onto the jar or globe. Seal the jar if necessary with silicon adhesive or hot glue. Apply the adhesive around the lid before attaching it to the jar.

Flip the jar or globe over, so the lid or base is at the bottom. The benzoic acid should have separated from the water creating a snowflake effect.

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