thaw

Eleven days later, Richard Nixon arrived in China to see if Mao Zedong was up for a thaw.

The Babushkawoos fussed and complained, and Boris went so far as yelling, “Art is dumb,” whereupon Penelope gave him a look that could have thawed Siberia.

Then I would go inside, thaw off, and help Mama put dinner on the table.

This would be his crowning achievement—a thawing of Cold War tensions.

These days, the soil would thaw by midsummer, and Roz left behind a trail of deep footprints in the spongy, soggy ground.