Let It Snow 7

We both heard the pounding on the truck door; I cursed and she just laughed. I was waiting for the "I told you so" comment as I pulled my pants back on and slid over to the driver's door and opened it.

"You can't —" The recognition on the officer's face was instant. "You have got to be shitting me; it can't be a year already?"

The burst of laughter from the back of the truck didn't go unnoticed either.

"That had better be you back there, Kathrin."

"Oh, it sure is, Tony. Better not be anyone else, either."

I'm sure the banter between those two would have gone on if I hadn't said, "Can I help you, Officer?"

Officer Tony Jefferies just smirked and took a step away from the door.

"Nope, everything's fine. I guess the new truck threw me."

A fresh round of laughter came from the back of the truck. "That would be me, Tony; I wasn't going the backache route any longer, since this seems to be tradition now."

If anyone noticed the burst of redness on my cheeks, it wasn't mentioned.

My friend doffed his hat and then took another step back before saying, "Well, I will leave you two lovebirds in peace. I'll let Marlene know and she will be expecting you both for breakfast."

"If we're not there by eight, start without us, and tell Marlene I will catch up with her when this new mattress gets broken in and I've exhausted my man here."

I shut the door; I had to. It didn't stop me from hearing him laughing, and no doubt still laughing all the way back to his cruiser. My ass was still on the driver's seat.

It was six years previously. November 10th in the era of the seventies had a lot to answer for—and in this particular case, be thankful for—the day my life changed so much, and the two architects of that change had just finished talking to each other.

*******

November 10th 8PM.

I suppose I should have been pissed. I managed irritated, but somehow just couldn't grasp pissed firmly in my hands. Around here, the weather has always been the master in my business; traffic came a very close second, of course. The weather station let me know that the storm that was supposed to miss us by a few miles when it turned east, didn't turn east.

Kenilworth Pass was now measuring three feet of snow, and more promised. The town of Castle Brooke, a couple of miles back, was already experiencing a "light sprinkling" of snow. Yep, the weather station sure got that prediction wrong, but that's nature for you. She sure showed you who was boss once in a while. I found what I was looking for: the highway people put in a spur when they built the road. It only went about a hundred yards off the highway and stopped.

My guess was that this was where they had their construction base when they built the highway, and when they moved on, they just shut the base and left the spur. I slowed down, backed up the spur and made sure I was totally clear of the highway before I shut my lights down; it was still too damn cold to switch off the engine though. As the slow idle of the engine became nothing but background noise, the snow started to drop once again. Yep, you have just got to love those people doing the weather.

As I got ready to bed down, the effect of the snow made inroads. Any traffic left out there stopped twenty minutes earlier. The snow would have been a good foot deep in front of me by now and looking to make a record this winter. One snowplow came by. I saw him again about thirty minutes later, going the other way. That meant Kenilworth Pass was shut. If he couldn't make it, no one was going to.

By now the snow was falling so hard I could only just make out the edge of the highway. It was then the blue lights came on. A snowman made it to the door of my truck before he knocked. I opened the door to the cold air and blue face of Officer Jefferies.

"Tony? What the hell are you doing this side of the pass and in this?" That was my only question as I waved my arms at the lightly falling snow.

The shoulders of the officer slumped and a small smile crossed his cold face.

"I was kinda hoping it was you hunkering down here, Nick. I need a big favor from you."

As he talked, I put my boots on, grabbed my coat and joined him outside.

"Sure thing. What's up?"

He tilted his head towards his car before saying, "I've got a stranded in my car. She tried to get through the pass before they closed it and buried her car off the highway. I need you to look after her for me until the weather breaks."

I just looked at him. This was some sort of joke; it had to be.

"Nick, the weather caught us all flat-footed. Marlene is due any day now and I have to try to get back across the pass. I can't take her with me."

"Again! Tony, that's number three. You two even thought about getting tied up?"

Tony looked a bit sheepish. He even shuddered with the cold.

"Nick, this is Marlene. We've never been able to keep our hands off each other since we figured out what sex is."

We both smiled. He was right. It was the pairing of a lifetime with those two, the captain of the cheerleading team and the school's quarterback. They just took one look at each other and no male or female existed except for them.

"Please, Nick."

I paused. Man, didn't this guy owe me one?

"Okay, but you make damn sure you name this one after me since I fathered the last two for you."

The punch to my chest was expected, along with his smile. I grew up with Tony and Marlene. Our families often hosted barbeques in each other's backyards on an almost rotational basis, and when it came time to make an honest woman of Marlene, he asked me to be his best man. He had Marlene as his wingman when he did, so all I could do was complain about being ganged up on.

I've looked on their relationship as something that I could aspire to. When that right woman came along that is; at that moment, it wasn't on the horizon.

Tony turned and went back to the car. This time two snow-people came to my truck. I walked to the passenger side of my rig and held it open for her. She mumbled something from inside her hood, but got in anyway. I took one more look at my friend and had a really bad feeling.

"Tony, sit this one out. That may be a four-by-four you're in, but this is Kenilworth Pass we're talking about here, and she doesn't take any prisoners."

With the way he paused I was hoping like hell he was thinking hard about it. Eventually, he just smiled and reminded me that he made a promise to his wife that he would always be at the birth of all their children.

I shook my head and held my friend tight to me before wishing him luck. The slamming of the passenger door to my rig seemed to finalize anything else we said. I watched him pull the cruiser around and disappear into the snow.

Dropping my coat into the footwell made the snowwoman do the same.

"The officer wouldn't, so I'm asking you: will you take me back into town?"

She was cute and that slowed down my original answer.

"No, ma'am. If I tried now, I'm liable to drop this rig off the highway, and I'm not chancing that even for you."

Her cheeks were already what is commonly called "rosy". My refusal simply made them a slightly darker shade of red.

"So how long are we going to be here?"

At that question, I looked out the window. It did actually look like it had eased up, although I was wondering if that was the storm taking a breath before starting over again.

"Well ma'am, if you believe the radio, we could see a break in a couple of days."

Now her whole face turned purple. "DAYS?"

"Ma'am, you need to take a breath, hold it for a moment and think real hard about what you say next. Just remember why you're in this situation and the reason you're in my truck. Only then, feel free to let that breath out again."

I'm not sure she heard me because she was already screaming, "A COUPLE OF FUCKING DAYS?"

Well, I had tried the gentleman bit that my momma always said I should work on. It was plain to see that wasn't going anywhere, so I joined her.

"Yes, you dumb-ass bitch, DAYS. And just so you know." This time I pointed out the window and towards the snow-covered highway. "That man who just dropped you off here may well have saved your life at the cost of his own."

I could almost smell the brakes she had just slammed on in her mind, both from me shouting back at her, but also at what I added to my argument. At first, her lips came together, and then confusion crossed her eyes. She paused for a moment before the whisper that had now become her voice asked me to explain.

My mind was still annoyed at her, but at least neither of us were stuck in shouting at each other, anymore. I kept my voice calm, even though my mind was forcing the worst-case scenarios as far back into the darkest corner of my imagination as I could get them.

She just sat there watching me. All my body did was pull in air and helped my mind pause and reset.

"Ma'am, that officer needs to get over Kenilworth Pass and I truly suspect he thinks he can't make it. If he can, then I'm not the only one that will breathe a sigh of relief, but he left you in my care for a reason, several, actually."

This time I forced my eyes away from the snow-covered landscape and looked directly at my guest. "Ma'am, you're safe here, so cool your heels. Around here, nature tells us what to do, not the other way around."

For a moment she looked out the window and the white landscape for as far as the falling snow would allow her to see. By then, not even Tony's covered chained-tire tracks could be seen any longer. Her hand moved from her lap and inched towards me.

"Kathrin Parker. Thank you for setting me straight."

My hand grasped hers and we gently shook. "Nick Thompson, and you're welcome. I suggest you take your boots off. I'll put the cab heater on high again and dry them out."

She wriggled out of them and dropped them back into the footwell. Kathrin then used her time to look around the rest of the cab. Her cheeks flushed a cute pink and she turned to look right at me.

"Nick, you said days? I heard you say days, you only have one bed." Her eyes seemed to touch on uncertainty before her imagination took over and then anger got involved. "If you think I'm..."

She stopped when she saw me shake my head. "Man, oh man, don't you have an over-inflated opinion of yourself."

Her eyes flashed pure anger. I noticed her hands bunch into fists.

"For a start, lady, if you had noticed that strap above you, it pulls another bunk down." My hand then reached over and held onto some material by my shoulder. "This is called a curtain. It goes right across, and when you're sleeping, it provides that line between us."

My easy-going nature was sure taking a hit with this woman. Under anything like normal circumstances, I would have taken the top bunk. For this trip, I was going to stretch out across the seats at the front and pull the curtain across to separate us. It might only be a curtain, but it's that mental, putting-people-at-ease, thing. I was sure I could put up with waking with the predicted backache for a couple of days if it meant that Tony had made it over the pass.

I missed what she said next; my thoughts still in "hope" mode.

"Sorry, ma'am, I was miles away."

A small smile adorned her lips as she said, "Your friend, the officer?"

I nodded, Kathrin made herself more comfortable and then asked me how I knew Tony. We both laughed when that story alone took over an hour to get out. I wasn't taking all the blame. I made sure Marlene got her fair share, as well. Kathrin would laugh at the antics of the three of us growing up together. A part of me thought that she would make a great attorney. I did actually wonder if she was, because, as my reminiscing started to come to a close, she would pull on a thread and another story of our past as a group would be shared.

Her comfort level seemed to grow with each revelation. It didn't go unnoticed that each of these conversations was one-sided. I didn't mind. Nothing I gave away about our pasts would have gotten any of us into trouble, but Kathrin sure made it a point that nothing about her was worth sharing, at least from her viewpoint.

It took some time but I noticed her starting to fidget. I wondered how long it would take her to ask the next-most-important question.

Her eyes gave her away before the grim look took over. "Nick, I need to pee."

I held back my smile. Just watching her go crimson with embarrassment at admitting this much was fun to watch. In the end, I told her what she needed to do. As I spoke, the color changed around her neck and moved to cover her whole face.

She topped it all with the words, "Well, that ain't happening."

I shrugged and started to put my boots back on. Kathrin asked me what I was doing. I reminded her that I was human, also, and I needed to pee, as well, although being the gentleman, I was going to go outside. I even offered to chaperon her excursion into the trees. The look she gave me sure made my jaw ache as she tried to figure out if I was pulling her chain.

"Look, there must be a good two to three feet of snow between here and the trees, a little less once you get into the trees. If you're so sure you don't want to stay warm and do what needs to be done here and insist that a tree or even a bush outside will do just as good, then pull your coat on and join me."

I doubted she was even thinking about it anymore, so I added, "I figure you will have about ten minutes to sort yourself out. Just look at this as camping."

I heard the sneer.

"I absolutely hate camping. Unless it comes with a five-star hotel and room service attached to it."

I closed the door behind me and used the time to smile at her comment. Taking care of nature was easy. I'm a guy, and any tree or bush can be our bathroom at times like these. I did a slow walk around my truck, pulling hard on straps and using the side of my fist to get rid of the snow so I could check air tanks and valves. The back door to the container still had an intact seal. I wasn't expecting anything else out here and in this, but habit is as habit does.

Pulling my door open once again, I dropped my coat and boots in the footwell and left the heater to dry them out. The smell of air-freshener made me hide my smile. The three-quarters-closed curtain was another hint that Kathrin would have indeed been happier in a hotel room, and a clear warning that what went on just now in this truck while I was outside was NOT to be mentioned, at all. We both spent the next few minutes getting ready to sleep.

"Thank you for taking me in, Nick." Her voice sounded genuine and I tried to brush it off, but Kathrin wouldn't let me. She continued, "I'm not always a grouch; I guess it took you to point out what others stand to lose helping me, which made me realize that I was being a grouch. Goodnight, Nick."

Kathrin pulled the curtain fully closed after that. I guess she didn't want me to agree with her. I slept for a while, but instinct made me wake quickly when I heard her turn over sometime in the night, and I just lay there for awhile, looking out the window and thinking about how Tony was getting on out there. With a prayer to the Gods for his safety, I closed my eyes for another couple of hours.

What woke me made me smile; the rain was lightly tapping on the roof of the cab and the smile just got a little bigger as I listened to it for a while before shutting my eyes for an hour.

*******

I was awake for a good half an hour before the middle curtain had a hand attached to it and was being pulled back. Kathrin was still snuggled up in bed, and when the curtain moved back the morning sun hit her full in the face, causing her to put her hand up to defend her eyes. It also gave me a second or so to smile at her antics and not get caught.

She groaned before asking what the time was.

"It's just turned eight. How do you like your coffee?"

"Hot, black and in a mug please."

The middle curtain got pulled back into position again and I could hear Kathrin getting up on the other side. She came out holding her coffee in hand, and then did a double-take as her eyes took in the scene outside the truck; green could be seen amongst the still-stubborn snow that was on the ground. A few cars and a truck passed by us as Kathrin sipped on her coffee. She couldn't hide her smile.

I still took another hour before I moved from my place by the highway. More checks needed to be made, and I didn't need an air-tank frozen on me. Kathrin was in high spirits when she once again sat in the passenger seat, buckled-up, and we headed back into town. She looked confused when I parked outside Bennett's Auto Shop. She looked even more confused when I got my coat on and got out, but she followed anyway.

She followed me into the back office and I introduced her to Sophie. Sophie was the go-to girl at Bennett's ever since her dad told her he planned to retire just as soon as he was certain she could handle the work. That was two years back and her dad had all but retired three months into his initial threat. She may have just cleared five foot in height, but she sure was a wild-cat all through school. Now, she commands the respect of every tire jockey in the building and all the recovery boys, as well.

If you were foolish enough to take Sophie on, it was wise to be ready for the workforce to down tools and back her up. I explained that Kathrin had been a casualty of last night's snowstorm and dropped her car off the road. I left Sophie taking down Kathrin's details and headed back to my truck. She caught up with me about ten feet from Sophie's office.

"Nick?"

I turned to look at her, not realizing that she was standing directly behind me. Her chest was just inches from mine. Her arms went around me and Kathrin gave me a hug before I heard a whispered "thank you" in my ear. She turned and walked back into the office. I stared at that ass of hers and was grateful right about then that my winter clothes hid my raging hard-on.

I thought about my friend just then and turned left, walked a few feet, smiled at the nice lady at the front desk and after a quick explanation; I asked if I could make a call to the hospital. It was a waste of time of course. "Sorry, but hospital regulations... blah blah blah." I zoned out. It was a long shot, at best, and I knew it, but that didn't stop me from trying to see how Marlene was doing. I did check with the highway people and they had no record of any police officer stranded in the snow. As for me, I still had a load to deliver and so continued with my long day.

*******

It was three days later that I wandered into the hospital, flowers in hand. I could hear Marlene's laugh halfway down the corridor. I walked into her room and came to a screeching halt. Kathrin was sitting in the guest seat next to my friend and holding Marlene's new addition to the family.

"Well, well, if it isn't the spiller of secrets: the man who promised to take those very secrets to the grave with him."

At least Marlene had a smile on her face when she called me a rat. I did wonder about Tony though.

I put up my hands and said, "I held out as long as I could but she beat those secrets out of me. I was a bloody pulp when she was done. She just wouldn't stop beating up on me, I tell yuh."

Kathrin's face took on one of shock and then stunned amusement.

"Mmhhmm. Wanna show both of us the bruises then, big guy?"

It was about then that I used my best angelic face and reminded them both that we were indeed in a public place, and discretion would be best. Not to mention the charges of assault on a poor truck driver that would have to be leveled at a certain lady if that secret ever came out. Marlene roared with laughter, even waking her little girl in the process and causing a very pink-cheeked Kathrin to turn her attention towards the crying bundle in her arms.