This story, as is all stories, isn't written for everyone. If you enjoyed it, thank you very much and you're welcome. If not, thank you for visiting.
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My husband Quinn and I live in Anchorage. We have a really nice house with extraordinary insulation. The air exchange gives us fresh air because it's so tight and at the same time retains a great deal of the heat. It's single story with the tv and kitchen and utilities across the front and the bedrooms and bathrooms along the back.
It isn't square but more like an arc so the wind can get around it better. I'm 33 and Quinn is 37. With all we have to do in Alaska we both have a little extra weight on us for insulation and we're both a little muscular. We don't have any kids but thought we might adopt some when we went back to the 48.
One night the doorbell rang and I went to the door and there was a wild mountain man standing there with an enormous back pack on his back with big snow shoes sticking up. He had cold weather shoes on with furs cross tied around above the bottom all the way to the tops. Fur pants and a heavy fur coat with heavy insulated gloves.
He looked like he was 7 feet tall. He had big bushy eyebrows and his hair hang down well below his head rig and he had a solid beard that grew all around his mouth and up into his head hair. He stood there bearing down on me with his bullet eyes. I could read them. I knew this man.
It suddenly dawned on me and I turned and yelled, "Quinn. It's Haywood. It's Haywood."
I reached and got his arm and gently pulled him into the house. We had thick pad rugs all around near the front door for when needed and I started offloading him.
Quinn came in and stared at him and said, "Haywood?"
They both froze in place and I kept trying to offload him and Quinn came out of it and started helping. Haywood just stood still and let us do it. We piled everything on the rugs. Snow and dirt were welcome on those rugs. That's what they were for.
We got him unloaded and his outer winter clothes off and Quinn and Haywood hugged for the longest time. They're brothers. When they finished I got Haywood, which was smaller and shorter with his outer winter clothes off, and had a hugging spree with him. I think I embarrassed him a little.
Haywood looked like he was going to cry. Quinn waited and we took him over to a big wide chair and he sat down. He hadn't said a word since I opened the door. I got him some hot coffee and put a pint size bottle of blended whisky beside it and took it in. He took coffee a little while and poured some whisky in and took some more.
After a while he shook his head up and down and said, "Thank you. It's been a while."
Quinn said, "First of all, are you ok? How are you doing?"
"I need a doctor," he said. "That's why I came in. I was planning on coming in early in the spring to see you but I can't wait that long. A bear got after me. My fault. Now they can smell me so I need to look after it."
"Do you want to go now or wait until morning," Quinn said.
"Morning will be fine," Haywood said. "I need to get washed and my back pat washed and powered. It's medicated powder that works well for me. I've got some."
I knew instantly what I had to do. I said, "I'll take care of you. Is there anything in your packs that needs attention?"
There's meat in the lower part that needs kept cool, he said. "The rest can wait."
I said to Quinn. "You take care of the meat and be sure the other bedroom is ready and fresh towels in that bath. I'm going to take Haywood into the big bathroom and wash him. It's going to be a long hot bath so it'll take some time. Bring us some hot coffee in there when you can. Haywood, would steak and eggs be ok?"
He said, "Yes. Thank you."
I said to Quinn, "Keep track of when we'll be out and start on the steak and eggs and things." Quinn was nodding at me all this time.
"No hurry," I said to Haywood. "Whenever you're ready."