Snow(51)

He clambered over the fence and dropped down on the other side, his boots plowing through several inches of snow. Kate’s head appeared over the fence next, looking nervous and unsteady.

“What’s wrong?” he said.

“I’m afraid of heights.”

“You’re eighteen inches off the ground. Come on.”

She managed to swing one leg over the fence, then panicked when she didn’t know how to get the other leg over. Todd lifted her up beneath her thigh and buttocks and hoisted her over and into the yard. It wasn’t until she’d thanked him and turned back toward the rear of the house that he registered his disappointment—he had hoped she’d kiss him.

Brilliant, *, he thought. Great time to start thinking with your libido.

It wasn’t his fault—the last woman he’d slept with had been some floozy he’d picked up in a bar in the Village; both of them drunk, they’d stumbled back to her place and he’d gored her like a bull in heat right on her loveseat. Then she’d gotten up and vomited in the bathroom where, presumably, she’d spent the rest of the evening.

What a life I lead, he thought. Makes me wonder why I’m trying so desperately to stay alive.

But he knew the answer to that.

His son.

They went to the back door, a sliding glass door behind which hung heavy drapes. If it had been his hope to peek in through the glass, he was shit out of luck. He produced the gun from his waistband and held it by the barrel, intending to use the butt of the weapon to shatter the glass.

“Wait,” Kate said. “Try the door.”

He tried the door and it shushed open, unlocked.

“I grew up in a small town,” she said, beaming. “No one locks their doors.”

Todd pulled aside the curtain to reveal a house that looked relatively unharmed. They stepped into the kitchen, a cozy little room with bright ceramic tiles on the wall and plastic fruit in a basket on the table. Photos of children cluttered the refrigerator.

Out of habit, Todd’s hand went immediately for the light switch…but of course, nothing happened. Kate went directly to the telephone on the wall, picked it up and listened, then shrugged and hung it up. “Was worth a try,” she told him with a wry grin. “You think we could hit that fridge?”

“Let’s do it quickly.”

They devoured sliced lunch meat, half a loaf of bread, two pieces of strawberry shortcake, and washed it all down with half a carton of milk.

“I think that was the best meal I’ve ever had in my life,” Kate said through a mouthful of cake.

“Those five-star dives in Manhattan have got it all wrong,” he agreed.

When they were done eating, they walked through the rooms of the lower level, but the place was deserted. The sunlight that spilled through the windows looked dirty, like a sepia-toned reel of film. It had something to do with the sky, Todd was certain, and that bizarre cloud cover. In fact, it even occurred to him that the air tasted funny, as if the whole atmosphere were slowly deteriorating. He tried to think how long the air had tasted like that and remembered some sense of disorientation when he’d followed Eddie Clement through the trees only to arrive in the field that overlooked Woodson. It had started back then…but he’d been too preoccupied with other matters at that moment to notice something so subliminal. Now, however, everything was suspect.

“Go check the drawers in the kitchen for car keys,” he told Kate. “I’m going to take a look in the garage.”

It was a single-car garage, housing a dust-covered Ford station wagon. He frowned, wondering how far they’d get on the icy roads in this piece of shit. Well, at least the tires looked to be in good shape.

Kate appeared behind him, dangling a set of keys. She peered at the station wagon over Todd’s shoulder and grimaced. “That looks like my grandmother’s car.”

Todd took the keys and headed around to the driver’s side of the car. He reached out for the door handle, then looked up at Kate. “I’m going to start the car. Once it kicks over, pull open the garage door.”

“Isn’t it automatic?” She sounded as though she wanted to get in the car with him.

“Power’s out. It won’t work.” Then he tossed her the keys. “Okay, you kick it over and I’ll open the door. Then I’ll hop in the passenger seat.” He forced a wink and it earned him a smile. “Just don’t leave without me.”

“Not on your life,” she said, hurrying around to the driver’s door. “You’ve got the gun.”

Todd went to the garage door, unlatched it, and prepared to shove it open once the station wagon kicked over. Kate climbed into the driver’s seat and sat there for a long time.

“Go ahead,” he said to her eventually.

“I am,” she told him, leaning out the door and gaping at him. “It won’t start.”

“Are you sure?”

“I know how to start a car.”

“Let me try.”

“I’m not an idiot.”

He leaned against the driver’s side door, frowning down at her. “Let’s not do this, okay? I just want to get out of here.”

“So do I.” Then with a huff, she climbed out of the car and Todd got in.

Slid the keys into the ignition. Gave it a good crank.