There’s a big storm coming. The first of the year.
I went to the grocery store this morning, and you would think the apocalypse is coming. When I tried to reach for the last loaf of bread, a woman almost elbowed me in the face. I let her have it. It’s not worth having an elbow in the face over a loaf of bread.
Maggie is cleaning the kitchen when I get back to the house, working at twice her usual leisurely pace. “I want to get out of here before the snow starts,” she says.
“Is it really going to be that bad?”
“Well, the forecast is calling for two feet of snow.” She wipes down the counter. “So yes, it sounds like it’s going to be bad. You guys are definitely going to lose power again.”
And this time, I’m definitely not cuddling up with Adam. No chance of
that.
“When is it going to start?” I ask.
Maggie glances down at her watch. “The forecast said by noon, the
snow will start. By three or four, you’ll probably be trapped here. At least, with your little car. Adam’s BMW might do a little better, but by tonight, the roads will be a disaster.”
I get an uneasy feeling. At least with the last storm, I knew that as soon as the rain stopped, the roads would be accessible again. The thought of being trapped in this house for days is unsettling to me. Especially after all the things I now know about Adam.
As if reading my mind, Maggie says, “You should come stay with me and Steve.”
“What?”
She nudges me with her arm. “Come on. Our place gets plowed pretty quickly and doesn’t lose power as easily. Our sofa is really comfortable. We can have a Netflix marathon. Do you like BoJack Horseman? We’re addicted.”
“I don’t want to impose…”
“You won’t be! Really, it will be fun.”
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t tempted. Maggie’s warm little apartment seems so inviting compared with this giant estate. I feel so isolated out here. But I can’t leave. Because if I do, Victoria will be all alone here with
Adam. I can’t do that to her.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I appreciate the offer, but I think I should stay here and help with Victoria.”
She shrugs. “Okay, but I’ll be here another couple of hours in case you change your mind.”
As I put away the groceries, I look out the window at the lawn surrounding the house—soon it will be coated in a thick blanket of snow. I think of that night Mack came out to see Victoria here. It was snowing that night too. He told her he was going to come back for her, but he obviously never did.
Why didn’t he come back for her? Or did he come back and she had changed her mind about leaving?
Or maybe something else happened before she could go.
I look out the window and see a single snowflake fall from the sky. It’s begun.
