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“Dead icky.”
“It looks like a mouse.”
“A dead mouse?”
“Yep, and it’s…icky.”
I go to meet her to see a dead mouse at the porch
All right, I will go get a plastic bag, I inform her. I go into the house to get a gloves as well. I put on the gloves, I use a little garden shovel from the garage and place the mouse in the plastic bag, tie up the bag and toss it in the trash outside. We don’t want a carcass inside the house.” I said, and we both headed for the house.
Even as we headed for the house, I felt a cool breeze on my cheek.
An omen.
Chapter six
Chicagowasn’tcalledthe“Windy City” without a reason. By morning, a brisk wind was pushing my fallen leaves onto Sylvester’s grass. I didn’t have time to clean up the mess. I had to get Emily to school and myself to work. I figured he would be seething by the time I came home, but there was nothing to be done about that. The winds of November didn’t bow to anyone.
The day passed quickly. The wind didn’t stop or even slow down. By the time I pulled into my garage, my headlights showed how my leaves had covered Sylvester’s grass. I was mortified, but there was nothing to be done…not in the dark. I phoned Sylvester and received no answer. I left a message promising to clean up the leaves on the weekend. I didn’t expect a return call, and I didn’t get one.
Thursday arrived with the news of an early snowstorm. I paid little attention, as I had HR to run. That night, the weather people on TV promised that the snow would be substantial but not catastrophic. I welcomed the forecast, as it would preclude me from removing the leaves from Sylvester’s lawn. That would have to wait till the snow melted. Another reason for the man to hate his neighbor—me.
Friday arrived gray and foreboding. The wind freshened. The snow began at ten. Light, I didn’t think much of the flakes. I was pretty sure Emily would be agog. We had never experienced much snow in Wilmington. At noon, my employees started asking if the bank would close early. I told them I didn’t know. If they wanted to take a few hours of leave time, I would grant it. Few did. At two, Doak called me to his office. We were going to close at three, as the snow was already several inches deep and drifting. The temperature was dropping fast. I announced the decision to everyone who worked for me. In fact, I gave them an extra thirty minutes, as the roads were no doubt slippery and slow.
I stayed late, making sure everyone left. Walking to my EV, I was struck by the cold and the swirling snow. Unprepared, I used my hand to clear four inches of snow off my vehicle. Luckily, the heater worked well. At least the snow wouldn’t continue to accumulate. My hands felt frozen by the time I picked up Emily—the last child to be picked up.
“Can I go outside and play when we get home?” Emily asked.
“Sure, why not? I’ll join you.”
The semi-darkness was surreal. I knew full dark wasn’t far off, but I was unaccustomed to the weird light. The snow blew past my window, the wind making a keening sound like the onslaught of a hurricane. The heavy snow drifts, and early dismissal clogged the streets. Traffic crawled if it moved at all. The streetlights were welcoming, but the rest of the snowscape was becoming scary.
“I have to turn down the heat,” I said. “Put your gloves on?”
“Why?”
“Heat drains the battery, and I don’t want to get stranded out here.”
“What’s stranded?”
“That’s when the car won’t go any farther.”
“Are we almost home?”
“No.”
I tried not to be afraid, but the battery would soon be out of power. I wasn’t going to kid myself. It would never get us home, not at the current usage. I started looking for a place to park the car, some place where it wouldn’t get sideswiped by a snowplow.
“I’m going to park,” I said. “Then, I’m calling nine one one and see if I can get an emergency vehicle to pick us up.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s the safest thing to do. Don’t worry. Just stay warm.”
“I managed to find a small lot between two buildings. Already, half a dozen vehicles were parked there. I pulled to one side and turned off the car. I really didn’t need to. It was going to be dead in the snow in minutes. I pulled out my phone.
The emergency 911 line was busy. I couldn’t get through. I wasn’t sure how that happened, as 911 was supposed to work no matter what. I supposed that all bets were off during a blizzard.
