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I stared at the fire and wondered about Codrin. He still exuded that power, that aura, but he was truly human. Not a drop of Dracula's blood in him. With that admission, I fell asleep.
Chapter eight
Iwoketoacrackling fire, far larger than what we had when I fell asleep. I thought I must be dreaming. There was no way Codrin could have acquired a load of firewood. I stared, realizing I was alone. Muted daylight filled the room, which meant the new day had arrived—if I wasn’t dreaming. Even while I debated the notion, Emily entered, carrying what appeared to be a table leg in each hand.
“What is that?” I asked.
“A table leg,” Emily answered.
“Where did you get it?”
“From an old table in the basement,” Codrin answered. Codrin entered with several planks of wood. “There is a sort of hidden room in your basement. I checked it out and found a bunch of wooden chairs and a table. They’re not antiques or anything, so I started taking them apart. The house was getting cold, too cold.”
“That’s…great,” I said. “I have no idea what’s in the basement.”
“No need to know.”
I threw off the blankets. “I’ll make breakfast.”
“How?” Emily asked.
“The stove works. We have eggs and bacon and milk and cereal. We can have a hot meal, although there will be no toast because the toaster won’t work.”
“Sounds great,” Codrin said. “Emily and I will bring up more wood.”
“I’m very strong,” Emily said. “Codrin said so.”
“A regular Wonder Woman,” he said.
Breakfast was soon on the table. Coffee was missing, as the convenient Keurig machine was as dead as all the other electric appliances. We ate in the kitchen, as the stove had provided enough heat. As we ate, Emily explained to Codrin how to play crazy 8s. He pretended to be amazed, and as soon as we finished eating, she grabbed his hand and led him back to the family room. It was a bittersweet moment for me. Most Saturday mornings, when Wayne was home, he and Emily played a game. It was their dad-daughter time.
I filled a dishwasher that waited for the return of power. Then, I joined Emily and Codrin.
“She cheats,” Codrin said.
“It’s how I win,” Emily said.
“Her father taught her,” I said and walked to a window, pulling aside the shutter. “It’s stopped snowing,” I said.
The family room faced the backyard, which was nothing but snow, lots of snow. It was pretty and lonely and…cold.
“I should be going,” Codrin said.
“No,” I said. “You can’t leave yet. Take a look out front. Nothing’s moving.”
“I have a house too.”
“That you already prepped for this. Besides, if your power is off, there’s nothing you can do.”
“You have to stay,” Emily said. “We can play more games.”
Codrin shrugged. “I guess I have to stay.”
“Yay,” Emily said.
“Yay,” I added.
While the fire kept us warm, we played games, all the games Emily knew how to play. Codrin was a good sport player, playing and losing, barely losing. Emily loved it. We had more breakfast for lunch, even as the sun came out. The glare from the fresh snow was something I was not accustomed to. That was when Emily said she wanted to go out and make a snowman.
