Chapter 1

It was September 2nd, 2019. Heath was maneuvering through the mom-hugs and extended family well-wishes as no one helped him load his luggage into his car. He packed his suitcase down in the backseat. The trunk was full – his computer, his TV, his game consoles, everything.

“I can’t believe you’re 18 already!” Olivia, his mom, grabbed him once again as he shut the rear door. “My little college man.”

“Big college man,” he countered. He hugged her back.

“I’m going to miss you so much!” she said.

“Niece, let go of the young man.” Aunt Hazel’s voice cut through the crowd of gathered family and struck Olivia in that way Heath had always seen.

“Yes,” Olivia nodded. She retreated with a big smile. Tears were starting to gather in the corner of her eyes. “It’s just ... It’s too soon. There’s so much more I gotta do for my baby.”

“There’s even more he has to do for himself,” Aunt Hazel rebuked Olivia. She stepped forward. Aunt Hazel was ancient, in Heath’s eyes. She had thin white hair, old wrinkled skin, dark green eyes. She was sharp, mentally, and fit, physically, if you forgave the hand tremors. She met Heath’s eyes and he gave her a little nod of thanks.

“Oh, my little man’s leaving home.” His mom was still going on.

“For four months,” Heath said. “They kick me out of the dorms at Christmas.”

“Then I have you for a month? Three weeks and you leave me again, and--”

“Niece!” Hazel interrupted sharply. She was watching Heath. He was tugged this way and that by his mother. Hell, by his mother’s sisters, and Hazel.

“Thanks Mom.” Heath took Olivia’s hands. “You’re a great mom.”

“Really?” she said, hopefully. “You’re such a nice boy. My good boy.”

“Niece, let the rest of us say goodbye,” Hazel said, sharply. She moved forward on her cane and marched up to Heath.

“Of course. Of course. But I get the last hug. And--”

Aunt Hazel shut Olivia up with a sideways gesture. Heath felt himself getting hot under the collar. He always got frustrated when people treated his mother dismissively. When it was Aunt Hazel, he never said anything. She met his gaze and he gave in. She tutted disappointedly.

She stepped close. He opened his arms for a perfunctory family hug. She poked a finger to his chest.

“You’re off to make something of yourself,” she said. “That’s your car. My foolish niece didn’t buy it for you.”

“Yes, it’s--”

“It wasn’t a question,” Aunt Hazel said, steamrolling him. “I was pointing out what good you’ve done.

“You’re a good kid. Responsible, when you have to be. But you’ve yet to take control of your life. Get out there, find yourself a calling, find yourself a girl.”

“Aunt Hazel, I hardly think--”

The same gesture shut his mother up once again.

“You don’t stop looking just because the first one is better than nothing.”

“But I have to choose a major and--”

“And if engineering’s not for you, try economics,” Aunt Hazel said.

“I’m taking political science,” Heath said.

“Well, good thing you can change your mind,” Aunt Hazel scoffed. “I wasn’t talking about your schooling. You’re good at school. You’re a good kid. You’ll go more than far enough to feel better than the bad kids who shit the bed, and only far enough to get pissed off at the bad kids who make it all of the way.”

“What? OK, that’s weird advice,” Heath said. “I’ll see you guys all at Christmas break. Or maybe I’ll drive home for Thanksgiving weekend, and--”

“No, don’t come back for us. Take control of your time and try to be busy with a girl by then,” Aunt Hazel interrupted sharply. “You’re 18 now, this has gotten pathetic.”

“What?” Heath’s cheeks burned red. “Listen, that’s not your business--”

“My family is my business.”

“And, what if he doesn’t meet a nice girl by Thanksgiving or--”

The gesture again. Olivia’s chin fell. The blush on Heath’s cheeks turned from embarrassment to anger. He said nothing.

“I thought so,” Aunt Hazel said, with a surrendered sigh. “This is for you.”

Her hand shook as she leaned her cane against the car and reached into her cardigan pocket. Her hand was surgeon-steady when she pulled it out. A chipped bronze arrowhead dangled from a tough black cord. She reached out, pulled open his left hand, and dropped the head into his open palm. His mother’s sisters, Jenny and Karen, stepped closer out of the crowd.

“You can’t control everything, but this’ll keep someone unworthy from controlling you,” Aunt Hazel declared.

“It’s a good luck charm?” Heath looked down incredulously.

“I don’t wait for luck,” Aunt Hazel said. “Neither should you.”

“Thank you,” he said. He was polite and well mannered, not thankful. He stuffed the arrowhead in his pocket. Aunt Hazel stepped back and it was the rush and flood of hugs and goodbyes. He was amazed he didn’t have to back over a second-cousin or a godmother to get out of the driveway. He beep-beeped the horn and waved.

He was hardly around the stop sign at the end of the street before he yanked the pendant out of his jeans.

“Fucking hell,” he said, with a smile. He tossed it into the passenger seat and couldn’t find it, though he hardly looked, at the end of the two hour drive to Halifax.

“I can’t believe you said all of that to him,” Olivia said, turning to Aunt Hazel with all of the strength she could muster. Aunt Hazel tried the gesture but Olivia barked. “Don’t you wave your hand at me when I’m not interrupting anything! If Heath follows your advice, he’s going to end up with a string of bitches who’ll eat him alive. What he needs is a nice girl. Someone to bring back home.”

“Niece, sweetheart,” Aunt Hazel said, narrowing her eyes at Olivia. “Even the nice girls are going to eat Heath alive.”

Aislin leaned over the counter and smiled broadly at the skinny man typing up her delivery ticket. She put her elbows down. Her winter coat was unzipped and the sweater below hung away from her throat. He could almost almost see her tits. She was dressed fluffily, comfortably, bralessly. What should’ve been eight seconds of typing took four minutes.

“Oh thank you so much!” Aislin beamed, her smile could easily melt all of the frost outside. “This whole thing is so scary!”

“No need to be too scared,” the clerk wore a fake mask of confidence. “Are you, uh, going to get home safe?”

“Oh yeah,” Aislin smiled and gestured to Heath, who was sitting across the post office lobby. “I’ve got a good friend driving me home.”

“Oh, a good friend...” The clerk’s excitement fell. He printed off the stickers and stood up. He walked around the desk to where two big rubber totes waited. They were closed tight with zip ties. She had stuffed in all of her stuff from her dorm room. It was get-out-and-go-home time. The apocalypse was starting. Coronavirus.

“This is a good idea,” the clerk said.

“Yeah, it was mine.” Uly, the next girl in line, another a teenaged college freshman, also very pretty, smiled brightly. “But I have to send mine to The States. Ashie’s just going across the province.”

“Only so much room in Heath’s car though, yeah,” said Tabitha, a third girl. Her stuff was in a cardboard box and a wheelie suitcase with the zippers closed by little padlocks.

“You’re all with him?” The clerk looked excited again.

“Yeah, they’re all mine,” Heath said, with a smile from across the room. Aislin snorted in laughter. Uly had a hand on her hip as she grinned. Tabitha shook her head.

“Your stuff might arrive after you,” the clerk warned.

“I have more clothes at mom’s,” Tabitha said.

“Thank you again,” Aislin said to the clerk. Uly was next in line. Aislin sat down next to Heath.

“You OK?” Heath asked.

“I’m great,” she frowned. “I was hoping for a couple of snow days, not the semester being canceled.”

“Yeah, and they shut down a lot of restaurants. So it’s going to be gas stations for snacks as I drive you home.”

“You sure it’s OK? I mean, Sydney’s out of the way from Lunenburg.” Sydney was four and half hours northeast vs Lunenburg’s two hours southwest.

“So’s the PEI ferry,” Heath gestured to Tabitha. “And the airport.” Uly turned and waved with a bright smile. “But, how else are you going to get home? They’re shutting down the dorms.”

“Not even Uly’s on your way,” Aislin nodded. “You’re just the kindest guy, you know?”

“I’ve been told,” Heath said. He cracked a smile, but Aislin was already jogging back to his car. He would’ve ran to catch up but a loud crack called his attention across the street.

“Where the fuck are you?” Nadine shouted into her phone. “They closed down the dorms. Why aren’t you at your apartment?!”

“They closed down the college,” Art said. “I’m on a plane. Going back home.”

“What the fuck! You said we could quarantine at your place!”

“Babe, come on. Be reasonable.” Art scoffed. “You know damn well this is a big deal. Why don’t you go home?”

“Ugh! Who’d want to get stuck for six weeks, or however long this shit is going to take, with their parents!”

“They’re saying 18 months for a vaccine. You really want to lock ourselves up together? We don’t even fuck every day anymore.”

“Jesus, I said ‘no’ one night. One! I had midterms!”

“And thanks to kung-flu you wasted your effort. It’s all pass-fail now. Maybe if you had put out properly, you’d have somewhere to stay.”

Transcribing Nadine’s following vitriol was pointless. Art had hung up before she had taken in the breath to begin shouting. The early March wind was frigid. Her hair lifted off her ears and they hurt with the cold. She ground her teeth and stomped her feet. She screamed, punched, and swore.

She shrieked. She hadn’t meant to let go. Her phone shattered off the bricks of her ex-boyfriend’s apartment. She was hyperventilating, more from anger and disgust than panic. What was she going to do now? She had to get home. It was a two fucking hour drive to her dad’s place in Lunenburg! That was four hours to get home, if she could call him and he could leave immediately. She almost pulled her hair out. Her eyes flew wide.

Heath! The one person that she knew from high school and had ended up in her dorm had to be that little simp. She pushed her impatience with him aside; she could really use him now. He had done so much for her, and all she had to do was smile and keep the snarky comments to his face and not behind his back.

Fuck! She’d gone out of her way not to have his number. Assuming she had a phone. Not that that would help right now anyways. No phone, no ride. Her stomach sank. She just had to hoof it back to residence and hope. She finally settled her breaths some.

She started walking. Hopefully he hadn’t left already. Fuck! If he was here he could carry her bags. She dragged her suitcase and her backpack bounced heavily on her shoulders. A wheel caught the frosty ground and pulled her downhill. Every street in this frozen hellhole of a city was a fucking hill! She nearly collapsed, but managed to save herself by shoving her bag into the concrete with a loud smash. She was nearly crying.

“Where are you going! We’re almost ready to leave--”

“Nadine! Nadine!”

Nadine had barely managed to get her boots beneath her when she snapped her head across the street to the post office.

“That bitch uses him.” Nadine recognized Aislin’s voice. Nadine was shocked to see Heath darting across the street. Her heart fluttered as the carhorn of a speedy Jetta belted at Heath. He was waving and apologizing, and then he dashed across the asphalt, free and clear. There wasn’t much traffic anywhere. The city was quiet and mostly shut down. There was his car. Her heart started beating madly.

“You alright? I saw you fall.” Heath stopped a couple of paces away.

“I caught myself before I fell,” Nadine corrected.

“OK. Are you alright?”

“No,” she said, with a little headshake. “Art’s fucked off. I broke my phone. I don’t--”

“Well come on, you can at least use my phone,” he said. He fished his phone from his pocket.

“I could use a ride home,” Nadine said.

“Um ... Well, I’ve got room, maybe. We’re taking the long way,” Heath said.

“I don’t mind stopping at the airport first,” Nadine said. 15 minutes the wrong way only added thirty minutes to the drive, right? That was much less than getting her dad.

“Oh, um. I’m driving Tabitha to the ferry and--”

“Well, getting ahold of my Dad and getting a ride home’s still going to take me four hours and change, so five total for you to take Tabby to the ferry before we go home ... Your car has a heater. That isn’t the worst scenario,” she forced a smile. He melted a little. She stood taller.

“OK, but I was going to take Aislin all of the way--”

“Oh my god!” Nadine rolled her eyes. “She can get a flight to Sydney!”

“But--”

“Fine, your bad decisions are your bad decisions,” Nadine said. “If you’re committed to driving all day, then you might as well take me home first.”

“Um...”

Nadine slung her backpack off of her shoulder and gave it to Heath. “Let’s go, and this time we’ll cross the street at the crosswalk.” She gestured half a block up the street. Heath did his best to catch up.

Heath was trying his best to fit Nadine’s suitcase in the trunk.

“What are you getting out for? Just scooch in,” Nadine huffed.

“That wouldn’t be fair. Taking the bitch seat from...” Aislin teased out a smug sarcastic smirk, from the front seat.

“It’s not that. I’m getting out first,” Uly said. “I don’t want to have to climb over you.”

“Then why didn’t Tabby--”

“I was smart enough to lock the door!” Tabitha called from inside the car. “I’ve already got my seatbelt on!”

Dammit! Heath lifted the trunk and tried to force his and Nadine’s stuff in. He and the other girls had mailed most of their stuff, which had taken Heath two full trips from residence to get to the post office, but they each had an overnight bag and a backpack in the trunk as well.

“Can someone take their bag on their lap?” Heath asked.

“For a drive this long?” Aislin frowned.

“Shove it in, it’ll fit.” Nadine rolled her eyes.

Heath let his shoulders slump. He did his best. The cracking sound came from his own backpack. He didn’t dare to look; the trunk latched closed.

“Nadine, please get in, I want to get on the road,” Heath said, he walked and held the door for Nadine, who growled into the car, and then Uly, who curtsied.

“Is there room for our winter coats in the trunk?” Tabitha leaned forward to ask.

Heath frowned. He tossed his keys to Aislin. “Start the car and the heat. I’ll make room.”

He waited as the four girls shimmied out of parkas and mittens. He accepted them and never had to return a “You’re welcome.”

At least the coats, scarves, and toques could fit in and around the bags. He still had to stuff his own bag dangerously hard into the left corner of the trunk and tramp it down to make it fit. He pulled out of his own leather coat and shivered as he raced around to the driver seat.

Click. Click.

He had to bang on the window. Aislin jumped and dived over to unlock his door.

“Sorry!” She shouted over the EDM she was broadcasting from her phone to the speakers.

“Not my usual,” Heath said, preferring rock and rap music.

“Thank god for that,” Aislin teased.

“Alright, we’re off to the airport,” he said, twisting in place to reach his seatbelt.

“What time’s your flight, Uly?” Nadine asked.

“It’s not until late late,” she said. She unblacked her phone. “Just over eleven hours from now.”

“Then why don’t we go south and drop me off first?” Nadine suggested.

“What? Don’t your parents live near Heath’s anyways?” Aislin said. “You’re getting out last.”

“Dude,” Nadine said, dismissively. “It’s like six hours to your place.” Nadine rolled her eyes.

“And I’d feel better if he had company in the car on his ride home, even after he drops Tabby off at the ferry.”

“Oh, Pictou’s on the way to Cape Breton,” Tabitha said. “I’m getting out second.”

“Look, it’s maybe two hours if there’s traffic,” Nadine was saying. “Does it look like there’s enough people on the road for traffic?”

Heath slumped his shoulders.

“You can always just drop her off at the bus station,” Aislin suggested.

“Hey, I gotta go through customs and who knows what’s going to happen to international flights and everything.” Uly leaned forward and tugged the corner of Heath’s sleeve.

“We’re going to the airport first,” Heath decided. “After that, we can work out what to do.”