Chapter 8

John was in the kitchen, drinking coffee and eating a bagel when Anita and Caroline entered. Both women were in form-fitting denim jumpsuits and shoeless, with heavy socks on. Anita’s jumpsuit was noticeably tighter on her, and the legs were rolled up on hers. John kissed his wife as Phoebe poured the pair coffee and began buttering toast. Then John had to leave as Malcolm stuck his head in through the back door and asked for help. About fifteen minutes later, they heard garage doors being opened and then the roar of snowmobile engines.

“I think that’s our cue,” said Caroline. They put down their coffee cups and Anita followed Caroline out a back door to the kitchen. Going down a flight of stairs to the basement, they moved through a room dominated by sectional furniture and a wide-screen television into a utility room attached to the garage. Lining one side were clothes hooks with a wide array of winter clothing. Anita handed a pair of snow pants and a parka to Caroline, then began putting on a one-piece ski suit. They slipped on heavy ‘Moon Boots’ and went out into the garage.

Malcolm and John had a pair of large and powerful snowmobiles running in the snow-covered driveway and were dragging a large cargo sled towards one. They coupled it to the snowmobile, then came over to their wives. “John, have you ever driven one of these?” asked Malcolm.

“Yeah, but it’s been years,” replied John.

“Well, we’ll take it slow until you get used to it. Just stay behind me and you’ll stay on the track.” Walking out the door, he pointed out their path. “Now we can’t go direct because there’s a swampy area that might not be frozen over. So, we’ll move up a path over here, then skirt the swamp and head back down towards the road. We should find your car soon enough. Just stay behind me and I’ll keep the speed down. Okay?”

“No problem.” The group went back into the utility room and donned helmets, then headed for the snowmobiles. Anita climbed behind John and wrapped her arms around him as Malcolm and Caroline climbed aboard the snowmobile-trailer combination.

The storm had blown itself out before dawn and now the air was cold and pristine. Almost two feet of new powder covered the landscape, but the snowmobiles had no difficulty in moving through it. Still, it was almost twenty minutes before Malcolm spotted the broken foliage surrounding the station wagon and pulled up to investigate. Sure it was the spot, he waited as John and Anita pulled up. Looking over at his guests, he saw John acknowledging the site with a nod. They turned off their engines and climbed off.

The group made short work of the snow covering the vehicle, as John and Anita looked with increasing horror at the accident site. Finally, Malcolm dropped down onto his back and shimmied under the rear end, by the log the car was perched on. After a few minutes, he crawled back out.

“John, I hate to say this, but I believe this thing is well and truly trashed,” he said, shaking his head.

John crawled under the car to see for himself. A longer time later, he crawled out and looked over at his wife. He shrugged dejectedly. “The front suspension, drive train, exhaust system, and rear axle have ripped right off. And I think the frame is bent.” He looked over at Malcolm.

“Nope, the frame is busted. I checked,” said Malcolm. “Considering the body work, I think she’s totaled.” He pointed at the sides and roof of the wagon. Half the glass was gone, two doors were punched in, a third was sprung, and the roof rack had ripped the sheet metal from the top side.

Anita had pulled her helmet off and was now crying and shaking. “We could have been killed!” she wailed.

John sighed and moved to his wife. Wrapping her in his arms, he stopped her attack of nerves and calmed her down. “We’re fine, just fine,” he repeated in a low voice until her shaking stopped.

Malcolm and Caroline had moved away from the pair and averted their eyes. Malcolm opened the cargo sled and handed some orange flags to his wife. When Anita had composed herself, he directed the women to go up to the road and hang the flags on anything that a wrecker might see. He and John would move the luggage to the sled. As Anita and Caroline scrambled up to the road he commented to John, “Actually, she’s right. A little bit faster and we wouldn’t have found you till Spring.”

“Well, don’t tell her or the girls. I can’t handle it when all three get going like that.” John smiled over at Malcolm.

“You must have the luck of the Irish,” said Malcolm surveying the wreckage.

John laughed. “Yeah, I’m one-fifth Irish.”

“And four-fifths blarney.”

Laughing and joking, the pair pried open a side door. Then John crawled in and began passing out bags and luggage. Malcolm made a small pile in the snow, then the two sorted through it and loaded the cargo sled. As they were finishing Anita and Caroline clambered down the slope and joined them.

“How’s our stuff?” asked Anita.

“Not too bad,” commented her husband. “Most of the stuff is OK, but a couple of the girl’s suitcases are full of snow. I guess they didn’t close them when we left.”

“Hey, we were pretty busy,” protested Anita.

John held his hands up in surrender. “I’m not complaining, dear. I’m just saying, snow got in some stuff, and it’ll need to be dried out. It’s not your fault or theirs.”

“Oh,” said Anita quietly. “Listen, I’m sorry about my behavior earlier.”

Malcolm and Caroline protested that apologies weren’t necessary.

“Perfectly all right,” said Malcolm. “This would have shaken any of us up.”

“You’re alive and well and that’s all that counts,” said Caroline, hugging Anita warmly. “Reeves and Jeanine will have everything fixed up in no time. In the meantime, my stuff fits the girls perfectly. No problems.”

Malcolm moved back towards the snowmobiles. “When we get back, John, you can call your insurance agent and I can call a tow truck. When the roads are clear, we’ll run you into town and you can buy a new car.” John groaned and Malcolm laughed. Putting their helmets back on, the quartet climbed back on the machines and started them up.

Anita’s head was spinning with thoughts as she rode behind her husband. Although they now had a fresh path to follow, the ungainly cargo sled required them to move slower. She had ample time to realize just how much danger they had been in and how John had saved them. She leaned against his back and squeezed her husband tightly. Maybe he deserved some more hero’s rewards when they got back, she thought wickedly.