Chapter 32

There is something about a woman, all bundled up in winter gear, which I find really attractive. It all begins with the big furry boots. Actually, most kinds of boots are a turn-on. Then you travel upward, following the lines of the shapely legs. Now move up to a micro fiber jacket; white would be a nice color. Large fluffy mittens, along with a big furry hat, and you have a woman that you might want to stop and marvel at. I think the biggest allure of all, is the knowledge of what is beneath all that frosting.

We were walking along a county road that led out to the shoreline of Lake Superior. It was a beautiful walk. On either side of the road were stands of trees that were covered in snow. We were lucky, in that the the day was about as good as one could ever hope for. The sky was a brilliant shade of winter blue. Out of curiosity, I had thought about taking a side trip down a slight embankment, in order to check out the creek below. One step in that direction, however, and I quickly realized I would probably end up waist deep in snow.

We had left the B &B just before noon. It was a week day and we figured that most people would be busy with school or work. Wrong! Before we even arrived anywhere near the entrance to the park road, we were surprised to see long rows of cars parked on either side of the highway. It soon became evident that we would not be able to a park in the normal lot.

I recalled what our host had told me about another location where the locals would often park. We continued on, past the entrance, for a short distance. I found the side road, just where she said it would be. Unfortunately, there was a barricade across the entrance which prevented people from continuing on. She had informed me that it was closer to the caves and it would shorten our walk. I parked where a few other people had stopped and we had prepared for our hike out to the icy wonderland.

I would later learn that the hike down the road was about a mile long. Several folks had decided that they didn't need to obey the barrier and had driven past us while we walked. As we continued on, a sheriff's vehicle passed us. When we arrived down by where the cars were parked, I spotted some tickets on the windows. Being just a little curious, I paused to take a look. The tickets were for two hundred dollars. That was much more than I was willing to pay for any parking spot.

But, I am getting way ahead of myself. The previous evening, we had returned from our meal and had taken a short walk to wear off some calories and to enjoy the night sky. It had been a relatively warm night and the stars were shining brightly overhead. The fresh air, the clean white snow, and the silhouettes of objects and trees around us, had provided us with a wonderful setting.

We eventually headed back inside and each of us located a cozy chair where we planned to relax and do a little reading. I would occasionally look up from my book to gaze at Anna. Her gorgeous legs were tucked up in such a way, that her knees were almost touching her chin. She looked so lovely. It soon became extremely difficult for me to keep my mind on my book. I was just about to suggest another activity, when I heard a knock at the door. I got up to check it out.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I wondered if you would like to see the Northern Lights?" It was our host from earlier.

"Why yes, we would," I said, as we followed her over to the next room. It was vacant, and it too had the large windows. The lights were off and there was a teenaged girl sitting in a chair and looking out the window. I looked toward the area just above Lake Superior on the horizon. At first I saw nothing. Gradually, the sky became alive as sheets of white began to dance across the darkened sky.

"Wow!" said Anna. "That is really neat."

We watched for about an hour. The sky would go quiet, for a while, and then erupt in a display that would rival anything that you might see on TV. Splashes of various shades of light would move like ghostly images before our eyes. My favorite was when the light was green. It was such an unearthly and mysterious color. We actually lost track of time as we enjoyed the natural phenomena that was playing out before us. During the lulls, we would stop and talk with our host.

We were eventually joined by the husband. He seemed like a very nice fellow. From what I learned, the available work around the area was slow and they depended on the B &B to make ends meet. We also talked with their teenage daughter. We discovered that she really loved the lights. She told us she dreamed of traveling to the Arctic in order to see them in a setting where they gave off an even more impressive show.

The Borealis had eventually dimmed and we had thanked our hosts for allowing us to share some time with them. We then said "good night" and headed back to our room. Once inside, I had asked Anna if she wanted to see another display. She had responded positively, so I took advantage of the situation. I would imagine you can guess what took place for the next hour or so. All in all, it had turned out to be a very incredible evening.

I awoke, late the next morning, when I heard a knock at the door. I put on my robe and headed over to see who it was. Outside the door, I found a cart with our breakfast on it. I lifted up one of the lids and was greeted by a host of wonderful smells that swirled upward and into my nostrils.

"Anna, wake up, breakfast is here," I whispered in her ear. I paused to marvel at the beauty of her delicate shoulders. They were just barely exposed above the warm comforter.

"The foods warm and I think we should eat it now," I said.

Anna turned toward me and opened her eyes. The memory of the Northern Lights seemed to pale in comparison, as I looked deep into those beautiful orbs.

"I'm hungry," she said, as she pulled my face toward hers, "Kiss me."

I did. Her lips were warm, and moist, and full. I could feel the slightest bit of a pulse as our lips touched. Thoughts of food quickly vanished, as I found something else to stimulate my senses.

Anna broke the spell when she sat up and said;

"Please hand me my robe. I want to freshen up just a bit."

"You are going to have to come and get it," I said as I walked over to a nearby chair.

Anna crawled out of bed and stood up.

"There, are you happy now?" she asked, striking a suggestive pose

My eyes wandered over her supple body, pausing to admire certain special curves. What I saw made me want to carry her right back into bed.

"Oh, I'm happy. I'm very, very happy," I replied.

Anna gave me a cute little smile and then headed for the other room. I made my way over to the table and arranged the food, while I waited for her to return.

The phone rang. I walked over and picked it up from off the edge of the counter. It was the father of the family that was staying at my mom's house. He informed me that the furnace had gone out during the night, and asked me what he should do.

I gave him a number to call and told him that the company repair man should be out shortly. I had told my mother, long ago, to sign up for the emergency repair service offered by the power company. There had been a number of times when that advice had paid off.

I had learned about the family from some friends at church. They lived in a small town in northern Michigan and had traveled down to the cities to get medical help for their son. Having no place to stay, they would have probably ended up in a shelter with a group of other families. From the information I had received, it sounded like they lived on a rather limited income.

Since my mom's house was vacant, I had contacted the dad. He had been very pleased to hear from me. His family consisted of a wife and three young kids. He told me it would make life so much easier, for all of them, if they could have their own place. He had asked what I would charge for rent. I had informed him that there would be no charge. I figured that mom would have liked it that way.

"Why would you do that?" he asked. There was a hint of wonder in his voice.

"Because I want to help," was my response. "I have been very blessed."

"You are a very kind and generous person," he had replied. I thought I heard just the slightest hesitation in his voice.

The boy who needed medical help had been adopted. He had been born without one eye. The doctors planned on constructing a cavity so that they could implant a fake eye. They figured the process would take a couple of months. The parents were informed that there would be follow up surgeries needed during later stages in his development. The dad worked four, ten hour days, so he would be able to travel back to spend the long weekends with the family. I had been happy to see my mom's house put to a good use. I figured late May would be a better time to sell it anyway.

Anna came out of the bathroom and walked over to me.

"Who was that on the phone?"

"It was the people who are staying in mom's house," I replied. Then I told her about the furnace.

"You really are a nice man," Anna replied.

"Not really," I responded. "I'm just doing what I believe everyone should do. I don't need any more than I already have. Besides, I don't want to be like those folks who take advantage of people whenever the opportunity arises."

I thought about the fellow who had driven through the campground, many years back, asking if anyone wanted to buy skylights for their campers at a nominal fee. Two of mine had been broken the night before, when a brutal hailstorm had passed through the area. The offer had been a very welcome one indeed. I had been so impressed by his initiative. I was also surprised by the fact that he only hoped to recover his cost and a little more.

Then I thought about the propane people who were gouging some of my friends and relatives. The cost of the fuel had gone up, and they were inflating the price even more. Rather than filling the tanks half-way, and then refilling them when the cost went down a month later, they insisted on only doing a full tank. Friends that had gone that route, had ended up spending thousands of dollars more for the fuel than they had planned on. Many of them had gotten by using their wood burning stoves and electric heaters.

We sat down to eat, pausing to appreciate the display in front of us. The omelets were filled with Wisconsin cheese and looked delicious. There were several delicate looking scones on a separate plate. The strawberry jam looked to be homemade. I supposed that the sausages were also local. They looked so different from the packaged ones you might see in the store and they were absolutely delicious. Two bowls of berries, covered in white cream, sat off to the side.

"It looks wonderful," Anna stated. "What are we waiting for?

We talked and discussed the day ahead. Mostly, we quietly savored the wonderful meal that had been placed before us. By the time we were ready to leave, it was almost noon. Neither of us had felt the need to rush and we had leisurely enjoyed our time of just being together.

We eventually came to a barricade and the road ended. Ahead of us was a path in the snow. I figured we were probably close to the water's edge, but I could not see anything that would give us a clue as to how much further we needed to walk. We stepped into the woods and marveled at the scenery around us. The path eventually ended at a high ridge and I could see the frozen ice below. I helped Anna as we descended down the hill. In some spots it was rather steep. It was not an official trail and therefore had not been maintained by the forest service. We slowly made our way to the bottom and then stepped out onto the frozen surface of Lake Superior.

Beyond us stretched a wintry landscape that disappeared off into the distance. About a hundred yards out was an ice ridge. Just beyond that was a frozen plain that stretched on for as far as the eye could see. A narrow path led out to a wider trail, near the ice ridge, and I could see people walking along it and in the direction of the ice caves. It looked like a procession of the faithful going on a pilgrimage. There had to be a thousand people stretched out for about a mile. In the distance, off to my right, I could see something that looked like a cave. It appeared to be the case that we had come out about halfway from the official starting point.

I had been informed that I would not need to use the snowshoes, during a discussion with our hosts the previous night. I gave Anna a smile as we headed out to join the wanderers. It wasn't long before, we too, were steadily moving toward the beautiful, natural scene ahead.

I was amazed by the variety of people that we saw along the way. There were families with young kids. Many of the smaller ones were being pulled in sleds. There were older people, most likely retired. I saw people that I would guess were about college age. I also spotted people that looked like they had just emerged from some old barn located deep in the woods. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits and ready to enjoy a wonderful surprise.