as sixteen gallons of water on a hot day; on a cold one, they still needed a lot of water.
When Fuji Wertland knocked on the door of the alumni house, Harry and Tucker greeted him. The power had gone out an hour ago. The ladies sat around the propane heater.
Come on in. Im surprised you could get through, Harry said.
Snows supposed to end sometime tomorrow. He shrugged. Who knows? A weatherman can be wrong half the time and still keep his job. He stepped inside.
At fifty-four, Fuji kept in shape. Small of build and a quick thinker, he headed maintenance, an important position on any campus and one that faculty and students rarely considered.
We can offer you some cookies but no stove. She smiled.
Im here to hook up the generator. You know to cut the circuit breakers and
Were country people, Aunt Tally called out from the living room. We know the drill.
He nodded as he passed the living room.
All I found was the propane heater. If Id known there was a generator, I would have hooked it up, Harry said.
We keep it locked up. Things that expensive can walk. He fished his flashlight out of his jacket and opened the door to the dark basement. Let me show you where the circuit breakers are.
Found them. Harry nonetheless fell in behind Fuji, as Tucker trailed behind her.
Mrs. Murphy and Pewter stayed in the parlor.
Seen one basement, seen em all,
Pewter announced.
Down in the basement, Fuji popped open the metal cover of the box and flipped off the main breaker, which was a bright-blue longer switch at the bottom of the two rows of small black switches.
Flip it on when the power returns, he told Harry, as he walked to a closet in the back.
Harry remained near the breaker. As Fuji opened the closet with his key, she called, Need help carrying the generator?
No, thanks. Ten gallons of gas are here in two five-gallon cans. This
closet has ventilation toward the back. He shined his flashlight at the long, narrow louvers at the top of the ceiling.
He carried the generator, placed it under the circuit breakers, and hooked it up. Someone will need to get up in the middle of the night and top it off. Fuji set both cans in front of the closet but not next to the generator. At least Harry wouldnt have far to carry one.
Ill do it. Harry followed Fuji back up the stairs.
The refrigerator hummed again.
Inez, theyre playing our song, Aunt Tally quipped.
Little Mim walked into the kitchen. How about some soup? Wont take long to heat it up. She smiled at Fuji.
Although the ladies were full, they were more than happy to make something hot for Fuji.
No, thank you, maam. He walked to the front door. Theres a lot left to do. This storm is brutal.
Harry said, Thank you. Do you have a cell?
Do. Course, its not working now. No satellite TV. Well sleep in a trailer back behind the stables. Its there for times like this or for graduation, when we work around the clock. The boys and I hoped to watch some basketball. Well play cards instead. He grinned. Ill clean those dogs out.
Hey, remind me never to play cards with you. She opened the door. Thank you, Mr. Wertland.
He touched his finger to his lads cap. Harry noticed that the truck windshield was already thickly covered with snow. He couldnt have been in the house longer than fifteen minutes.
She closed the door against the frigid air.
Big Mim had turned off the propane heater. The distinct, not exactly pleasant odor of propane filled the house.
Everyone was in the kitchen, including the two cats.
The teapot whistled. Little Mim poured the hot water into a Brown Betty snug in a knitted tea cozy. Whoever outfitted the alumni house understood tea and possibly had spent time in England.
Hooray. Harry eagerly put out teacups.
Aunt Tally and Big Mim perched on the chairs at the table.
Im going to sit here and be waited on. Aunt Tally heard the radiator gurgle, as she waited for her tea.
Me, too,
Pewter said.
Little Mim, eager to return to her husband, Blair, lamented, Even if the snow stops sometime tomorrow, we wont get a flight out for days.
It will probably take at least one day to open the interstates. Longer than that for the other roads.
All we need is the interstate. Blair will be having fits. Phones are out and the cell isnt working. Little Mim daintily placed two brown sugar cubes in her tea.
Once the snow stops, the cell will eventually work. Need to call my husband, too. Harry knew Fair would be fretting. I can squeeze everyone into that new station wagon he bought me.
Ill hire a private jet. Big Mim poured tea for everyone. Whats the point of having money if you dont use it, especially at a time like this? She got up to bring tea to Inez. Ill take you home, too, of course.
Ive never been in a private jet. Inez was excited about the prospect.
Narrow. Comfortable but narrow. Little Mim, having grown up with privilege, had flown in many a private jet.
Im not flying,
Tucker told everyone, even though she hadnt been asked.
Hurts my ears.
Hurts mine, too, because Id have to hear about it.
Mrs. Murphy poked fun.
As they enjoyed the warmth creeping back into the house, they forgot about alumnae meetings, Mariah, the depressing state of the economy.
Quiet, close times free of ringing phones, radio noise, and flickering TV screens were rare these days. Theyd all lived long enough to know such peacefulness would eventually give way to overwork, anxiety, lifes troubles. Just how much trouble not one of them could have imagined.
O
n Sunday, March 29, Harry finally pulled into the long, crushed-stone driveway to the farm. Shed left Fulton on Saturday morning, after the main roads had been plowed. She drove carefully for two days, usually in snow, because the remnants of the storm moved east as she did. As she went through West Virginia, the snow had thickened. Once home, she figured that in about four hours, heavier snow would be at their doorstep. In the last four days shed seen more snow than she had in the previous decade.
Fair ran out to greet her, forgetting to put on a coat. Honey, I thought youd never get home.
Me, neither. She kissed him. This station wagon is terrific. You know, I averaged twenty-two miles per gallon.
Pay attention to me,
Pewter wailed, as she didnt want to jump down into the snow.
Fair scooped her up under one arm and Mrs. Murphy with the other.
Harry and Tucker followed inside, glad to be upright. Driving that long gave Harry kinks in her back.
Fair ran out to collect Harrys bag. Back inside, he carried it straight to the upstairs bedroom.
Im the last to return home. Inez went back to Rose Hill with Aunt Tally. I actually like long drives. I can think. Didnt make sense to squeeze into that little jet, then have to spend the money to fly back on a big one to retrieve the car. Too much money and too much time, Harry said.
Im sure glad youre home. I hated the thought of you driving through all that snow.
Wasnt so bad. I mean, after what I saw in Fulton, Missouri. She ran water in the teapot. A cup of tea my way.
Her kitchen had never looked so good to hernor to Pewter, who made a beeline for the food bowls, which Fair had filled. Soon, all three animals faces had disappeared in ceramic dog and cat dishes.