The Blizzard

The Blizzard

Glenn Johnson roused from a deep sleep, as the form next to him shifted under the arm that enfolded her. A mass of hair he knew was golden blonde brushed his chin. She was nuzzled tightly against his bare chest, with her arms wrapped against her bare breasts. Her face pressed into the crook of his shoulder and neck.

In the darkness, he shifted his hand from her slim waist to the curve of her firm butt. As he did so, his fingers graced the lace material of the thong panties she wore and cupped one of her supple gluts. She moaned softly and then giggled in her sleep. Smiling to himself, he wondered if she was having a dream reliving the day they had experienced.

As he lay in the darkness, enjoying the feel of the woman nearly forty-years his junior next to him, he himself thought back over the previous day, which had been interesting to say the least.

- - - - -

'Well shit! The power must be out', he thought as he opened his eyes. Rolling onto his back and using the palms of his hands to rub his eyes and scratch the stubble on his face, he saw it was lighter than when his alarm clock normally sounded for this time of year. Looking to the nightstand, he saw that the clock radio was completely inert, with no time showing. He also noticed that it was cooler than it normally was. The heater would've normally kicked-in by this time.

Yawning, he then thought out loud as he threw the covers off, "Looks like we lost power, during the night."

"Thank God, I have the genny," he muttered, as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed as he got out of bed, and stretched, then padded into the master bathroom. On his way, he pulled back the privacy blind on the window that overlooked his back yard and he muttered, "Damn!"

He saw that there was a considerable amount of snow on the ground and large fluffy flakes were continuing to fall in a torrent. Going into the bathroom, he did his morning business, took a quick shower, shaved, then afterwards dressed for the day in a pair of jeans and a red and black tartan flannel shirt. He grabbed a pair of socks from the dresser and walked downstairs. He would need to go to the garage to flip the switch for the emergency generator to start before he could enjoy his morning coffee. Before he did so, he opened the curtain of the bay window in his family room and at the French doors to his deck, to let additional light in. Beyond the awning he saw that at least six-inches had already piled-up. All he could say at the sight was to repeat the exclamation, "Damn!"

Walking to the front door, he grabbed his shoes and then returned to the kitchen to put on his socks and footwear. By this time his feet were beginning to get cold. 'The floor is the garage is going to be like a slab of ice', he thought and then muttered out loud with a grim smile, "No sense in my feet freezing any more than they already have."

Before heading to the garage, he walked over to the fireplace and flipped the switch on the gas log and with a hardy 'WOOSH' flames jumped to life behind the glass of the hearth. "Glad we got gas," he said and thought back over the years of the several winter storms that he had to endure in this house.

He grabbed a flashlight from the shelf in the pantry and on walking out to the darkened garage, he recalled how he and Carolyn had bought this home when he had retired from the Navy and had hired-on at Boeing as a Process Engineer. The development of 250 homes was just beginning at the time and he and his wife had thought of this dwelling as their dream home. Not having kids, they decided to purchase several upgrades. Instead of opting for completely electric heat, they had decided on gas.

Over the years, he had remodeled several things in the home and after the first couple of winters where they had lost power, he had used some savings and his bonus from that year to invest in an emergency diesel generator. It wasn't big enough to power the whole house, but it did provide juice for the appliances in the kitchen and an outlet under the awning on the deck. He had an abundance of flashlights and LED candles that could provide lighting, if the outage lasted into the night, but until then daylight could provide the light necessary to move around the house.

Maneuvering around the small sports utility vehicle parked in his garage's center stall, he went to the circuit breaker panel, opened it, and flipped the necessary switches and finally pushed the activation button on the genny, which was outside. Powered by propane, he heard the growl of it turning over on the other side of the wall, in the small alley way between his house and his neighbors. They were snowbirds and had migrated to Arizona in December, before winter had begun.

He walked a short distance to the right and checked the tank. Smiling at the reassurance it was nearly full and he had three spares. 'Won't have to go out today, thankfully', he thought.

Walking back inside the house, he saw that the clock on the stove was flashing, which told him there was power once again. He went to the counter and turned on his coffee maker and then checked his phone. It was almost fully charged, and he had sufficient bars, even though his Wi-Fi router wasn't powered. Checking the gas and electric company's app, told him that several thousand homes in his area were without power and there was no update as to the cause or when service would be restored.

Grunting, he said out loud, "Likely it was a tree branch," and set the smart phone on the counter, as he went about his morning ritual of preparing his breakfast, drinking a couple of cups of black coffee, and then cleaning everything up. He pondered, just sitting by the fire and make a few drawings of the snow. As he cleaned up the dishes and the kitchen, it dawned on him that he had become a true creature of habit.

Carolyn had been the love of his life. He had met her while in the Navy. She was a pretty, petite brunette, with a bubbly personality. A perfect match to his quiet, thoughtful reserved self. They had met while he was stationed on shore duty in Texas, and they fell in love right from the start. After retiring from the Navy, they hoped to settle down and start a family, but that dream didn't materialize, so they decided to have fun and love each other. He as a Boeing Engineer and her as a teacher. They loved life and had many adventures, right up to when an aggressive form of early onset Alzheimer's struck.

Looking out the kitchen window as he finished the dishes, he remembered how much she loved winter and seeing the snow. "You would love this one, honey," he said out loud and brushed a few tears from his eyes.

Soon after she was diagnosed with the terrible disease, she left her position at the elementary school that she taught at, near their neighborhood. He continued to work for several months, but an accident at home while he was at work convinced him that his once vivacious wife needed more direct care, and he hired a home care nurse for her. As her condition continued to spiral downward, he took a leave of absence and with the assistance of hospice, helped to make her remaining days as comfortable as possible.

He decided to have one more cup of coffee. After the Keurig brewed it, he carried the cup into his living room at the front of the house. He wanted to do a drawing from the front of the house. He grabbed a coaster and set the cup on the coffee table and went to his office next to the family room to grab his sketch book and pencils.

Walking back and looking out the window through the falling snow, he saw the small coupe his other neighbor had sitting in her driveway, under a blanket of snow. He immediately wondered how she was fairing. The cooler temperature in the living room away from the fireplace at the rear of the house reminded him of the current circumstances.

Her name was McKenzie Blake, and she was a twenty-something single who had gotten a deal on one of the older homes in the development, having purchased it the previous summer. He had met her after she had moved in and chatted with her briefly at a couple of the neighborhood gatherings. He knew she worked as a flight attendant for Alaska Airlines. She was gone on a regular basis, and she had asked him to keep an eye on her house, on the occasions she was on flight rotation.

Cute girl he thought. She was petite at probably just a few inches taller than five feet, with short, straw-blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a captivating athletic figure. He knew this from observing her on her deck. His property was a little higher in elevation than hers and from his deck, he had seen her sunbathing or sitting in the hot tub on her deck that was under a gazebo.

She had a very friendly and outgoing demeanor that reminded him of Carolyn. This past Halloween, she had dressed as a sexy vampire and had handed out candy to the kids and jell-o shooters to adults. As he had been out in the yard turning off the fog machine for his decorations, she had seen him and called him from her porch, saying she had several leftovers and offered him one.

As they shared a few of the drinks, she had asked his advice on a couple of things concerning some insulation issues in the crawlspace under her house. He knew that the previous owners had opted for electric heating, and she told him she would like someone to check the insulation on the plumbing in case it was a hard winter.

The previous evening as he had been walking around the house prior to bedtime, he had seen her pull into her driveway. He thought it might be good to walk over and check on her, as a good neighbor.

- - - - -

Just then the young woman shifted under his arm, rotating, and sitting up. She swung her legs over the edge of the king-sized bed and began padding toward the master bedroom's bathroom. There was enough ambient light from the full moon coming in from the skylight window in the ceiling of the bathroom to make out her captivating form. One hand scratched a shapely butt cheek as she broke wind, farting in a loud and likely, unladylike fashion.

He chuckled to himself at how quickly masks can come off in a relationship and he soon heard the toilet flush. A few minutes later, she blearily walked back into the bedroom, pulling the thong into place, letting the elastic snap against her hips.

When she got back to the bed, she pulled up the covers, and snuggled next to him. "Are you okay," he asked quietly, as she rotated to face away from him to spoon snugly next to him. Her flesh felt cool, especially her bottom.

"I just had to pee," she mumbled sleepily and moaned, "You're nice and warm," as she reached for his free arm to enfold her waist and place his hand on her lower abdomen, going quickly back to sleep. Soon she was softly snoring.

She could've been a daughter or granddaughter to him, and he was amazed at how quickly an intimate relationship had blossomed and as he laid there listening to her soft breathing, he continued to marvel at the events of the previous day.

- - - - -

He had his coat and wide brim hat from the coat rack next to the front door and on opening it, a bone-chilling breeze hit him, and he saw that the snow had accumulated on his front steps and was beginning to do so on the porch as well. "Ah Crap," he swore, as he went back into the house, to the garage and brought his snow shovel and a broom to clear them of the building drifts.

Cutting across his lawn and down the slight incline to the walkway in front of his house, he trudged through the snow. 'Looks like about eight-inches now', he guessed, as his feet crunched through the accumulated snow. Slipping a couple of times in his walking shoes, he regretted not donning his boots. He cut across McKenzie's lawn and hoping she wouldn't mind, stepped over the snow-covered greenery next to her front walk and climbed the steps to her porch. After looking around at the falling torrent of white flakes, he rapped on the door a few times.

After several moments, he saw someone approach through the frosted glass of the front door, as he heard the deadbolt unlatch and it cracked open. A small figure in a bright pink stocking cap and scarf was peering at him from behind the door, wide-eyed. Slightly muffled, he heard, "Holy shit, Glenn," and reaching up with a mittened hand to pull the scarf from her mouth declared, "You scared the living fuck out of me!"

Opening the door, a little wider, he saw that she was dressed in cream colored cardigan sweater, tight black yoga pants, leg warmers and house slippers. Smiling she asked, "How are you doing," as he saw her shivering.

"Hi McKenzie," he replied, "I just wanted to check on you."

Beaming she said, "That's awfully sweet of you," and she went onto explain that she was cold.

Glancing around, Glenn chuckled and said, "Sorry the weather isn't cooperating," and he then said, "I have a generator going for some power and gas heat..."

Before he finished, his beaming neighbor, blurted, "I accept!"

She spent the next several minutes gathering things and brought a small suitcase to the front door, so Glenn could shuttle it to his house. After she donned a pair of boots, he then offered his arm to assist her with navigating the snowy terrain to his house. When they reached his porch, they stomped the snow off their footwear and on entering, the young woman reveled in the fact that it was warmer. Taking her coat, he invited her into the family room and left the suitcase by the door.

On seeing the fire, she made a dash to it. As she sat akimbo in front of it rubbing her hands, he asked if she would like coffee and she replied saying that she loved hers with sugar and cream. While the water was heating, he ran upstairs to get quilts to wrap her in, which she gratefully accepted. While making the hot drinks, he asked, "Have you had anything to eat?'

McKenzie mentioned having a few crackers and snacks but nothing hot. Glenn smiled and opening the cabinet below the cook top, brought out a couple of large skillets and asked, "How does eggs and some bacon sound?"

When their coffee was ready, he brought the steaming mug to her by the fire where she gratefully sipped the sweet, hot beverage as he made her a hot meal. As he cooked, they chatted.

By this time, McKenzie who was standing near the French doors staring out at the snow as it fell wrapped in a quilt, shared that she had arrived the previous evening from Tampa. "I never thought to look at the forecast," shaking her head in disbelief.

"Thankfully, we don't get storms like this each winter," Glenn observed as he cooked the bacon. He asked for her egg preference as she wandered back into the family room and then the living room. Reentering the kitchen, she complimented him on the layout of his home and set his cup of now cool coffee on the counter.

Chuckling he poured it down the drain and rinsed the cup. As he did so, she asked, "My pipes aren't going to freeze are they and my hot tub isn't going to get damaged, is it?"

Tending the eggs, he responded, "I think the hot tub is safe, as the chemicals in the water and the fact that it was hotter should protect it," and after a moment added, "I think you'll be okay if the power doesn't stay off for long or we don't get a really hard freeze."

He went onto explain that he would check to see if there were any status updates after he finished with her breakfast.

Smiling sheepishly, McKenzie asked, "Do you have a way I can recharge my phone?"

Smiling broadly, he said he did, and he shared that he had power in the kitchen for the appliances and the receptacles. He pointed to where the downstairs bathroom was and that he had a couple of LED candles in there for lighting. He also shared she was welcome to use it for a shower after she was done eating.

When it was ready, he set her plate on the kitchen table and made fresh coffee to go with it. While she ate, McKenzie asked him about what he did and he shared about his life, about being a widower and his hobbies.

"I saw the sketch book in the living room," McKenzie shared.

He explained that he had become interested in art as a boy scout on earning the Art merit badge. Since Carolyn's passing, he had taken the hobby up as way of healing. Chuckling he shared that he had become quite good at caricature drawing and made a small bit of money at local fairs and farmer's market. The young blonde commented she would love to see his work and asked he wouldn't mind drawing her. "Hell, it'll give us something to do," as she glanced over her shoulder, to indicate the snow still falling with a vengeance outside.

After she finished, he grabbed a couple flashlights from the pantry and set them up in the downstairs bathroom to provide additional lighting. He carried her suitcases into the office, which was adjacent to it, down a short vestibule off the family room. Lastly, he went upstairs and brought down a stack of towels and washcloths to stock the bathroom and with a smile, said it was ready for use.

At the door to the bathroom, McKenzie smiled and thanked him again for his hospitality. "Just doing my good deed for the day," and mentioned that he was an Eagle Scout, which really impressed her.

After about twenty-minutes, she came out of the bathroom wrapped in a large bath towel. She ducked into the office and closed the door to change. Glenn joked from the sofa in the family room, "You left enough hot water for the dishes, right?"

Issuing a playful laugh, she closed the door to put clothes on and it struck him, how McKenzie was so like Carolyn in her personality and mannerisms.

Coming out a few minutes later dressed in a gray cardigan turtleneck sweater and form-fitting blue jeans. She carried a pair of walking shoes, socks, along with a hair dryer and brush. As she sat down at the table, he rose from his seat and walked into the kitchen to begin cleaning the dishes, as she put her socks and shoes on. Afterwards she asked if she could use the outlet on the island to dry her hair.

While he cleaned the dishes and she dried and brushed her short blonde hair, she mentioned that she knew he had retired from Boeing and asked what he did other than sketching. "Oh, I do lots of things," he smiled, as he dried the dishes and told her about being free to do volunteer work like being a docent at the Museum of Flight a few days a week. As he shared, he realized this was the first real conversation he had enjoyed with someone of the opposite sex, in quite a while.

After putting the hair dryer and brush back into her suitcase, she sat on the sofa next to the fireplace and glancing outside said, "Shit! I don't believe it's still dumping!"

Glancing outside, Glenn estimated at least ten inches of snow had fallen and at the rate the flakes were coming down, several more could blanket the ground by evening at this rate. "Well, if needs be," he said, "There's a guest room upstairs I can lend you."

He went onto say that he had food and supplies for a few days, so they needn't be worried. McKenzie rose and walked to the kitchen to make another cup of coffee and sat down at the table and asked, "How long do you think we'd be snowed-in for," and explained that she needed to fly out in two-days.

"Well, the city is pretty good at clearing the streets," and picking up his phone from the tabletop, checked the power company app, found they had an estimate on when power would have the lights back on and shared it.

"Midnight," said a dejected McKenzie.

Giving a chuckle he sat down next to her after drying his hands and said, "The city is likely out plowing the mains streets and highways now," and added that once they had been plowed, they would move to the side streets. Reaching out to give her hand a friendly pat, he added, "You should be able to fly out on time."

The feel of his strong hands against her skin, made her smile. She asked if she could see some of his work and with an embarrassed smile he agreed. He went into the living room to retrieve the sketchbook and they sat on the sectional sofa in the family room. While she admired his works, she asked all the who, what, where, when and why questions one would expect, as she got to know this good Samaritan better. She commented about several of the sketches, but on seeing the level of detail he attained with caricatures and model sketches she asked, "Would you mind drawing me?"