Chapter Ten: The Blizzard
Logan and various
March 17
"Are they serious?" Kristy shouted. Mary Anne winced and continued helping Stacey mixed together the salad in one of the massive wooden bowls we owned. We had over 20 people coming to our home for dinner and Stacey was just now realizing that her "little St. Patrick's Day party" wasn't as "little" as she had planned it. Stacey looked up from the salad when Mary Anne didn't.
"What do you mean?" she called back into the living room. There was some shuffling before Kristy appeared in the doorway.
"This snow? This five inches. We're supposed to get another seven inches in the next two hours." She looked around for reactions. Mary Anne made a face.
"Isn't it supposed to almost be spring?" I asked. Kristy shrugged.
"Apparently Mother Nature lost that memo," she grumbled. She watched Stacey and Mary Anne for a long moment. "Need some help?"
"You think?" Mary Anne snapped.
Kristy snapped into a salute. "What shall I do?"
"Get over here and start snapping beans with me," I suggested before Mary Anne could give her a smart response. Kristy quickly took her place beside me.
"I've never heard of a snowstorm this late in the year," she whispered to me, as though talking were taboo. Stacey cleared her throat.
"We'd always have some kind of bizarre March storm every year," she told us. "But, it was always a good thing, well, after the blizzard or ice storm or whatever. It always meant that it was the last of the snow and that it was going to be the end of the snow."
"Let's pray that it is," said Mary Anne, who was, understandably, not having the best winter of her life. "I am so sick of winter. I wish it would just end already, you know?"
We all muttered and mumbled our agreements. Mary Anne turned red and looked away from us, her eyes focused deep in the mixing bowl. Everything had become awkward since her rape. Nothing anyone said was safe anymore and everyone, especially my poor Mary Anne, knew it. I stared at her, feeling my eyes growing soft and starting to sting with pre-tears. At least, that how I referred to them. I cleared my throat and turned my back on the other girls to restart snapping the green beans Stacey wanted boiled and buttered for dinner. Kristy's hand dropped onto mine and I looked in her eyes. I imagined we were mirrors for one another at the moment.
"I'm so sorry," she mouthed to me silently, taking a bean and snapping it fiercely. I could imagine whose neck Kristy would be pretending to snap with every single bean.
"You know," Stacey said cheerfully, determinedly cheerfully and both Kristy and I turned a cautious towards her. Mary Anne set down the Romaine lettuce she had been shredding and took what looked like a grateful seat. "It's surprising how many fancy foods are green."
"Not this again, Stace," I moaned playfully and she smiled. I noticed her hands were shaking. She either needed something to satisfying her diabetes or her nerves. "We've only heard it about a million times."
"Well, Kristy hasn't heard it," Stacey said defensively and Mary Anne shook her head at me. It was best to just let Stacey have her way on this and the two of us knew it. We were beginning to know very well what to give to Stacey and what to take away from her. In a way, she was slowly changing from simply my lover in my eyes to becoming a nervous little girl that Mary Anne and I were desperately striving to keep happy, calm, and sedate.
I bowed. "As you wish."
She giggled and I could see her fond smile as I rose again. Kristy smiled back at Stacey, obvious temporarily enchanted by her as Mary Anne and I found ourselves every so often. "This had better be good after that build-up."
"I'm not so sure that it is," Stacey laughingly apologized. "But, I should say something otherwise I'll look like a loser for begging to say anything, huh?"
"You said it, not me," Kristy said. Luckily, Kristy's brusque manner agreed with Stacey's mood this evening. Stacey giggled again, and I couldn't help but smile. Her laughter was unstrained and happy for once instead of sounding tense and sad, as it usually did nowadays.
"Well," Stacey started, "I originally wanted to have roast beef because it's not too wildly expensive, even for as many guests as we're having. But, then, I was really thinking about it and I decided that it would much more in keeping with the holiday if we had stuffed shells and I dyed the cheeses green."
Kristy eyed the oven. "Green cheese, Stacey?"
"Oh, and I managed to dye the sauce, too, so it won't look too Christmas-y." Kristy looked like she had something on the tip of her tongue, so I rested my toe and some weight on her foot. She bit down on her lip and nodded thoughtfully, shooting a murderous look in my direction when Stacey glanced to Mary Anne. "Anyways, I decided that with stuffed shells, we could give the kids the same dish and they'll love the green food."
"Or they'll pretend to die of it," Kristy said bluntly.
"Kristy!" I snapped.
She glared at me. "What? Doesn't anyone remember what I was like as a kid?"
"Vividly," Mary Anne moaned.
"Well, my kids are my carbon copy," she warned us. "Just to warn you, Stace, honey."
"I can handle child critiques. Especially ones that come from your offspring, Kristy."
"I'm relieved."
"I just hope everyone likes it and appreciated how much time and energy I've put into this," she said, threatening to look sad for a moment. I glanced at Mary Anne quickly and she shook her head. I could tell she was getting sick of waiting on a drooping, wilting Stacey, but what else did we all have left but to care for one another? I put the fistful of beans in my hands down on the table and walked over to Stacey. I took her hand and Mary Anne's were suddenly filled with sadness as well.
"Come on, Stace," I said quietly, pretending desperately not to see Mary Anne's pain. Stacey followed me complacently out of the room and I had to practically whisk her upstairs to make sure nobody saw us. She followed, her bosom heaving in anticipation the moment we reached her door.
"This is stupid," she whispered.
"I don't want you to mope during your own party," I whispered and grabbed on tightly to the strong flesh of her back upper legs, clad in a slippery green skirt, and lifted her off her feet. Immediately, she slipped her tongue into my mouth while she wrapped those beautiful legs around my waist. My brain was firing off too many pleasurable sensations to even consider stopping now. We each pulled away from one another's mouths, breathless, and Stacey smiled.
"That's an honorable mission," she conceded and fell relatively silent as I trailed my mouth slowly down her neck.
TEN
When we were finished, Stacey headed up into the attic to bring down a couple boxes of old pillows and blankets that Mary Anne had requested and that she had forgotten while I hurried down the back staircase to make a show of bringing in more firewood. When I entered the living room, the largest room in our house, I was surprised to see that just about everyone had arrived and, using the kitchen and the small library kiddy-corner to the living room for overspill, everyone fit. All of Stacey's guests had fit into such a small area. Well, it was beginning to look small with so many bodies in it. Instantly, Mr. Spier clapped my hand in his and was shaking it swiftly.
"Here's Logan," he called out and most everyone cheered. "Now all we have to do is wait for the maid of honor before we can get to eating."
"Well, and we have to wait for Charlotte, Becca, and Byron," Mary Anne reminded her father. Since nobody was looking at her, she shot me a filthy look. "I sure hope they don't get caught in the storm or something."
"Oh, honey, you worry too much," Mary Anne's stepmother, Sharon, said gently. "Everything is going to be just fine."
Almost immediately, Mary Anne's cheeks flushed with color. I cleared my throat.
"How about we get that fireplace roaring?" I suggested and, once again, most everyone clapped or cheered in excitement. I hauled the dry firewood (we kept a store of dry wood in a shed next to the house) across the living room, people parting in way for me, and began tossing the wood in, piece by piece. Little Grace Brewer-Thomas squatted down beside me and began to help toss in pieces of wood. Although I could not see her, I could picture Mary Anne crossing her arms and sighing in defeat; once more, I felt like puddle of slime.
"What's a fireplace without the trimmings?" Stacey's voice called out. Both Grace and I turned our heads to see Stacey hauling several huge boxes undoubtedly filled with Mary Anne's "designer" pillows and her afghan and quilts. Claudia immediately leapt forward and snatched a box out of her arms and Stacey stopped teetering so much. Almost immediately after Claudia took a box, Stacey's mother followed her lead. Now Stacey only had a large box at her feet and one in her arms. Jack and Kaylee, knowing where everything went in the house by now, quickly grabbed away the boxes in the blondes' arms. Stacey wrapped her arms around her mother and closed her eyes gratefully.
Kaylee was quickly joined by Emily Michelle Brewer-Thomas, both girls intensely interested in the contents of the box. I caught Mary Anne's eye and smiled a knowing smile in her direction. She blushed and nodded in agreement. She was obviously pleased that the girls were taking so great an interest in something she had spent such a long time in working on. I felt some of her pride flow into my own veins.
"Are we all cuddling up in the blankets and pillows?" Abby Stevenson asked, sounding genuinely confused.
"So we can watch the fireplace," her twin, Anna, immediately replied.
"Well, so long as they don't plan on having a massive sleepover," Abby said with a laugh. Kristy's children, the youngest children in the house, laughed at the idea of having a big sleepover with their parents. I shrugged.
"If it doesn't let up, I don't know that anyone will be able to leave tonight."
"Let's talk about something else," Mary Anne suggested as Stacey began to look crushed by the conversation. "Say, for instance, the fact that dinner is ready."
"Thank God," Kristy said. "I am starving."
There was a knock on the door.
"Becca!" Kristy cried. After Becca's parents died in a horrible car accident, Kristy's parents took her and her older sister Jessi in. The two girls were now just another part of Kristy's massive family.
Kristy raced to the door and let in her "sister" along with Charlotte Johansson and Byron Pike. "Perfect timing! We're just about to have dinner, kids."
"Don't know how many times we have to ask you not to call us 'kids,'" Byron said levelly, "but we are definitely hungry. Char was threatening to eat her own coat on the ride over."
Charlotte blushed. "I was a little hungry."
I laughed and so did a handful of our other guests. "Come on, Charlotte. I won't keep you any longer."
"See now, he's a gentleman," Becca laughed and handed her coat to Kristy before taking both Byron's and Charlotte's coats and heading to the first floor guest bedroom to toss the coats on the bed.
Charlotte and Byron followed after me, as did the rest of our guests, to the buffet the girls had decided on in advance. There was a storm of appreciative murmuring and I knew it was making both of my girls happy to hear such praise of their meal.
Stacey
I smiled as I watched the guests finally settling down into overstuffed armchairs and beaten-up couches, their knees supporting plates piled high with St. Patrick's Day themed food. I personally had a couple stuffed shells, a small pile of green mashed potatoes, cooked carrots, asparagus, and one of the special sugar-free rolls we'd baked the day before. To wash it down I had a boring old glass of icy cold water.
Margo Pike was seated beside me and busy digging deep into her own food. I was amused to see that she had gone all out for the green food. Stuffed shells, mashed potatoes, green veggies, green rolls, and a slice of green cake. Oh, and she had a huge cup of the green fruit punch that we had served in a silver serving bowl with green sherbet and 7-Up. She was getting her Irish on.
That's when the lights flickered once, twice then went out for good.
A few people screamed in surprise, maybe even in fright before a burst of moans then laughter broke out.
"Crap," Kaylee moaned. "Claudia, I left my computer on and it's probably going to be all jumbled when the power comes back on."
"Don't say bad words in front of the kids," Claud's voice said absently. "Besides, it's not an emergency."
"I also forgot to save my essay for American History," Kaylee went on. "And, I was half-way through it."
Most of the adults in the room sighed and I could practically feel Kaylee bristling in defense.
"Jack will help you rewrite when the power comes back on, honey."
"How much help, Claudia, darling?" Jack asked too sweetly.
"As much as Kaylee needs, lovebug," Claudia answered cutely. By the sound of it, Kristy snorted something out of her nose with laughter. Sharon began to laugh.
Meanwhile, I sat, paralyzed in fear, clutching the sides of my plate so hard if I had been able to think about it at the time, I would've worried that I might've snapped it in two. Time seemed to slow down and was ghastly still. People's voices dropped into a lower, more terrifying register and I felt my heart flutter up into my throat. I could hear my breathing growing more and more ragged but didn't know or care how to stop it.
Rational or irrational, I just knew that Teddy Thomas was behind this. I also knew that Mary Anne knew it, too. Maybe things were taut between us, but we both had this sad thing in common. In the first flickers of firelight, I turned to glance at her and our eyes met. I didn't need full light to know that her face was white and she probably didn't it either to notice that my body was starting to shake uncontrollably. I watched Logan rush to Mary Anne's side, enfolding her with his strong arms. I didn't feel jealous, only deeply lonely for their comfort.
Margo's fingers broke my grip on my plate, which went tumbling to the floor, and laced with my fingers. I adjusted my gaze to look into her eyes and saw the same fright that I had just seen in Mary Anne's and remembered. Margo was one of us, too, now. I squeezed her hand, forgetting everything about myself except the feeling of my hand pressed against hers. Suddenly, there were hands on my shoulders and I screamed in horror. Margo shook her head violently, unable to speak.
"Stacey!" I heard through the filter on voices in my brain. I turned to see my mother standing behind. "Oh, God, honey! It's me, baby! It's Mommy!"
Had I been less terrified, I would've been embarrassed. But instead, I flung my arms around her and held on for dear life. After a minute or so, I reached out an arm and dragged Margo into our desperate hug. She was crying hard and I knew that she needed her own mother just as badly as I did. Thank God my mother had lived behind the Pikes for so many years and had baby-sat for so many of them once Mallory and I stopped baby-sitting.
Slowly, one by one, candles were being lit and scattered across the living room and kitchen. I suppose it was lucky for everyone that Mary Anne and I have a love for candles and use them heavily in our decorating as well as keeping two kitchen drawers stocked full of candles for such an emergency.
In the growing light, I pulled away from my mother's embrace, leaving her holding a trembling Margo Pike. The girl looked at me with watery dark green eyes and I sighed. It was if she were asking me to explain why this- why everything- was happening. I couldn't.
I strode over to the large, plate glass window and stared out into the darkness. The moon's light reflected on the snow, so there was some light outside, but not much. I felt a shiver run up my spine. I knew I wasn't gong to be able to move from this spot for a very long time.
Kristy
I watched as Logan took painstaking care to strap on his official police issue firearm. When he was done, he glanced up, found me staring, and sighed. He strode over to where I was standing, slightly away from everyone else.
"Kristy, don't look so worried," he murmured. "You're going to start scaring people."
"I am worried, especially when you feel the need to put on your gun," I hissed back. For some reason this conversation had already been sorted into the 'keep it between us' category. My voice, I suspected, wouldn't go above a hiss or a whisper. "What's going on?"
"Stace is worried about Teddy," Logan confessed in one of his softest voices yet. I shrugged.
"Of course she is. She always is. Why are you?"
"I just don't want to take any chances," he replied. "Could you get Pete? I want to have a meeting with the men."
"How chivalrous."
I turned to retrieve my husband anyways.
I sat with my stepson, Robbie, in my lap while the men discussed the best ways to safeguard the house. Robbie, thank God, wasn't paying much attention (except to the drawstrings on my sweatshirt), but I was. The rest of the men were going to take breaks and sleep in shifts, except for Logan. It seemed he'd be guarding the front door and most of the people spending the night here with his gun. The only comfort I got from that was that at least Logan was a cop and would know how to use the gun if it came to that.
I jumped up as soon as their group started to break apart.
"I want to help," I immediately and most of the men rolled their eyes. Tiny, tomboy Kristy Thomas stirring up trouble again. "Please, Logan, let me help."
"Honey, no." Pete said firmly and I blinked. He shook his head to reemphasize his point once I was looking at him. "Kristy, I want you watching our kids. I mean it."
I don't know if Pete had ever given me an "I mean it" kind of reprimand. I felt a little stunned that Pete would say that to me. I mean, we were always such a team on everything, including childrearing. It wasn't like either of us to demand the other to take care of the children like that. I began to chew on my thumbnail. He must be really worried to order me to a safer place and order me to protect those most precious to us, our children. I picked Robbie up and hugged him close to me.
I wasn't surprised to find that there was no line for the phone. Everyone probably thought that the phone went out with the power. I prayed that this wouldn't be true and wordlessly picked up a receiver. I closed my eyes in relief at the dial tone. Several other people perked up when they saw me dialing.
I waited while it rang, running my fingers through Robbie's dark locks of hair.
"Hello?"
"Amy? Finally! Where have you been?"
There was a pause as our regular baby-sitter tried to orient herself. "Mrs. Black, hi. I was just playing with the kids. The power went out and we're trying to stay happy over here."
"Us, too, "I confessed. I cleared my throat. "Listen, Amy, there is something I want you to do for me."
"Anything," she said.
"I want you to get the kids over to my parents' home and stay there. They will have power because of the massive generators underground, so the kids will be warm there." I paused. "And, Amy, I want for you to spend the night with my parents as well. I can pay you overnight pay and everything, but I don't want to worry about where you are."
"Don't worry about the pay," Amy said seriously. "But, how should I get over there? Drive?"
"If you can," I told her. "If not, it's only a mile between our home and theirs. I've clocked it. And, yes, you can make it with the kids, just don't stop. And use as many layers as possible. Use blankets over their coats, too."
I heard Amy's voice start to cry. "I'm scared," she confessed.
I laughed light-heartedly. "Honey, don't be. Think of it as an adventure. I'll have Mom and Watson waiting for you and maybe one of the kids can meet you halfway."
"All right," Amy replied, sounding a little better. "All right."
"OK, honey, I have to make some more calls. So, bundle up and call me when you get to the mansion."
"Bye."
When I hung up and picked the phone up again, Abby Stevenson groaned. :"Kristy, come on. I need to check on my mom."
"I'm calling my parents," I told her. "I'll have them check on her while we're on the phone. I've got to get my kids squared away, Abby."
She nodded and took a step back.
The phone rang twice before Watson picked up.
"Hello?" he asked and I could've sighed in relief at his familiar, warm voice.
"Watson, it's Kristy," I answered. I almost see him smile.
"Kristy, honey, how are you? How's the party going?"
I shook my head. "Not too great. The power went out." I turned my body to hopefully block the homeowners from hearing "Stacey and Mary Anne aren't doing very well and it's taking Logan a lot of effort just to keep them together, you know?"
"How are the kids?" he asked immediately, referring to his step-grandchildren. I glanced over at my girls and found them happily playing Pick Up Sticks with Kaylee and Becca.
"The girls are great," I told him. I looked down at Robbie and ruffled his hair. "Robbie's a shaken, but otherwise we're fine. Have you heard from Amy yet? She's bringing the rest of our kids over to your house for the night. I didn't want her home alone with that lunatic running around town."
"Of course. And, yes, we got her phone call. I hung up with her and the phone rang with you. She must've dialed our house the second she hung up with you." Good girl, I thought gratefully. "David Michael is going to meet her, wherever she is, on that snow… thing. You know."
I laughed. "Thank God. Did you tell him to go slow because of the baby?"
"Yes, but this is David Michael." Watson paused. "Though, I'm sure everything will be fine, honey."
Abby cleared her throat. I cleared mine.
"Um, Watson, Abby and Anna are here at the party with me and they want to know if their mother is all right? Do you think someone could go and check on her?"
"No need," Watson replied. "She came over before the snow started getting really bad. The Kilbournes, too. We're all having tea and cocoa and coffee and watching the fire in the fireplace. It's really very nice. I mean, they all have power at their homes, but they thought it would be nice to spend a winter-y night with their neighbors instead of by themselves. Isn't that nice? Now, why don't you put the girls on and I'll get Mrs. Stevenson."
"Thanks, Watson. I love you. Oh. Tell Mom I love her, too?"
"Anything, sweetheart," he said warmly.
I handed the phone to Abby. "Your mom is over at my parents' house."
Abby sighed with relief and took the phone from me.
I backed away and scooped Robbie up into my arms. "Come on, cowboy. Do you want anything to eat or drink before bed? Tonight's special." He shook his head then rested it on my shoulder. "All right. Then let's get you to bed, sweetheart."
Logan
"Mary Anne, darling, you can't do that," I said as calmly as I could. It's hard to remain calm when you've said the same thing twenty times to no effect. I think Einstein or someone had a saying about that, but I just can't remember it at the moment.
Mary Anne looked up at me with wide, hurt brown eyes. "But, I can't stay here, Logan. He's going to come back, I just know he is. Please, Logan, we'll go back to my parents' house and I'll be safe there."
Richard and Sharon were past trying to convince Mary Anne that they had no intention of leaving our house tonight. The blizzard outside was simply too much for anyone to think about driving in it. Helpfully, Sharon was playing with Mary Anne's limp curls (she had curled it special for the party) and Richard was stroking her back. Richard and I exchanged a glance. He shrugged miserably and looked away. I sighed.
"Honey, you are safe here. I'm here. Nobody is going to touch you while I'm here."
She took my hand and dragged me close. "I need to hide," she whispered desperately. "He's going to find us."
"Mary Anne, no!" I whispered loudly back. She winced. "No, he will not find us. He will not come, especially not in this weather. I told you. He's not going to get to either you or Stacey so long as I'm here."
Mary Anne burst into tired, desperate tears. I had seen those tears before and I gathered her into my arms. Her entire body was shaking with whatever was fueling this obsession with the idea that Teddy Thomas was going to come back tonight, in the middle of a terrible blizzard. I rubbed her back soothingly and whispered sweet nothings into her ear.
After a few moments, Sharon wrapped her arms around Mary Anne as well and started to sway peacefully. She was humming a faint little tune and Mary Anne's sobs lessened as she began to listen to her stepmother. I stopped whispering and let the faint music take us both over. When Sharon finally did stop, I felt almost limp with calm. I had to practically shake myself to pull back from Mary Anne and see if she was all right. Her brown eyes looked peacefully back up at me.
"Stay with me?" I asked her softly. I traced my fingers down her smooth cheek. Her eyes shut as she took the sensation in.
"Yes, Logan," she replied. "I'll stay with you."
No sooner had I said "I love you" to my beloved Mary Anne than I heard frantic, terrified screams coming from behind me. I let go of Mary Anne and nearly pushed her back with her father and stepmother, who both clung tightly to her. As I turned, I saw it was Stacey who was screaming and pointing to the window with one outstretched arm.
I didn't think. I just took several strides forward as I unclipped my gun from my belt and aimed straight at the window. I don't know if I even warned people to get down before I fired five rounds straight into the plate glass.
Stacey was so close to the window that the glass which blew inward struck her and she almost immediately collapsed to the ground.
I ran to her, hitting the floor with my knees when I reached her. I could feel the pain of glass cutting into me as I did, but I didn't care.
"Stacey! My God! Stacey, wake up!"
Mrs. McGill was screaming in the background and so was Mary Anne. I didn't care. I had to take care of my Stacey.
Her eyes fluttered open. "Logan?"
"Where are you hurt?" I asked her. "Where?"
"I… I don't know…"
I scooped my arms underneath her body, unaware of the glass scraping my skin, and lifted her up as I climbed to my feet. "I'm taking you upstairs."
"I thought I saw him," she said in a tiny, little girl voice. I nodded.
"I know."