Clever Magazine, Fall '09 "Snowbound, Day 41 " (www.clevermag.com)

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Snowbound - Day 41

by Dianne Kochenburg

It took Sidney several days to coax Toast downstairs for more than a few minutes at a time. The cat’s stress level was diminishing very slowly. When she heard the food tinkling into her bowl, she’d appear at the top of the stairs and start mewing softly, pleading for Sidney to bring the damned food upstairs where it was safe. Once she realized that that approach wasn’t working, and hunger overcame her, she would venture down to the kitchen, very carefully, very slowly, eyeing every sound and movement. Anything the least bit suspicious sent her bolting back to her safety zone.

This dilemma distracted Sidney, who pleaded and toyed with the little animal, trying all sorts of tricks to lure her back downstairs. Food eventually won out, but only for as long as it took Toast to eat it and make a quick duty trip to the cellar before heading quickly back upstairs and under the covers.

Sidney even tried picking her up and holding onto to her, quietly walking her around the living room to show her it was safe. What Sidney got for her trouble were a couple of claw marks on her arms when the cat leapt away so quickly that her claws dug into Sidney’s arms.

After that episode Sidney decided it might be better to just let the little animal readjust at her own pace. So she tried being extra nice to her, playing with her upstairs, petting her, whispering to her and of course, spending more time than ever up in the loft.

According to Sidney’s calculation it was December 7^th. She would remember to watch the news tonight to double check. If true then today would be what old-timers called The Day of Infamy, the day that supposedly would never be forgotten – Pearl Harbor Day. Somehow that date didn’t really resonate with her as a memorable day, at least as far as she was concerned. American history and World War II were not so much on her mind these days.

The weather was clear and cold. It hadn’t snowed for nearly a week now but there were no signs yet of a thaw. The wintery pile up seemed as ominous as ever, huge drifts alongside the house, and others that they had made trying to keep the path clear to the edge of their doorway, staircase and deck. Matt had also dug an exit from under the deck where the cellar door was located. Otherwise, he’d have himself an igloo down there.

They had become adept at moving snow, but luckily they hadn’t needed to do much of that for the past week. Every morning Sidney would carefully open the door and hope to hear water dripping off the eaves. Nothing yet. The sky was winter blue and cloudless, the winds were still and occasionally the birds chirped a little, but otherwise, not much was happening outside their door. Not even any wolves, bears or even coyotes, though Toast wasn’t so sure.

Boredom and hunger were their constant companions. Even Matt was running out of rusty cans of nails to clean up and old tools to bring back to life. He’d even turned the little boat over and inspected its hull to see if any work was needed. After a few little fixes, he turned it right side up again and cleaned it all up, even going so far as to sand the splintery seats and then re-paint them. Now the boat was ready for their first day of fishing when the season started next June.

They watched the last of the DVDs that Matt had stolen from the Clausens, so he was fixing to make another run over there for a few more. That was to be their excursion for today.

They tried clomping through the snow without their homemade snow shoes. Although there was a thick crust atop the snow, it was nearly impossible to walk any distance that way, so they would need the shoes, which were not in very good condition.

Sidney wasn’t too interested in the Clausen cabin, but she decided to tag along to make sure Matt didn’t end up stealing their TV. She wouldn’t put it past him given half a chance and a way to maneuver it. She figured they had just about picked it clean of anything else they could use. It was like going to a store where the shelves were bare. But it was something to do.

They lived within spitting distance to the Clausens, at least that’s what Sidney thought during the summer. But even now it wasn’t much of a trip. They were at the front of the house in minutes, even though Sidney kept one eye out for lurking animals and looked behind her every few steps.

The biggest job would be removing the snow from the stairs and carving out a trail to the front door. Matt had the snow shovel so he did most of the work, while Sidney stood by as a lookout in case anything suspicious should wander over.

“Almost done, Sid,” Matt panted, as he tossed one last huge pile of snow off the porch. “Come on up. I’m at the door now.”

Sidney removed her snow shoes and carefully made her way up the plank stairs to the porch. By then Matt had the door open and was fiddling with his flashlight. There was just enough light to see inside the cold interior. Nothing had changed. It still smelled like a bakery to both of them.

“Delicious. What I wouldn’t do for a slice of apple pie about now,” Matt said, sniffing the air.

“Here, Sidney, you hold the flashlight while I go through the DVDs.” He handed her the light and grabbed up a handful.

“Any good ones, Matt?” Sidney asked?

“Uh-huh, here’s a batch of Sopranos. I could watch those again.”

Sidney rolled her eyes. Whatever made him happy.

He stuffed his backpack full and then turned to the kitchen. “Wanna take another look to make sure we didn’t forget anything, Sid?”

“Sure, why not,” she answered. She looked around the room as they made their way to the kitchen. It was a comfy cabin, solid furniture, lots of knick knacks and pictures on the walls. She spotted a bunch of magazines she hadn’t seen before. “Let’s take those too, Matt,” she said, pointing to them. He picked them up and shoved them into a carry all he had with him.

Once in the kitchen, it seemed familiar to Sidney. They’d been here twice now, so what could they have missed? Had she opened that cupboard over the stove? Probably. But she opened it again just to make sure. Well, maybe she had missed it the first time. Inside she found half used bottles of cooking oil and Folger’s instant coffee. Maybe she had snubbed her nose at them last time. Worth taking this time.

What else could she have possibly missed? She circled the room with Matt’s flashlight. He was standing at the doorway shuffling thru a handful of DVDs. He was the entertainment committee, while she concentrated on keeping them from starving to death. She chuckled to herself. Well, maybe that was just too dramatic. They wouldn’t starve, at least for the next few months.

The flashlight played over the top of the refrigerator. There was an old metal bread box standing there in the gloom. Anything in it? A stray loaf of stale cinnamon bread perhaps? She knew she hadn’t checked it before. She plunked down her grocery bag with the bottles in it and reached up. The lid opened easily to reveal boxes of crackers, some not even opened. And jammed into the back was a bag of corn chips. Well, la-de-dah, wouldn’t Matt just love to have some chips with his new movie tonight.

She packed it all up and took another look around. She’d been through everything else pretty carefully. No more hidden treasures. She made sure of it this time.

“Okay, I’m done in the kitchen,” Sidney yelled at Matt. “You done yet?”

“Almost,” Matt answered. He was still sorting and packing.

“I’m going upstairs next. Wanna come along?”

“Sure,” he answered. “Be right there.” She waited while he finished up his project.

“Okay, let’s go. Got anything in mind, or just more general snooping?” Matt asked as they climbed the stairs, holding onto the railing. Some light leaked in between the shuttered windows, so it wasn’t completely dark.

“Actually, I could use some more warm socks. Mine are getting a little thread bare. They probably got socks, right?”

“Yeah, I suppose so. Maybe I’ll get some too. My feet are always cold. Good idea, let’s look around, like a shopping trip, huh, Sid?”

They headed for the bedroom and went straight for the dresser. Sidney was impressed at how neat and tidy these Clausens were. Everything was so well ordered. They would be seriously pissed off once they found out that their nearest neighbors had even rifled through their drawers and stolen their socks, of all things.

While she was at it, Sidney checked the closet for a robe and a sweater. Didn’t everybody keep extra warm clothes on hand? She found a small gym bag on the floor. Perfect for hauling clothing back to their house. She stuffed everything but the robe inside it. Socks galore, and a couple of gently used sweaters. Maggie had a closet full of warm clothes to choose from. They were all too big for Sidney but that was okay. She picked out a bulky navy blue pullover sweater, and then added an off white chunky button sweater too. Why not? Sidney was really getting the hand of this burglar business. She didn’t even blink as she plowed through drawers, shelves and closets looking for anything she could use and stuffing into the bag. She’d just throw the robe over her shoulders for the short trip home.

Matt held the flashlight and chuckled as he watched Sidney rummaging around. He found very little that interested him, but he was amused to see how pleased she was with this little game.

“So that’s it?” Matt asked as Sidney zipped up the gym bag.

“I think so. We’ve already been through the bathroom. There’s probably nothing else around here that we can use.” Matt agreed. He was ready to head back.

They picked up their bundles and closed up the house, and then teetered down the front steps with their stash of goodies, courtesy of their absent neighbors.

As they made their way across the snowpack to their little cottage, Sidney noticed something moving at their deck-side window.

“Look, Matt,” she tried to point at the movement. “I think that might be Toast.”

“I see her. I guess she’s worried about us. She probably thinks we’re prey for some big bad animal, just like her. And we’re out here just risking our lives for nothing.”

“You think?” Sidney smiled.

They both watched the cat jump up to the window, ears flattened. She’d take a quick look and then disappear. Then up she’d jump again, over and over. She was probably meowing too.

Outside that window nothing had changed. The sun shone weakly over the lake, the ever present snow greeted them, and time seemed to stand still. Yet they giggled their way back to the cottage, eager to have lunch and unpack, just as though they might be returning from a successful trip to the mall. They’d give Toast a little treat for being brave today. Then they would open a can of soup and have some crackers to go with it. When evening rolled around, they’d build a fire, have a couple sips of wine, open a bag of chips and enjoy a Sopranos DVD festival. Just another day snowbound at Goose Lake.

To be continued...