CRC #78

ADRIFT

The dirt road wound by, dipping and rising like the humps on a camel's back.  Most days the traffic, such as it was, disturbed the quiet air only infrequently, and in the drier months, raised the dust devils that flew behind the vehicles that drove by the house on the hill.  Looking out the window, the housekeeper paused in her dusting to watch as the snow fell quietly.  She wasn't worried about the snow.  If it got too deep, she knew her employer would let her use the spare bedroom in the basement of his country home. 

A sound made her turn her head to the right, and she watched as one of the town's snow plows pushed snow ahead of it, mounding it at the end of the driveway.  It was a good thing her employer had a Hummer, or he wouldn't be able to ride over the top of the ever-growing mound of snow at the end of the driveway.  She knew, having been stranded here before, that once the plows began their rounds, it would be impossible for her small Honda Civic to negotiate the the snow to get out, and she was a nervous enough winter driver without having to worry about getting stuck in a snow drift.

The wind picked up as she dusted, and she went to check that the thermostat was set for the temperature her employer liked best. The radio was set on a classical music channel, and though she wasn't a fan, per se, she found the music good to work to.  She hummed along to a familiar tune as she finished the downstairs, and then listened as the alarm for emergency notices interrupted the music with a screech of sound.

"The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for the entire northeast region.  Snow accumulations from this system are expected to top three feet in some places.  High winds and drifting snow will increase and continue over the next twenty-four to thirty-six hours.  Listeners are strongly urged to find a safe place and to stay off all roadways."

The housekeeper sighed.  She was stuck here again, and this time it didn't sound like she would be going anywhere any time soon.   It was a good thing that she had no family waiting for her at home, and her friend Jenny knew that when the weather was bad she stayed where she was.  She went to look out the window again, and saw her boss's SUV riding over the mound of snow at the end of the driveway, noting that it seemed to have grown higher since the last time she had looked.  She felt inordinately relieved that he was home, and checked the feeling.  He was her boss, nothing more.

The sound of the garage door opening as she went upstairs made her wonder how much snow had piled up against it, and how much digging they would have to do to get her out when the storm passed, before the guy he paid could plow the driveway.  She walked into his bedroom to begin working, when she heard her name.

"Sandy!  Come help me get your car into the garage!"

The housekeeper put down her dusting brush and broom and went back down the stairs to find her boss standing in the open doorway that led into the garage, his coat speckled with snow, his boots covered.

"You're making a mess!" she exclaimed, without thinking, forgetting he was not family, that this was his house, and that among her other duties she was paid to clean as often as he made a mess.

He turned to look at her, a gleam in his eye she could not interpret, and then said, completely disconcerting her,

"Sorry!  I'll clean it up when we get back inside.   Now get your boots on and come help me, please!"

Outside, they dug her car out of a surprisingly high drift, and he drove it into the garage.  Next to his Hummer, her little Civic looked extra small.  David and Goliath, she thought bemusedly.

"The roads are badly off," he said, pulling her out of her musings, "and I passed four bad accidents on the way, including one in town.  I was lucky to make it home!  I sure am happy I'm not an emergency worker, or road worker these next few days!"

Closing the garage door, he ushered her back inside the house, and said, "I'd like something hot.  Do we have any more of that great soup you made a couple of days ago?"

"In the freezer, yes," she answered, moving ahead of him to the kitchen. 

"Don't let me stop you, Sandy, I can manage!"  He smiled at her as he removed his coat and boots, placing them on the rack in the mudroom before following her in his socked feet into the kitchen.  "Would you like some?" 

'No thanks," she replied, moving out of his way and back to the stairs.  "I need to finish upstairs so I can begin dinner."

She walked away before he could answer, and went back to cleaning.  The road out the window, as she looked out again, was once more covered in snow, and in fact, she could barely see it through the heavy, feathery fall of flakes that blurred her vision.  The trees swayed wildly, and she heard the sough of it around the eaves of the house.  She turned the radio up, feeling oddly uncomfortable in his bedroom with her boss downstairs.  She could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times she had been in his home when he was home, and couldn't imagine how she would handle the next two days.

As she finished in his suite, and went to check the other rooms, she could hear him whistling, and remembered the time when he had told her, as they rode out another storm, how he loved the peace and quiet of his country home, and how he never minded the two-hour commute to get back at the end of every day.   She saw the little town through his eyes -- quaint shops, friendly neighbors, quiet streets (there were more dirt roads here than she had realized), farms, even a drive-in theater, one of two in the towns up here -- and heard his deep contentment in his voice, saw it in his face.  She knew she could happily live up here, too...and then she sighed and went back to her work.  There was no possibility of her dream coming true.  She was alone, and too poor to afford this lifestyle.  Best to remember that, she admonished herself as she tidied the rest of the rooms.