Chapter 15
Chapter fifteen
The journey dragged on, each turn slow and cautious. Eventually, Meredith pulled the car over to the side of the road and let them out.
"You'll be okay walking the last bit?” Meredith asked. “I don't want to get stuck in the drive."
Billy and Rosa both stared out of their windows. The snow was at least a foot deep with the drifts. "Sure, Mum, it's fine. Just…be careful driving up the hill, okay?"
Meredith grimaced. "I'm going to be very careful. I love you both. Now, get in and warm up. We'll see how the weather holds before I send Schultz down to pick you up."
"Alright. Call when you get home," Billy said, then opened her door and felt it pulled by the wind. She stepped out and opened Rosa's door for her. "Let's go," she said to Rosa, snow already covering them both.
Rosa moved forward. Before Billy closed the back door, she leaned down to speak with Meredith again. "I mean it—drive safe."
"I will." Meredith grinned, then her smile faded. "Billy…if this gets worse…"
"Yeah, I know. We'll stay here. Rosa won't like it but…it's the sensible thing to do."
"Yes. Now close that door before I'm snowed in in here."
"Drama Queen." Billy laughed, shutting the door. She turned, held her hand up to shield her face, and got moving, feet kicking up the snow with every step. Snow dropped into the tops of her boots as she attempted to catch up.
Rosa was barely visible, only the bright orange of her jacket marking her progress before she reached the cabin door and disappeared inside.
Ten steps later and Billy followed her in, pushing the door closed again. "Bloody hell."
"I can't believe how bad it is," Rosa said.
She stood motionless, her jacket still zipped up to her chin. The woollen hat on her head was covered in melting white flakes, just the ends of her blonde hair poking out from underneath.
"Let's get all this off and hung up to dry.
" Billy clapped her gloved hands together and watched the snow drop to the floor and join what had already melted from her boots.
"Feels chilly. I'll check the settings on the heating and see if I can override and put it on now.
You might want to take that off." Billy smiled and pointed to Rosa’s hat.
Rosa pulled her hands free from her gloves, then slid the hat from her head before she attacked the zipper on her jacket with half-frozen fingers that didn’t want to cooperate.
"I can't see how Schultz is going to be able to drive down in that. We may have to walk," Rosa said, finally pulling her arms free.
"Walk?" Billy stopped mid-motion. "I don't think either of us have the clothing and boots to deal with walking in that, and even if we did, I'm not sure it would be sensible." She dropped her jacket onto the growing pile of wet clothing.
Rosa froze. "What do you mean?"
"I mean…we might be stuck here for the night."
"No, that's just…that's not the plan," Rosa said, sitting down to pull her boots off. "Imogen will be expecting us."
"Imogen understands this weather better than us, and if it doesn't ease up, she'll understand."
Rosa gathered up her jacket and hung it on a hook. "So, do you think we're going to be…here? Just me and you…for the entire night?"
Billy shrugged and hung her coat beside Rosa's big puffer.
"I think it's likely, and probably the smartest thing to consider, yes."
Rosa slumped. "I'm going to get changed into something warm."
"I'll make us something to drink. Tea? Hot chocolate?"
Stopping to turn back to Billy, Rosa frowned. "I suppose something stronger isn't appropriate?"
Billy laughed. "Just because I don't drink doesn't mean you can't. How about a brandy-laced hot chocolate?"
Rosa nodded. "Thank you, that would be lovely." She glanced towards the window again. "I'm sure it will be fine.” She looked at her wrist and read the watch that usually hid behind the cuff of her jumper. “It's only two…a lot can happen in a few hours."
"Yeah…I mean…let's see, huh?"
As Rosa walked away, Billy went to the window and stared out at the snowstorm barrelling down on them. You couldn't see the mountains anymore. It was just a sea of white, with the odd darker stick of a tree trunk pushing up and reaching for more of the white.
"Yeah, I don't think we're going anywhere soon," she said to herself before turning away and busying herself with boiling the kettle.
While she stood there listening to it hiss into life, she considered how bad it could get. Her mum had told her often enough about the blackouts when storms like this hit.
One by one, she opened drawers, searching for things that might be useful.
The bottom drawer was the treasure chest, offering up a torch, some matches, and a first aid box.
Could the pipes freeze? She had no real idea.
"Better to be safe than sorry," she said to the empty room as she moved to the fridge and checked its contents.
There was very little in the way of fresh food.
Of course, they had been expecting to eat out most nights. But her mother had supplied a shelf full of snacks—packets of meats and olives, cheeses. They had milk, two bottles of water, and two bottles of wine, one non-alcoholic.
On the counter was a bread bin. Billy slid up the front and found a small loaf, a packet of crackers, and a homemade cake.
The freezer held more promise: some frozen pizzas, a packet with four chicken schnitzel, and a bag of fries.
"Well, we won't starve."
"What?" Rosa appeared, one arm wrapped around herself, her other hand higher, fingers worrying her lip.
"I was just checking, you know, in case we need to eat here later." Billy attempted a smile, but Rosa's frown didn't budge. "I remembered Mum mentioning that the electricity can go out in these storms. If that happens, then—" She waved the torch to finish.