Covered Bridge Charm (39 page)

“I think you know the answer to that. More of this.” He drew her close, and she melted into his kiss. That is, until a rapping on the window startled them apart. Pushing away from his embrace, she flinched to see Aesop’s snowy features peering through the frosty window at them.

Adam lowered his window and blinked against the snow that swirled into the truck and stung their faces. Aseop brushed the window sill with his red gloves and blew the snow off his bare fingertips. “You—you all right in there?”

“Jah.” Adam gave him a sheepish grin.

Aesop peered inside, his blue eyes bright from the cold and hooded with snow-dusted brows. They widened protectively when he saw Carly. He tugged his furry cap and looked accusingly at Adam. “I—I saw Carly’s bike on the back. Was—was worried about her.”

“I’m fine,” she chirped, embarrassed over his concern.

“The—the roads aren’t getting any better.”

Adam nodded. “You’re right. We’ll go. You should take cover, too.”

“For—for a while. It’s gonna be a long night.” Normally, his shift ended at 1:00 a.m. “I’m—I’m gonna sleep in the maintenance room, just in case. Take—take care then.” Carly watched him leave, bent against the blizzard for it was too nasty to use his scooter.

“Poor guy. It’s sweet how he watches out for me.”

“Jah, well I feel like I just got my hand slapped. But he’s right. We’d better go.”

The drive home was slow-going and silent while Adam concentrated on his driving. They passed several vacated cars stuck in ditches. She tried to relax her heightened nerves, trusting his driving. Trusting in his promises, even when Dale was actively pursuing him. Trusting that she’d have a job in the morning. That Martha and James would find happiness. Mostly just trusting God.

Tuesday brought a slight break in the snow, and the plows began, but Carly would’ve had to miss work if Adam hadn’t taken her. When she arrived, the night caregivers were happy to see her.

“We thought we’d have to do a double shift,” one of them remarked. “Miranda can’t make it in.”

Knowing the voluntary house was in Albany, Carly replied, “Jah the roads are probably bad between here and the interstate.”

Sherie arrived late and sent those home who could manage the snow. But a nightshift V. S. employee stayed. It was one of Miranda’s friends. “Go take a nap,” Sherie told her. “I’ll fill in.”

When Carly went into Mr. Gadget’s room, he was already in his wheelchair command center. She noticed his chair was more stocked than normal. “What all you got in there?”

“Packets of jelly and butter and newspaper. Underwear. All good for camping.”

“So it’s camping today?”

He shook his head. “In case you haven’t noticed, we’re in the middle of a blizzard here. Gotta be prepared for the worst.”

She glanced at his window and saw it was snowing again. “Jah. You’re right.”

Convincing Hall Patroller to take a break long enough to eat breakfast, Carly checked to see if Repeater had his dentures.

“Wow!” Dot marveled. “When did it start snowing?”

“I suppose bingo will be cancelled,” Martha stated glumly. But then she brightened, showing Carly a card she’d gotten from Ruth Stucky explaining why she hadn’t made it to her party. “Says she wants to visit sometime.”

“That’s special,” Carly exclaimed just before Rocco burst into the room, tracking snow onto the floor. It clung heavy to his coat and gloves.

“Where’s Simon?”

“I don’t know. Not in his office?”

He shook his head. “He’s not answering his phone. And the roof’s collapsed over the maintenance building.”

Carly gasped.

Sherie flashed a warning glance her way, then led him into the staff room. Carly couldn’t remember when she’d seen Rocco so rattled. But quickly recovering, she smiled at the residents whose eyes had widened in fright. “Don’t worry, they’ve got it under control.”

“The roof’s going to cave in,” Martha stated grimly.

Dot jumped up in confusion and ran down the hall. “Crusher!”

“Our roof’s fine,” Carly reassured. “Maintenance is a separate building.” But given Rocco’s agitation, she wasn’t so sure things would be fine. Glancing tentatively at the ceiling, she breathed a prayer.

Klepto’s hand snaked out and swiped a salt shaker. Carly calmly moved to her side and forced it from her clenched fingers, replacing it in the center of the table. It seemed forever until Sherie returned alone, Rocco having taken a side exit.

She motioned to Carly, then quietly explained, “We’ve contacted a crew to come and remove the snow from all the roofs. It was hard to find someone willing to come during the storm. Simon’s trying to get his driveway plowed, but he authorized the work.”

Sweet Life’s budget would take another hit. With Christmas around the corner, Carly’s own donation to the Sweet Life fund would be smaller. But suddenly she remembered something more important than money. “What about Aesop? He was sleeping in the maintenance room last night.”

“I don’t know anything about that.”

Carly nodded glumly. “I need to check on Dot.”

Hall Patroller wheeled by them. “She went to her room.”

“Thanks.” Carly opened Dot’s door, and the canary chirped a greeting, but the elderly woman was nowhere in sight. The curtains were open, revealing a picturesque vision of drifting snow, if not ominous given the present situation. “Dot,” she called. “Dot?” Each time she called, the canary whistled back. Otherwise, the room remained silent.

She moved around the pristine room and saw a foot sticking out from beneath the bed.
Not again!
Compassion swept over her as she knelt and peered beneath. “Dot. It’s me, Carly. It’s all safe now.”

“Shush! I’m hiding.”

“No need. Come out, and I’ll sit with you.”

“I want Crusher.”

“It’s too nasty for him to come right now. But he’ll come soon.”

“But he knows how to make it stay away.”

She tried a more authoritative tone. “It’s safe. Now crawl out from under there.”

“It’s back, you know.”

“What, honey?”

“The Death Angel. It was here last night, leering at me.”

Carly assumed Dot’s mind was tangling its circuits. She’d run to hide from the collapsing roof, but once she’d gotten under the bed, those earlier memories returned to frighten her. Carly took the Bible verse Martha had written and read Psalm 118:6, “‘The L
ORD
is on my side, I will not fear.’ So you see, God’s watching over you.”

“I know,” Dot sobbed. Surprising Carly, she repeated the verse. “I say that verse all the time. It helps.”

“Then come.” Slowly the woman crawled out, and Carly helped her onto the bed, where she hugged her tight with both arms. “You don’t have to fear death,” she whispered. “It’s when we get to see God. He loves you and has prepared a lovely place for you in heaven. Your body will be young and you won’t forget things anymore.”

Dot began to rock. “I know. But why do I see that ugly face? It hates me.” Carly wished she knew. Felt angry that something evil was tormenting the little woman who had been a churchgoer all her life. “The next time you see it, tell it to go away because you are Jesus’ little lamb.”

Dot began to sing,
“Mary had a little lamb
.”

B
y the end of Carly’s shift, they were officially snowed in with assisted living operating on a small core of personnel: Sherie, Carly, the night shift V. S. worker, Linda the nurse, and Rocco. As far as she knew, Aesop was still missing. Simon couldn’t make it to the center so Sherie took charge. She planned to let them use one of the empty apartments to take naps after the residents were asleep. And she kept the coffee pot filled.

Carly worried about Cocoa. He might be hungry, but he should be warm as long as the electricity didn’t go out. Surely if that happened, Imogene would check on him. She knew where the extra key was hidden. Carly prayed the electricity would stay on. Assisted living had a backup generator, but the residents in independent living didn’t. She’d overheard Sherie on the phone, giving someone instructions to call in rescue units if that happened. It was too soon to report Aesop.

The night was uneventful except for the General streaking down the hall naked and Nines’s stubborn refusal to dress for bed. With all the snow, Nines had transported herself back in time to a Christmas of long ago and was determined her husband would be there any moment to take her home. But once those fires were diffused, the center settled into a peaceful quiet. Carly slept soundly during her four-hour break.

She awoke to sunshine. With relief, she freshened up and hurried to the front desk.

A frazzled looking Sherie beamed at her. “It’s over.”

“Thank God.” Carly’s prayers would be fully answered when everyone could be accounted for once again.

“The snowplows are busy at work. And that crew is working on the roofs again. Go ahead and make your rounds. We’ll have cereal for breakfast, and I’ve got soup we can make for lunch if the kitchen crew doesn’t make it in by then.”

Carly nodded, taking one side of the hall while the weary V. S. worker took the opposite.

Nines was already dressed in her black net hat, waiting for Carly to administer meds. Repeater had on his coat, claimed he was going to shovel them out of the blizzard. After she convinced him to go to breakfast first, she checked on Mr. Gadget. He was digging caulking out from around his window with a butter knife.

Flying across the room, she stilled his hand. “What are you doing?”

“Gettin’ rid of this snow.”

“If you take your meds, I’ll let you eat your breakfast in front of the garden window. It’ll be fun to watch the squirrels in the snow. Would you like that?” He agreed, and she had just stepped into the hall when she heard Aesop’s one-of-a-kind stammer. Ecstatic that he was all right, she hurried toward him. Crusher was there, too. She snapped one of Aesop’s suspenders and hugged the sinewy security guard. “I’m so glad to see you. I was worried about you.”

“I—I found Crusher out in the storm. We—we holed up at his place.”

She turned to the older man. “Crusher,” she admonished.

“I would’ve come, but Aesop threatened me with his gun.” After that, he started down the hall with his customary glass of juice for Dot.

Aesop shrugged. “I heard about the maintenance room.”

“I’m so glad you weren’t in there.”

They spoke more about the storm, and then Carly motioned toward the kitchen. “Get some coffee. Stay for breakfast and warm up. I’ve gotta finish my rounds.” She started down the hall and froze when a loud eerie moan erupted from Dot’s room.

A man’s groan. Crusher’s. Her heart leapt with fright. She hurried toward the room and entered to find him embracing his wife’s rigid body. Whipping her phone out, she called the nurse’s station and talked to Linda’s volunteer. Next she called Adam. Then she shrank against the wall and watched Crusher release his grief over the woman he had adored.

By noon, Dot’s body had been confirmed dead and removed to a funeral home. Adam took Crusher home and helped him make a list of people he wanted to notify. Once Miranda and a relief caregiver arrived, Carly carried the canary’s cage out beside Magnificent.

Shrugging into her coat, she left the building. First she trudged to the destroyed maintenance room. A sign indicated maintenance was temporarily headquartered around the corner in an adjoining closet-sized room containing the center’s communication equipment. Inside, Rocco was helping Aesop use the emergency intercom to check up on all those in independent living.

Outside, the world was sparkling with snow jewels, and various Sweet Life workers were scurrying around. A friend had passed, but life continued.

She pounded her boots against Crusher’s porch and let herself in. “How is he?”

Adam’s face said it all. “He’s resting. His daughter’s coming in from Texas. She’s renting a car in Portland and should arrive late tonight. Think I’ll stay with him until then.”

“That’s good.”

“But now would be a good time for me to take you home.”

She nodded. “If you give me Crusher’s list, I’ll make the calls.”

Relief flooded his face. In the truck, she told him about Dot claiming the Death Angel had returned. “What do you make of that?”

“We know she was a Christian. In spite of her dementia, God knows her heart. I think the evil one used her weakness to torment her.”

“That’s what I was thinking. But she seemed peaceful, as if she’d died in her sleep.” Carly wondered if she could have done more to help the woman endure her last lonely months. Dot had seemed to enjoy the Bible study with Martha. But she couldn’t always pull up the verses on her own. Was it like Auntie had claimed? Her fears worsened in the end because she’d never overcome them when she was of strong body and mind? That lifelong character traits exaggerated in the elderly?

As if reading her mind, he consoled, “You did everything you could. She’s in a better place. Even Crusher admits that.”

Adam walked her to the door, and she was relieved to see Cocoa lively and well. He didn’t thump, scratch, or bite, but just licked snow from her boots. She swept up the rabbit and gave him a squeeze.