Rest and Be Thankful

Chapter 6

Rob nearly knocked over his teacup when the doorbell rang so suddenly.He was sitting in his favorite chair in the glass conservatory behind the house.With the lights off, he could clearly see the night outside.Clear enough to make out the rickety little jetty on the river bank and the boat tied to the bank, bobbing up and down in the black water.

Although the burden of the house sometimes weighed him down, Rob loved looking out at the lake at night.Over the past few years, just sitting in the dark and looking out, he had learned to recognize a hundred shades of shadow.Rob was admiring the tawny black snow clouds and the oily black water when the doorbell woke him.Now it rings again, persistently calling for a long time.

"Okay, okay," Rob muttered, getting up from his chair.He flicked on the lights as he passed, blinking once or twice to adjust to the light, before heading for the front door.

The visitor at the door was not at all a possible visitor he could have imagined.

Cam McMorrow.

Cam McMorrow was standing on the porch, his broad shoulders filling Rob's door.

There were snowflakes in his dark hair.

"Oh," said Rob. "Uh-hello, Cam. How can I help?"

"Sorry to bother you." Cam didn't sound apologetic at all—if anything, it sounded like he was annoyed.He even frowns and stares at people. "My car broke down at the front of the hill. I wanted to ask if you could move the car to the side of the road for me, in case someone turns too fast and hits me."

Before Cam finished a few words, Rob had already started looking for boots and rain boots.

"Of course, no problem." He grabbed the coat from the hook, put it on quickly, took the key from the door hook, and stuffed it into his pocket.Cam took a step back when Rob approached him, looking startled, comically exaggerated, as if he hadn't expected Rob to say yes so cleanly.

"Er—thanks," he stammered. "You don't need to move too far, but you have to go uphill, so you need two people."

"It's all right," Rob said in a relaxed tone, pulling on his hood to keep out the incessant snow. "Lead the way."

Cam said it was not far, and he was really not joking.Half a minute after setting off, Rob saw the car's emergency avoidance lights flashing orange in the snowstorm.

"Right here," Cam said suddenly, as he approached. "I'm turning the steering wheel to the emergency avoidance zone - you push behind."

He strode forward, but Rob stopped him halfway and said dryly, "Sir, do you want me to do you ten push-ups first?"

After hearing this, Cam came back to his senses with an embarrassed expression.He cleared his throat.

"Sorry, did I speak too rudely?"

"A little bit," said Rob, shrugging. "But it sounds like a good idea. Let's try it first."

Cam looked relaxed. "Okay. Thanks. And sorry—I think I'm a little stressed out."

Rob hid his surprise at hearing the apology and turned his attention to the car.It was a huge, heavy Volvo station wagon.He followed the instructions and walked to the back of the car. Cam opened the door on the driver's side, leaned in, grabbed the steering wheel with one hand, and stepped on the ground outside the car, so that he could steer while pushing.

"Ready? I'm going to release the handbrake?" he called over his shoulder.

Rob pressed himself against the cold, wet body. "Okay," he called back.

"Okay, let's go!"

Immediately afterwards, the weight of the car was on top of him.Rob started pushing hard, and so did Cam.The two of them worked together to resist the falling force of the car.Then, it moved forward visibly a little bit.Soon, they were moving slowly and steadily towards the top of the hill.

"That's it!" Cam yelled. "Hold on—I'm about to take my turn in the emergency avoidance zone."

Two minutes later, the car stopped safely on the side of the road, the hand brake was pulled, and the two faced each other panting heavily.

"Thank you," Cam finally said. "I really appreciate this great favor."

"You're welcome," Rob said. "But what now? You can't just leave it here—do you want to go back in and call the maintenance guy? There's no signal around here."

"I, uh—" Cam looked embarrassed. "Actually I don't have a warranty - it's expired. So I figured I'd just leave it here overnight. Might see a garage in Inver Beach get it towed for me after New Years."

"Joe can help you tomorrow if you talk it over," said Rob.When he saw Cam's blank face, he added. "Joe is the owner of the garage."

"Oh... yes." Cam smiled weakly. "I, uh, will take care of it." He cleared his throat and added, "Thanks again. I've got to get going before the snow starts to fall."

He turned and opened the Volvo's trunk.As soon as the door opened, the dimly lit little lights in the car came on, revealing a large empty space containing nothing but a canvas bag, a pair of walking boots, and a wine bottle perched in one boot.Cam took out the bottle, stuffed it in a rucksack, and pulled out his boots and set them on the ground.

"I should have switched to these sooner," he said ruefully.

That's when Rob noticed Cam was barefoot in a pair of espadrilles and a pair of skinny jeans.Even though Rob didn't know a thing about fashion, he'd read the supplement in the Sunday paper and knew it was a go-to outfit, and that's when it all worked out.

"Damn, you're going to Gomorrah tonight—"

"Yes." Cam shrugged as if he didn't take it seriously, but Cam could still see his downcast in the dark. "It's probably a mess. I've already reached the resting place, but a landslide occurred halfway."

"My God, is it slipping again?"

"That's right—the police have closed the road. So even if the car is not broken, I have to detour to Auburn, and now—" Cam compared the sky—"Hey, it's going to be a blizzard." He smiled wryly, Shake your hand. "I guess some great immortal in the sky is giving me some hints."

Then his voice cracked, but he couldn't hide it.Whatever mask Cam put on about tonight's setback, Rob knew he wasn't in the mood for talking.

"Listen," Rob said tentatively. "Would you like to come back to the cabin with me for a while? I'm about to make dinner. You can have a bite and a drink with me—I bet you don't have anything left in the fridge, right?"

Cam cleared his throat in embarrassment. "I don't want to trouble you—" he said, but there was desire in his fading tone.

"No trouble," Rob said firmly. "After the snow is small, I will drive you home. If you want, we will go to the stag bar."

Cam frowned and opened his mouth to protest, but Rob interrupted before he could say anything. "You can decide that later. Come in and have some supper now, will you? Then call your sister—I reckon you have to call her?"

Cam groaned. "Fuck. Yeah. She's going to be disappointed."

He glanced down the hillside, probably mentally calculating how long it would take him to get home in the damn weather.Then he turned to Rob and said uncertainly, "It would be nice to have some dinner if you're sure."

At this moment, Rob seemed to see a Cam McMorrow he had never seen before.This Cam McMorrow is not at all disrespectful, arrogant, arrogant, in fact a bit dazed, and at this moment, very much in need of a friend.

"Come on then," he said. "You can call your sister while I'm cooking."