Ch.6, Pt.6: “Does that mean you’re willing to see me again?”
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“Does that mean you’re willing to see me again?” Rick was looking at her oddly. “Did I pass this first date?”
”I think you may have passed,” she said slowly. As she brought the salad bowl to the table he took her hand. His felt large, warm and gentle, completely encompassing hers. She wanted him to pull her into an embrace.
“Good,” he said simply and let go of her hand.
She served him and sat down, clearing her voice and going into interview mode to cover her awkwardness. “Have you always lived alone?”
He shook his head, munching a mouthful of salad, then swallowed and said “Not always, but I do now. What about you? What made you decide to move out here all by yourself?”
Katherine told about discovering the house and feeling it call to her. When she finished talking about moving in, he asked “Do you ever get lonely out here?”
“I’m usually too busy. But like everyone, I have my moments of loneliness.”
“From now on, whenever you’re lonely, give me a call. Day or night.”
Katherine felt warm again, and concentrated on her wineglass, smiling and swirling the little bit of ruby liquid. The bottle came over her glass and Rick poured more wine for her. All at once she heard the roar of a jet airplane and looked at the ceiling in surprise. “That sounds close.”
Rick’s large hand held the bottle frozen in mid-air, his expression intent. Suddenly he put down the bottle with dread on his face and pushed himself away from the table.
“What is it?” Katherine said in sudden fear as he ran outside. Following, she saw his grim expression as he looked at the roof. “Rick?” She followed his eyes and saw flames shooting out the top of the chimney. Her pulse instantly began hammering in her throat and temples.
“Chimney fire,” he said and headed back inside. “Call the fire department.”
Katherine felt numb as she moved quickly back inside. Rick was turning a handle on the woodstove and asking for wet towels. As she lunged in a daze to get them, he shouted “Call the fire department. Just tell me where your towels are.” She gestured toward a drawer and picked up the phone, dialling 911. Suddenly Rick wrenched the phone away from her and hung up. She stared at him. “911 is useless in the country. They have no idea how to find you. You have to call the town fire department directly.”
As he grabbed some towels and started soaking them in the sink, she realized with slow horror that she had no list of emergency numbers close at hand. She was completely unprepared for emergencies. She closed her eyes and bent slightly forward.
“Kate? Kate! You’re not going to fold on me now, are you?”
Instantly she straightened up, took a deep breath, gave a little shake and reached for the phone book. “No. Don’t worry about me. I’ll handle this.” She spoke in her clear, strong, professional voice. On the inside cover was the phone number; she dialled. After giving directions, she went to help Rick who was holding the wet towels against the closed door of the stove.
“Parts of the stove are hot, so be careful.” He went back to the sink to wet the towels again. “Can you hold these while I go check for fire upstairs?”
Katherine’s heart sank but she said crisply and clearly, “Certainly. But the fire department wants me to go to the end of the driveway with a flashlight.”
“In a minute. I’ll just go look upstairs.”
Katherine concentrated on holding the towels in front of the door, refusing to let her imagination race away with visions of the house burning to a crisp. “Noodle,” she called clearly. “Come here.” She wasn’t even surprised when he obeyed. “Good boy. Everything’s going to be all right, but I need to know where you are.” Then she forced herself to remember where she might have a flashlight.
Rick came back into the kitchen. “It doesn’t look like it’s broken through anywhere. I’m going to put a little bit of water on the fire to try to cool things down. Get your flashlight and then we’d better go outside.”
Katherine stood beside the stove a moment, a finger in her mouth.
“Kate?”
“I’m thinking!” she snapped. The flashlight had been needed to go downstairs and check the furnace before she made the offer to buy the house. Frieda had asked Douglas to help out. “Of course, Douglas had it then,” she cried, and went to a drawer close to the basement stairs, where she found the flashlight. “Got it,” she said, hugging it to her. The low roar of the chimney continued. She looked around the room, looking for something valuable to save. All she could think of was Frieda’s collage. She took it with her as she went outside, calling Noodle to come with her.
At the end of the driveway the dark night was quiet except for the rumble from the house. She turned on the flashlight and began swinging her arm as she had been told, never thinking to wait until she saw headlights. Only then did she sneak a look at the flames licking the top of the chimney. Noodle sat back and scratched. She started shivering.
She heard a crunch of gravel and Rick appeared, silently handing her a jacket and taking the flashlight. “Thanks. No point in being cold at a fire, is there?” Rick didn’t respond to her attempt at humour. The jacket didn’t stop her shivering.
Rick moved to the middle of the road and faced the direction of town. The silence seemed to last for ages. “I think they’re coming,” he said suddenly. And beyond a hill at the horizon the sky grew bright from an oncoming vehicle. Rick started swinging the flashlight. As a set of lights cleared the brow of the hill, followed by another vehicle, he cried “It must be them. Clear the driveway.”
Katherine picked up the collage from where she had set it down when she put on her jacket, and called for Noodle. He didn’t appear, and she shouted in fear and exasperation. Something small and black moved fearfully toward her, and she scooped him up, burying her face in his fur and murmuring. He squirmed and licked her on the nose.