WYATT HEARD the snowblower getting closer and closer as he dressed and then made his breakfast. When the loud roaring shut off, he wasn’t entirely surprised when he heard a knock on his door.
He looked through the window in the door to see Gryphon standing there. He’d had to open all the shades to let in light. It was a lovely light. The sun had risen in an amazingly blue sky.
Wyatt went to the door and opened it, then had to shield his eyes from all the light. The sun was reflecting off the snow, and he was momentarily blinded. There was a shadow in the shape of Gryphon floating before his eyes.
“Good morning, Wyatt.”
“Morning, Gryph!” He grinned, blinking.
“I guess you’ve figured out the power lines are down.”
“And we got a little bit more snow than we were supposed to get.”
“Supposed to get!” Gryphon laughed. “I always get a chuckle out of supposed to get. Like someone ordered a specified amount and someone else messed up when what we get is different than what we’re told.”
Wyatt nodded, starting to get his vision back. “You think it was that ridge thing, whatever it is, that had something to do with it?”
“People call it ‘the split,’” Gryphon said. “It used to be relied on more, but there is really little talk of it since a tornado went right through town in May of 2000. Since then even the locals brush off the term like an urban legend or something they read about in the Onion.”
“Oh.” He didn’t even know what to say about that. So the ridge—split—was just an old wives’ tale? Boy, did he feel dumb.
“And we’re snowed in. Hope you’ve got some polar bear in you.”
“As long as I have plenty of wood.” Wyatt squinted and peeked over Gryphon’s shoulder. “How snowed in are we?”
“I don’t imagine anyone is getting out of here until at least tomorrow. That’s if luck is with us.”
Which wasn’t bad. He had food. He had wood. He had at least some music, and it could last that long.
“But I have some possibly bad news for you.”
Wyatt rubbed his eyes. “Bad news?” Bad news? As the wicked witch said in The Wiz, he didn’t want “no bad news.”
“You know that Kevin Owens is staying down in North One—”
“Who?” Kevin Owens? Who the hell was that?
Gryphon rolled his eyes. “Sorry. Hodor.”
“Hodor.” Wyatt’s heart jumped. “Is he okay?”
“Mostly. But he’s going to be a Hodorsicle soon.”
“Oh…. Oh!” Of course. Gods. He hadn’t even thought about the fact that Hodor wouldn’t have heat. The poor man must be freezing. He couldn’t stay in his cabin. For one second Wyatt’s heart sank. There went his determination to stay secluded. But the feeling lasted only a second. “How stupid….”
“I’m sorry?” asked Gryphon, a strange look on his face.
“Me!” Wyatt sighed. “I’m stupid. Fuck! I didn’t even think of what poor Hodor must be going through.” Which wasn’t entirely true, was it? He’d thought about him all night. And just now he was remembering the dream…. He closed his eyes for a second. Saw bear feet. Felt that mouth on his.
“Look, I know you reserved this cabin, and you were wanting to be alone, but Kevin can’t stay in N1 without heat—”
Wyatt jerked and opened his eyes. “No, of course not.” He glanced to his left. Out the window. Toward Hodor’s cabin. His heart began to speed up. Hodor. Hodor needed to stay here? With him? How crazy! What were the odds that it would snow so heavily—when every weather forecaster had predicted mere inches of snow? That the power lines would go down, and they would be forced to share a cabin. He glanced at the double bed—the only real bed in Camp. All the others were those cot things. Narrow. Plastic-covered mats.
He pictured himself and Hodor in that bed. Snuggling would keep them warm.
“He doesn’t have to sleep with you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Gryphon said.
Wyatt blushed.
“D-do you guys need help getting his stuff here?”
Gryphon smiled. “No, thanks, Wyatt. You don’t need to do that. And Camp will make this cockup up to you. I’ll give you a free weekend sometime. In fact, we’re not charging you for this week.”
Wyatt shook his head. “No. That’s not fair. I’m using your wood and—”
Gryphon threw back his head and laughed. “Don’t know if you noticed, but we live in a forest here, Wyatt. There’s plenty of wood. It’s decided. Don’t argue with me. And”—he raised an eyebrow—“you can use our toilet anytime you want.”
Wyatt smiled. “Thanks.” That he wouldn’t argue with. “Now, really. Could you guys use my help?”
Gryphon shrugged. “It couldn’t hurt.”
KEVIN WAS getting cold. He was surprised how fast. He was fully dressed, wearing a coat, and had a blanket wrapped around him. He needed to get warm. But the whole idea of how that was going to happen was making his stomach get all tied in knots. Getting warm meant staying with Wyatt. And what would that mean?
When he heard the knock on the door, he practically leapt to his feet, nearly getting tangled in the blankets and falling on his face in the process.
And who should be standing on his porch with Gryphon? Well, Wyatt. Looking adorable.
Stop acting like a teenager!
He opened the door.
“You ready?” Gryphon asked.
“S-sure,” Kevin said, stumbling over that one word. He turned to Wyatt. “Hey, Little Bear. Thanks for this. I know you were on some kind of sabbatical or something….”
“Don’t be silly,” Wyatt said. “I can’t let you freeze to death.”
Wyatt was wearing a big thick coat that seemed almost ridiculously large on him, along with a big hat that was—yes! (Kevin smiled)—a teddy bear’s head. Its eyes were just above Wyatt’s own, the ears where Wyatt’s would be, and it even included a scarf with big bear paws on the end. He couldn’t help but smile. It was all so… Wyatt.
Quite suddenly he wanted to kiss him.
Don’t be silly.
But he couldn’t help it.
“So let’s get your stuff over to my cabin,” Wyatt said. “It’s freezing balls.”
Kevin laughed nervously. “Okay.”
So they gathered his belongings. He’d gotten most of it ready except for the blankets, and between the three of them, they got it all in one trip. And oh, how nice and warm Wyatt’s cabin was!
“You two going to be all right?” Gryphon asked.
“W-we’ll be fine,” Kevin replied.
“Okay, then.” He smiled. “I’ll check in on you both later.”
“Sounds good,” Wyatt said.
And then they were alone.