“It says we should expect it to be another forty-eight to seventy-two hours before they can fix it.”
Yikes.
“Have you ever cooked in your wood stove?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Nope.”
“Well, let’s get creative.”
“If you can figure out how to boil water, I have instant oatmeal for breakfast.”
“The flames will do a number on your pans but I can probably make it happen.”
“Don’t worry about the pans. It’ll be nice to have something warm to eat, though I don’t know how I’ll survive without coffee.”
“That could be a problem,” I acknowledge.
“Well, you work on that while I get Joey up.” She pads into Joey’s room and I watch for a moment. She’s wearing baggy sweats, a hoodie, and wool socks but she’s sexy as fuck.
Dammit.
I walk into the kitchen and start looking for anything I can potentially stick in the wood stove. Right now, while the fire is fairly low, we might be able to get a pan in there. I have no idea how long it’ll take to boil water but I’m going to try. If I were at home, I’d have my generator going.
I texted Bodi last night to let him know where I was and that I wouldn’t be home. Then I told him how to set up the generator.
No such luck here.
Boiling water turns out to be more complicated than expected but eventually I make it happen. We make oatmeal for Joey but use our share of the water for hot tea, which isn’t coffee but it’s not bad. Then I go back to the stove to boil more so we can have oatmeal too.
“By lunch, maybe we can figure out how to make grilled cheese,” Serena says with a grin. “I have all the fixings—all we need is something we can grill them on.”
“Let me see what I can do,” I say. “But we’re going to need more wood. I’ve used everything Rudy brought us.”
I’m not used to roughing it but somehow this doesn’t feel like a huge inconvenience. The electricity is out at my place too, and though I have a generator and gas fireplaces, it feels like this is where I’m supposed to be.
Like being here with Serena is important.
My phone buzzes with an official text canceling practice today, which is good since I couldn’t get to the arena anyway. I don’t know what the rest of the city looks like since I’m trying not to use my phone too much but I’m going to have to check in at some point. I also need to see if I can help Rudy get that tree out of the road. I just wish I had warmer clothes. I’m pretty good with cold weather but it’s the ice and rain that will be a problem. If my clothes get soaked, then it’ll be colder than I’m comfortable with.
Hanging out here is kind of relaxing, though.
If I’m honest, it’s nice not having anywhere to be. No busy chit chat over breakfast. No practice. No travel on the horizon. Nothing but soft giggles in the kitchen. The sound of the fire crackling in the stove. And my own thoughts. Usually, I’m too busy to really think about anything except work. Hockey. Practice. Games. What time my flight is. Updating my calendar.
This is just…nice.
And I’ve missed it.
I haven’t had this kind of down time since?—
Nope.
Not going there.
All I want to think about is breakfast.
Eventually, my little pot of water boils and I carry it back to the kitchen with one of Serena’s silicone potholders.
“Boiling water,” I announce needlessly.