Master! Master! – Chapter 7.1

Latest fiction & first time story: Master! Master! – Chapter 7.1

by Sage_of_the_Forlorn_Path

“Come on, girls! Up! Up! Up!”

It was early in the morning, hours before dawn. In the pitch-black bedroom, the sound of snowflakes hitting the window sounded like radio static. The girls all grumbled in annoyance, even the usual, perky Sonja. It didn’t help that the bedroom was chilly. I turned on the lights but Momo and Sonja just pulled the blankets over their heads, trying to escape back into the warm darkness.

“Hmmmm, Masterrrrrr, just five more minutes…” Momo whined.

“On your feet, I need your help. Come on, I told you three to expect this.”

As I got dressed, Chloe crawled out from under the bed, leaving the comfort of her sleeping bag. She gave a wide yawn and rubbed her eyes with her ears drooping adorably.

“Master, I’m sleepy.”

“I’m sorry, sweetie. Once I head out, you can go back to sleep.”

Sonja managed to get up of her own volition, which left the three of us with the job of dragging out Momo by the ankles. They all got dressed and we headed downstairs. The reason we were up so early was because of the snowstorm outside. Hopefully, our rural road had already been plowed, but it would be a long time until my driveway actually got serviced. We needed to clear out just enough snow for my car to make it out. In Maine, there could be a hundred feet of snow in your driveway, but as long as the road is clear, you’re expected to come into work. As the office manager, I had to set an example on days like these and come in regardless of the challenge. I did have the authority to close the office temporarily due to weather, but considering how busy my company was, I had to ask for permission from my superiors if I didn’t want to get chewed out.

We didn’t bother eating, as hopefully the job would be quick and we could have breakfast at our usual time. We put on our winter gear and I turned on the outside lights. We all took a deep breath and stepped out into the blustery cold. There were only two colors outside, the white of the snow and the black of the darkness, and if not for the howling wind, I could have sworn we were walking on the moon. Not only had a lot of snow been dumped, but the wind had dropped it in varying depths. The backyard had been swept clean, the snow only a foot or so high, but with my car and the driveway acting as nets to catch the wind, the snow at its highest was up to my chest. Branches and trees were also drooping under the weight of the snow, hanging down over the driveway.

I grabbed one of the four snow shovels set on the porch and turned to the girls. “Sonja, you’re going to help me dig out the car. Momo, Chloe, I want you two to wade through the snow and make two paths in the driveway for my tires. When you reach the end of the driveway, look to see if the road has been cleared. Use your shovels to whack the low-hanging branches and knock off the snow. Then we’ll all start shoveling. Got it?”

“Yes!” said the girls, each with a different level of enthusiasm.

Sonja and I went to my car and started digging all around it. It was below zero outside, so I also checked to make sure that the car would start. The battery seemed just fine and it kicked to life. I was lucky to have a Subaru out here.

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“Hup!”

“Hup!”

“Hup!”

“Hup!”

Momo and Chloe were doing this kind of rhythmic chant as they waded through the snow. They were each jumping forward, using their legs to clear parallel tire paths. They held their arms out to their sides for balance and gave a loud grunt every time they jumped, taking turns one at a time. Poor Chloe, the snow was all the way up to her waist. It took her a lot of effort to make her way through it all. She needed to take repeated breathers and the lazy Momo was not one to complain. When they came across low-hanging branches, they knocked off the snow with their shovels until they swung up like the arms of catapults.

Towards the end of the driveway, where the illumination from the porch lights faded, Chloe had to rely on Momo’s feline eyes for help navigating in the dark. They reached the road but found no end to the deep snow.

“Master! The road isn’t clear!” Momo hollered.

Hearing her, I groaned. “Out here, it doesn’t surprise me. Come on, Sonja, let’s start shoveling.”

Since we had cleaned off the car, we started hauling away the snow between the two paths that Momo and Chloe had made. Luckily the snow was light and fluffy, so it didn’t take much effort to toss it, but it would definitely be a good idea to start saving my money for a snow blower. Momo and Chloe were doing the same thing but from the end of the driveway and we met up in the middle. The driveway still needed a real plowing, but my car would probably make it through.

By the time we were done, we were all hungry and exhausted, but too wired to simply go back to sleep. “Thanks for all the help, girls. How about I make you all a special breakfast?”

“Yay!” they cheered.

We headed inside and stripped down to our normal clothes. First, I built up a fire in the stove to warm the house and then I started cooking. Bacon, eggs, and sausages; it was difficult to cook up three servings at once, but it was a labor of love. Even though they were tired, the girls crowded around me, impatient and hungry. I poured the feast into their bowls one at a time and they all assumed the position.

“Thanks, Master!” they cheered before burying their faces in their meals.

They were done before I had even gotten a pot of coffee started. I set myself up with a steaming mug and a bowl of cereal and we all settled on the couch to watch the morning news. The whiteout had claimed the state but people were dealing with it. Most of the roads had already been plowed once and emergency services were all running as they should.

“Master, when is winter going to end?” asked Chloe, keeping her hands warm with a cup of tea.

“Not for a while, I’m afraid. We’re in January, next will come February, and things will start warming up in March and we’ll get into spring.”

“How many days is that?” asked Sonja.

“Maybe sixty, seventy days.”

“Momo is sick of winter.”

“Well it’s about to get a lot worse before it gets better.”

On the news, the anchorwoman had confirmed my warning. Supposedly, New England was about to be hit with a frigid clusterfuck not seen since the North American Ice Storm of 1998. I had been just a little kid when it happened, but once you get hooked on TV, you don’t forget two weeks without power. There had been rumors on the news for the past few days, but it seemed like now the meteorologists had confirmed it. The storm we had now was the very start. Luckily, I had been stocking up on food and supplies. This afternoon, I would get the last of the stuff I needed.

I’m certain that Momo and Chloe heard the rumbling first, as they suddenly moved away from Sonja. Without warning, her ears perked up and she flew from the couch to the window overlooking the driveway. It was still dark out but the lights of a plow truck could be seen as it passed by our house. Her tail was wagging and I knew that she wanted to bark, but a hundred whaps to the head with a rolled-up newspaper had taught her to be quiet when people were outside.

The roads were clear, meaning that I had to go to work. It was a damn shame, because after all that shoveling, I really needed a nice nap. But I had to suck it up, so I got myself ready and headed out to work. The girls bid me farewell from the bed, with Chloe forsaking her sleeping bag for my spot in the middle. Seeing the three of them, all curled up under those warm sheets, I would have sold my soul to be able to strip back down and join them. There was always next time.

As usual, I was the first one at the office. On one hand, it made me almost feel proud that I had such a good work ethic, but on the other hand, why the fuck did I have to be here first when everyone was dragging their asses?! Damn it, I could have snuggled with the girls some more! Oh well, as much as I hated getting up early, I did enjoy that brief span of time when the office was empty. I’d turn up the thermostat, start a pot of coffee in the break room, and settle behind my desk. Then I’d count the minutes until the next person arrived, thinking that I could have spent that many more minutes in bed.

The first phone call of the day broke the silence, and what a surprise, it was my boss.

“We’re closing down all of the offices in the area until the weather clears.”

“Do you have any idea how long that will be?” I asked.

“I heard it will a week at least, and that’s not counting the time it will take for the power to come on. Try and get everything in order by the end of the day, because after things calm down and people start picking up the pieces, we’re all going to be busy.”

My coworkers streamed in one by one, no one late enough for me to bother mentioning. Every time the door opened, a frigid air would flush through the office and the rug would get peppered with snow. Once everyone had gathered, I told them all of the incoming hiatus and to get as much done as possible. Everyone was feverish for the rest of the day, half of the employees anxious about lost work hours and the possible damage to their homes from the storm, while the rest were just eager to have some time off, even if it was unpaid. I was certainly among the second half, overjoyed to spend a week or more curled up with my girls.

After leaving the office, I stopped off at the grocery store. I had almost everything I needed to wait out the storm, but there were just a few more things to pick up. The store was more crowded than I had ever seen, with every parking spot taken and people walking over after leaving their cars up to a quarter mile away. I ended up slowly rolling through the parking lot three times, looking for a spot while pedestrians waddled in front of my car like penguins. Countless other drivers were doing the same but I finally caught a break when someone left and I snatched their spot before some dick in a Humvee could take it.