Inside was even worse, with thick-coated Mainers pushing their way through the crowds, using their shopping carts like battering rams like it was Black Friday. The noise in the store was almost deafening, just the squeaking of the wheels on the carts making my ears sting. Many shelves had already been picked clean, every section taking a heavy hit. Well, every section except for the vegan section, because fuck you, vegans. We’d rather go hungry than eat your shitty food.
I was lucky to get the last pack of toilet paper and some rolls of paper towels. Few people were grabbing toothbrushes and toothpaste so I didn’t have to fight anyone for them. All the cereal was almost gone, but I grabbed a couple more boxes in case we ran out. Lastly, I got a cake in case the girls got stir crazy and needed some cheering up. But getting my stuff was the easy part. Paying for them and getting out was the hard part. Every aisle was open but so too was every line blended together, many of them stretching down aisles. Between when I got in line and when I was able to actually put my stuff on the conveyer belt, I beat three levels of Candy Crush and was waiting for another life.
When I got back to my car and started unloading my stuff, everything behind me stopped. Two cars passing behind me had halted with their headlights on my back. I could feel the angry glares of the drivers as they waited for me to leave. When I got into my car and turned it on, I suddenly felt like I was in prison and had just dropped the soap.
I made it home safe and sound, though the roads were still very sloshy. I was glad to see my driveway had been plowed. There is nothing better than coming home, opening the door, and smelling dinner being made, except, of course, that same scenario but with three beautiful animal-eared girls coming to greet you at the door.
“Yes, yes, I missed you girls too,” I said as they rubbed up against me like they were trying to scratch an itch. “Did you three do what I asked today?”
“Of course!” Sonja cheered.
I looked through the house, seeing piles of firewood stacked around the house, but set away from the wood stove and on top of sheets of newspaper to protect the floor. The girls had brought in as much firewood as possible in preparation. I would much rather we have too much ready than not enough and have to go out to the woodshed to get more. With one side of the house full of firewood and the kitchen stocked with food and supplies, we were running short on open space, but of course, that would change in the coming days.
We had dinner and settled on the couch, watching the evening news as we did every night. Every channel was talking about the huge chain of storms coming our way. Sonja was eager, almost masochistically so, Momo seemed uncomfortable whenever a meteorologist or news anchor said “cold”, and Chloe was downright terrified.
Outside, the wind was kicking up and it was starting to snow again. We weren’t supposed to have until tomorrow, but it seemed that Mother Nature was feeling a bit impatient.
The mouse climbed into my lap and hugged me. “Master, are we going to be ok? We aren’t going to die, are we?”
“No, we’ll be fine. We aren’t going to die. In fact, I’m looking forward to this. Think of this as the chance be cozier than you’ve ever been in your life.”
Hearing me, Momo’s face melted into a hedonistic grin.
At some point in the night, the smoke detectors beeped, telling me we had lost power. That wasn’t enough to keep me from falling back to sleep. But I did wake up later, stunned by the feeling of something cold touching me. I realized that Chloe had crawled into bed with us, the sweet smell of her hair and ears filling my nose with her own nose pressed to my chest.
“Chloe?” I grumbled.
“Sorry, Master! I wanted to be with you!”
“No, no, it’s fine. You’re always welcome.”
The tip of my own nose was cold as well, along with my exposed toes. Sonja and Chloe had their heads under their pillows rather than on top. The room wasn’t just chilly, it was frigid. Was there a window open somewhere? No wonder Chloe wanted to come under the covers. That sleeping bag was made for camping, but it could never match up to the warmth of joined bodies. Much to my displeasure, I was forced to climb out of bed to check the temperature. I couldn’t get a reading outside, but according to my phone, the temperature in the room was… 35º. Jesus! I had climbed out of bed just seconds ago and my nipples could already cut glass! I wasn’t wearing underwear, simply because I didn’t need to with the girls around, so I was already experiencing epic shrinkage. I did a quick check of the house by the light of my phone, making sure there weren’t any drafts where cold air was coming in. I couldn’t find any leaks.
Working up all of my courage, I put on my boots and stepped outside to check the thermometer I had out on the porch. The blizzard was going full force with no signs of stopping, and the moment I stepped outside, I was certain I had lost a year of my life! Wearing nothing but boots, I could actually feel my skin freezing. With frostbite forming and Old Man Winter dry-humping me, I held up my cell phone to the thermometer. Outside it was -20º. Sweet Black-fucking-Sabbath! No wonder it was so cold in the house!
I went back inside and brushed the snow off my skin, alarmed that it hadn’t automatically melted. I then threw some fuel into the woodstove to warm up the house. Our home had been made with Maine winters in mind. The pipes were well insulated and kept away from the sides of the house as much as possible, but if the inside temperature dropped below freezing, they could ice up. With steady heat radiating from the stove I returned to the bedroom. My eyes had adjusted to the dark, enough for me to discern the shapes of my three girls. Oh, getting back in there would be orgasmic. I grabbed Chloe’s blankets under the bed and then threw them on top for a little extra warmth. Upon lifting the sheets, I saw three pairs of slender white feet and the tips of three tails. Momo and Sonja remained still, telling me they were asleep, but Chloe stirred, clearly still awake. I couldn’t resist, I leaned down and left a small kiss on each little toe. I could faintly hear her giggle.
After leaving some extra covering at the end of the bed for our feet, I slithered back inside, rubbing my nose on her chest in reversal of our earlier roles.
“Master,” she whispered.
I wrapped my arms around her small body and held her close, the two of us relishing each other’s warmth. The four of us were completely hidden under blankets, save for some small gaps to let in fresh air. The air that came in was cold, almost making it a game to protect ourselves from the chill while letting us breathe. The warmth and softness were beyond deion, every part of me touching either fabric or smooth skin.
Half-asleep, Momo rolled over and spooned Chloe, sandwiching her in between us. With Chloe’s face buried in my chest, Momo had her forehead pressed to mine with a purr in her throat. Sonja did the same, wrapping her arms around me with her breasts smooshed against my back while she and I played footsie under the covers. The only sound was of our breathing and the howling wind outside. Both sounds made me happy beyond words, wrapped up in blankets with my girls, snuggled in a bastion of warmth. I didn’t fall back to sleep, but that was out of pure will. This moment right now was so blissful, so comfortable and relaxing, I didn’t want to miss out on it by being asleep.
“I love you girls,” I said before fatigue finally took me.
Minus each of us going to the bathroom at least once, we stayed in bed as long as we could, not wanting to abandon the warmth and comfort of the bed and each other. It was probably sometime in the early afternoon that our stomachs all reached synchronicity in their growling. Eventually we would have to face the cold and go eat. It took us all encouraging each other to finally make that jump. We got out of bed and hurriedly got dressed.
“Girls, before we go eat, I think we need to move the bed. Let’s bring the mattress downstairs and lay it out next to the wood stove. That way we won’t get as cold as we were last night.”
With Sonja and I taking the ends, and Momo and Chloe offering help from the sides, we dragged the mattress out of the bedroom and down the stairs. The narrow, bent staircase made it a major pain to worm it around corners, but we finally got it down into the living room and laid it out in front of the stove. I built up the fire and the room began to fill with warmth.
The world outside was pure white, the storm so thick that not even the trees could be seen. From the looks of it, my car appeared completely buried, but until the driveway got plowed, there was no reason to dig it out. It was time to make breakfast, but first I had to get us some power. I got all wrapped up in my winter gear and stepped out onto wild white yonder. I kept the generator at the back of the house, out of the wind. It was kept safe in a plywood box with my electric meter, basically an outhouse but without the john. It started with relative ease, but in these temperatures, relative ease is still a pain in the ass.
I had about twenty-five gallons of gas saved and the generator could run for ten hours on a full four-gallon tank, but there was no telling how long we would be without power. Therefore, I would only keep the generator on for a few hours a day, one for making breakfast and one for making dinner, and some extra time for things like laundry and bathing. During those times, I would also charge my laptop and phone. I had filled up the tub with water for flushing the toilet, but still, I told the girls to save their #2s for when the generator was on.
I hurried back inside, my whole body shaking from the deathly chill. The girls and I had breakfast and settled in the living room. Unfortunately, even though we had power, both the cable and Internet were out for the whole area.
“Ok, girls, what do you want to do?”
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