Reginald Clapper, Reggie to Charles and Avery, looked worried. “Don’t even think about it, Charlie. Conditions are beyond horrendous. The fact that you couldn’t get that damned snowmobile started ought to tell you something. It’s an omen, I tell you.

“You’ll kill yourself if you try skiing down that mountain. When was the last time you were on skis? A lifetime ago, I’d wager. I don’t care how good you were back in the day. This is now and you’re a hell of a lot older and your bones know it. There’s no visibility out there.”

“I don’t have a choice, Reggie. All our communication has been wiped out. I’ll take the dogs. Just tell me where you left the Hummer.”

Reggie Clapper stood with his back to the fire as he did his best to plead his case. “If you kill yourself, what good are you going to be to the women? Think about the dogs. Give it a few more hours, Charlie. This storm can’t go on forever. Please. Look, my friend, you don’t have to keep proving yourself to Myra and the ladies. You hit a bad patch a while ago. They understand. If they didn’t understand, Myra wouldn’t be marrying you. I hate to think Myra will be standing at the altar, waiting for a groom who is a no-show because he was too damn stubborn to listen.”

Charles just shook his head. “I’ve given it too many hours already. It’s up to you, Reggie, to hold the fort. Keep trying to raise someone on the phones. The generators are working, so you aren’t going to freeze, and the firewood is stacked to the ceiling. There’s plenty of food. After you install that…that contraption and make damn sure the bolts are solid, then you can bring in the Christmas tree and set it up. We cut it down the other day, and it’s sitting on the porch outside the kitchen so the branches would loosen up and drop into place. If we…if things go awry…you know what to do.”

“Damn it, Charlie, can’t you wait just a little while?”

Charles clapped his old friend on the back. “No. I have to go. The dogs will lead me to the bottom. Just keep trying to raise someone and tell them I’m on the way.”

“You have a good six hours to go once you hit the bottom, Charlie. That’s if the roads are in a drivable condition, which we both know they won’t be. We’re looking at ten hours here. The women might come up with alternate plans and implement them in ten hours’ time. As you’ve said time and again, they’re very resourceful.”