He went over to her and saw the city from above in the deepening twilight. The snow sparkled in flashes of blue here and there from rooftops, and the lights were on now in most of the houses below them. Beyond Lower Town was the river, its center a broken line of black water surrounded by giant chunks of ice, vague shapes in the dark.

“Romantic, isn’t it?” Her arms encircled his waist, and he felt the familiar pressure. She was as pretty as he remembered her in college, golden shoulder-length hair, dark eyes, smooth skin. She kissed him.

“This is how we got the first one, remember?” he said, pointing at Jessie, who had come out of the bathroom now and was disappearing into the smaller bedroom.

“I’d like another.”

He looked at her, surprised. They had always talked about having two children eventually, but this last year had put that plan on hold. He wondered if she really meant it now, so soon. Only days ago he had been unemployed and the future had been slipping away. He remembered being in the hospital with her when Jessie was born, and how helpless he had felt just standing there doing those goddamned breathing exercises like they really did something and weren’t just a quick and easy way to hyperventilate. When the head finally appeared and Helen squeezed his hand like a vice grip, he felt almost as if he were being born again, that somehow this life was going to help him do the things he missed from his childhood all over again. Only this time would be better because he would be there to make sure it came out all right.

What the hell, he decided. She was even more beautiful than in college.

“Well?” “Let’s start practicing,” he said.

CHAPTER SIX

February 23rd dawned cold and crisp, but by nine o’clock the sun was shining brightly down on Quebec City as if determined to take on the thick layer of snow blanketing the town and break down the slush that sucked and pulled at the feet of the pedestrians on the street. David awoke feeling better than he had in weeks. His wife lay naked in his arms, the sheets slipped over her thighs as she slept.

He managed to extract himself from Helen’s grasp and made his way to the window. The icebreakers were at work on the river in the brilliant morning sun, the huge boats using their prows to break the sheet of ice that had formed the night before. He remembered hearing about what could happen if the ice were allowed to build up, and shivered. The destructive power of the river was unnerving. Quebec had lost several bridges and many more lives to the ice and flooding over the years.

He turned from the window to find his jacket and tie and hit the shower.