"Danny?" Chris called to her husband as she came through the front door. She practically fell over the two pieces of luggage sitting just inside the entrance.
Danny rounded the corner from the kitchen, his arms laden with jackets. A huge grin crossed his face when he saw his wife standing there, looking confused and a little bit miffed.
"What did you do?" she asked, planting her hands on her hips for emphasis.
"What do you mean?" Danny asked, knowing full well what she was talking about.
"Connors called me into his office at three this afternoon, and told me to have a nice weekend and he would see me on Tuesday. I didn't know what the hell he was talking about. Do you want to come clean?" Chris demanded.
With no option of drawing out his surprise out any longer, Danny knew it was time to confess. He dropped the jackets and plunked his arms around Chris' shoulders and did his best to charm her.
"Look, we've been married coming up on ten years. You and I work more than forty hours a week, and probably each spend another twenty hours running the kids to practices, dance, games, and friends' houses. I thought it might be nice to surprise you with a long weekend away – just the two of us."
Danny watched her face for a positive reaction. Right now all he saw were her eyes looking at him suspiciously, and her mouth opening like she wanted to speak, but chose to wait.
"School just got out for the summer, I got your mom to take the kids, I cleared the time off with Connors and I've already got us packed. Happy Second Honeymoon!" he said, sounding quite proud.
The logical Chris spoke first, "Danny, we can't afford this. Besides, it's the end of June and the weather isn't supposed to be that great. Where can we go for just a weekend? Surely, not somewhere warm."
"Hun, I'm not that cheap but I am smart. My mom still has her cabin on Grover's Pond, and she never goes up before the 4th of July. She called the guy who opens and closes it for her, and asked him to flush out the pipes and turn the electricity on. She also asked him to find someone to clean the place. I haven't been up there since dad died when I was in college, but Chris, it's like a piece of heaven there."
"Camping – like with sleeping bags and cooking on an open fire?" she asked, not looking all that happy.
"Nooooo – it has a full kitchen, a living room with a fireplace, shower, and a big front porch. It's a short walk to the pond. Trust me – you'll really like it. Please honey? Trust me," Danny begged.
"You planned this whole thing?" she moved closer to him and put her arms around his neck. "All by yourself? You are the sweetest guy (kiss), the greatest father (kiss), and the best husband in the whole world."
With her final words, she leaned the full length of her body against his, and kissed him with her entire being. She really did love this man.
Chris did a quick check of what Danny had packed, noting there was no sleeping attire. She smiled and felt herself getting excited. It had been way too long. She joined him in the garage as he loaded a case of bottled water and the cooler into the back of the SUV.
Traffic was hell leaving the city that Friday night. Chris had wanted to wait until morning, but Danny was anxious to start their trip. It was evident that the trip was going to take longer than the three hours it should have taken, so when they turned down the dirt road, it was already ten-thirty. The sky suddenly lit up and a deep rumble echoed around them. As Danny brought the car to a halt, the heavens opened their faucets and let the rain pour down.
Danny and Chris ran to the porch, visible only because of the lights from the car.
"I'm surprised there aren't any lights on," Danny yelled over the sound of the storm.
"Hurry up, Danny. I'm cold and I'm soaked to the skin. There had better be hot water for a shower," Chris said shivering.
Danny tried flicking the light switch, but nothing happened. He made his way to the kitchen to try the lights there, but still nothing. The only light was the faint glow coming from the car lights.
"Shit! Okay, look – I'll bring the stuff up out of the car, and the emergency flashlight. I know we'll find candles, and then we'll figure something out. Could be the storm took out the electricity," he said, giving Chris a quick kiss. "Trust me baby, we're still going to have a great night."
Chris had her doubts as she watched her husband slide through the mud to the car. There wasn't enough light for her to get her bearings, so she stuck near the door and waited to help with their supplies.
Danny was drenched when he finished bringing everything up to the porch. His lips were already blue and he was shivering. "I swear the temperature feels like it dropped fifteen degrees."
"Get out of those clothes and into dry ones. I'll take the flashlight and see if I can find candles and matches."
Danny normally would have made a remark about getting naked, but he was too damn cold to think about anything other than wanting to be warm and dry. When he came out of the bathroom, Chris had been able to find about a half dozen candles and had them lit around the room.
"I can start a fire," Danny told her, as he turned towards the stone fireplace.
"Oh no, Danny, it's so late and I won't get any sleep if I know there is a fire going. Let's just put away what we can and go to bed. We'll be able to check out more things in the daylight."
There was no sense in putting food in the refrigerator, because it wasn't running. Danny pushed the latched metal cooler out onto the porch. When he came in, he found Chris putting sheets on the bed.
She didn't look too happy as she said, "I don't know who cleaned this place, but I would have thought the bed would be made. I'm just going to wash up with some cold water and throw on some sweaters."
Danny stopped her, "Um, sweetie, there's no water. It runs on an electric pump. No electricity, no running water. You can't flush either."
Chris was too tired to get upset. She grabbed a bottle of water and a candle, and went into the bathroom to make do with what she had available. Danny was waiting for her in the bedroom doorway. His wife was dressed in panties, big socks, two sweatshirts and one of his sweaters. He thought she was beautiful. He pulled her close and tenderly kissed her shivering lips.
"I do know a way to warm up," he whispered. "Do you still trust me?"
Chris giggled and pulled on his bottom lip with her teeth. They inched their way towards the bed, the whole time kissing and caressing each other. They got into bed and moved to the center, trying to get as close as possible. Their kisses continued, their hands began to explore, and their breathing turned to panting as limbs intertwined.
It would have been so perfect, if the cracking sound of splitting wood hadn't filled the quiet of the night. As the lovers clung to each other, the bed trembled and the left side of it collapsed.
Instead of cries of anger, laughter filled the bedroom. Chris and Danny pulled the mattress and box spring onto the floor and pushed the broken bed frame out of the way. They moved towards each other, once more, and fell soundly asleep.
There was no bright of day, the next morning. The rain continued, but at least they were dry. Breakfast consisted of peanut butter on bread and bottled water.
"Look, I'm going to get dressed and see if I can figure out if the problem is at the main power box," Danny told Chris. "Do you want me to get the fire going in the fireplace first?"
"I'm not helpless, Danny; I'll take care of it. I just hope we get power soon. I need hot water and coffee, before I start going through withdrawal."
While Danny dressed, Chris set the fire. She used old newspaper and kindling, building a teepee with the logs she found sitting on the hearth. She thought she heard scratching at the window and expected to see hail, but it was only rain.
When she put the match to the paper, it caught immediately. What didn't catch was the wood. It wasn't quite cured and the room began to fill with smoke. Danny was just coming out from getting dressed and rushed to open the front door. The smoke in the room quickly began to clear as the cold air swept through. Danny promised he'd be right back, and headed off to figure out why they had no electricity.
Chris turned her attention to the fireplace once more and was greeted by two beady black eyes staring at her. Almost before she registered what she saw, the eyes were gone.
No, she thought, I must have been imagining things. Chris adjusted the flu and when she did, a small furry pile dropped out onto the hearth.
"HELP!" she screamed, as the balls of fur came alive and began running around the room. "Danny, help!"
Danny had just made his way through the mud, to the back of the cabin, when Chris' screams pierced the silence of the woods. He ran, clumsily, trying to keep his balance and as he got to the porch a lightning fast ball of fluff ran up one side of him and down the other, before taking off and climbing the nearest tree.
