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“So, you think this winter is going to be rough?” I asked, looking for a way to start a conversation that wasn’t aard

We were still veryto know each other I had been in Ashford for two years now, but Brett had lived here his whole life Granted, he’d grown up in as quite literally the wrong side of the tracks—on the other side of the railroad tracks heading out of town Still, his knowledge of Ashford was deep and could be useful as I settled here further

“I don’t know,” he said “Everyone’s saying it could get pretty rough I’ for the worst, but then I do that all the tih”

“Yeah I can handle the cold Once I finish up with the firewood, I think I’m set I have a cellar full of canned stuff with a little h Sterno to survive the apocalypse down there I can run one of my little cooktops with it and boil water and stuff if I need to”

“So, what you’re saying is I should cohetti sometime in January,” he joked

I laughed

“Yeah, come on up,” I said

“Reminds me of a couple years back There was a blizzard that put me out of touch with everybody for six weeks”

“Six weeks?” I asked “How did you not go crazy?”

“Who said I didn’t?” He laughed and took a deep sip of his beer

I laughed back, but it wasn’t all that funny Being up on the h, but it could also be rather da stuck in the house for six weeks, without even the ability to go out in the yard and do htmare Not that either one of us was about to address that Brett was aboutalone was second nature to both of us By choice or by circumstance was unknown