“Hello?”
“Robbie?”
“Yes sir?”
“Don’t yes sir me, I thought I asked you for results.”
“I was going to get in contact when I had something concrete.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“It means things are complicated, sir.”
“What do you mean it’s complicated?” I barked into the phone. I didn’t like the way that I sounded, but I wasn’t really in a position to care. I felt hot on the inside. I was burning up from rage and frustration.
Being in the Army had taught me that there was always a way to get things done. I hated it when other people didn’t show the same efficiency that I had cultivated in myself. Granted, maybe this wasn’t a typical situation. I wanted a helicopter out here and I wasn’t sure what the hold-up was. All I was getting was negatives.
“The weather conditions are not conducive for what you want us to do.”
“I’m asking you to fly in, not drive. Helicopters don’t need the road.”
“That’s true sir, but they do need somewhere to land. The snow has not stopped falling and likely won’t stop for a little while longer. On top of that, we would need time to dig you out before we can even get anywhere.”
You know what, I knew that he was right, I just hated that that was the case. I didn’t like what he was telling me even though it was the truth. He was telling me that I had to spend another who knew how many more days out here trapped. The situation could be worse, of course, the cabin had water and food and electricity, sort of, and was generally comfortable. My communication and connection to the outside world had not been severed yet. I was trying to see the best in the situation, but my mind kept circling back to my partner in this predicament. Maggie.
If I was alone, I would probably be a lot more cooperative. No, I knew that I wouldn’t care as much about being out here if I was alone. I’d use the time to relax, maybe work, just do something, anything since my mind wouldn’t be consumed by Maggie. I couldn’t act like it was her fault, but the fact that she was right there was making it very hard for me not to think about spending all our time having sex.
Spending the rest of the blizzard wrapped up in her was exactly what I wanted to do. It sounded like heaven. I had already slipped up once and I couldn’t do it again so having my biggest temptation right in front of me was not exactly an ideal situation.
“How long is it going to take?”
“I can’t give you an accurate estimate on that while the snow was still coming down.”
“I said, how long is it going to take?”
“If I had to throw a timeline out there, maybe three to four days?”
“What do you mean three to four days? How long does it take to move some damn snow?”
“Sir, the blizzard was already…”
“Unless you’re shoveling the snow with spoons, I don’t see why they should take longer than a day.”
“I’m sorry sir, but we’re doing the best we can with the situation at hand. The blizzard was already unprecedented and has continued for longer than expected. There isn’t much we can do besides wait it out and then deal with the consequences.”
“How much do you want?”
Silence.
“I beg your pardon?”
“I said, how much do you want? How much is it going to take to get my results today? I want the chopper out here by this afternoon. How much is it going to take?”
“Sir, we can't manipulate the weather. That is our main obstacle and until it clears, there is nothing we can do.”
I gritted my teeth. I knew how I sounded, trying to throw money at the problem to make it go away but I couldn't help it. I needed, needed to get out of here. I felt like any longer with Maggie in this cabin and I would self-destruct. I mean, I couldn't even last one night in the same bed with her after making the deal that we would be nothing but casual acquaintances. Once she got too close, I was powerless and the inevitable happened.
This was like an alcoholic saying that he could drink casually with his friends every Friday night. I could not do anything casually with Maggie. I couldn't be in this house with her casually, pretending that I didn't want to rip her clothes off. I couldn’t be one of her distant acquaintances who shared the same friend group. On some level, I understood that this weather event was going to take more than my money to solve itself, I just wasn't happy about that.