A Cold Drive and A Warm Night- Chapter Nine

On impulse she extended her finger tips, something she had done in camp as a young girl. It was her camp cabin’s signal of life-long friendship. She did it without thinking.

And quickly I reciprocated without even understanding what it meant. It was a very heart-warming moment between us, ten finger-tips touching amid the silence of the moment.

It seem fitting to Jenny to offer it. After all the man had likely saved her life and through it all seemed to be a genuine human being.

That moment was shattered by her cell-phone ringing.

She made an involuntary yelp and started to look for her purse, which he had placed beneath the coat rack.

She glanced at the caller id. It was her Dad.

Involuntarily, she started to head for the bed-room to take the call privately and she freaked when, just at that moment, another thunderclap roared through. The cabin felt like it rocked. She wondered if this storm could cause a landslide, if lightening did in fact hit the ground.

I didn’t know who it was on the phone then, because I myself was feeling a bit woozy and preoccupied with the thought "Damn could I be getting what she had?"

“Swell.”

But her phone ringing meant that the crews had been out most of the night de-icing the town’s one cell-phone tower. Most of the time he had been lucky to get a signal at all up high on the mountain and most times he had to find a spot just outside the cabin to get a call and yet another spot to receive a call.

I started to feel worse and forgot about Jenny for a moment and decided to get to the bathroom and get some cough syrup into me and to see what else I could find to head off what was starting to feel like flu symptoms.

I passed in the bedroom, and Jenny was sitting on the bed and she looked up quickly.

“Sorry I said," I need to get something from the bathroom.”

She nodded and I passed through feeling like things indeed were going to get cozy if I got sick. Even a day or two down  on the mountain mattered since there were not going to be any rescue crews coming up for a least a day or two. The town months ago dropped the copter rescue program for lack of funding.

I could hear Jenny saying to her dad, “I am fine Dad. I am fine. You have my number and I have yours if anything comes up we can get in touch. Yes, yes." she said.

“I came out and said. “Good that the line is back up if even if only for a little while.”  I guarantee you it will go down again. It is like that."

“Yes," Jenny said, "I barely could hear my Dad; he kept going in and out, breaking up.”

“Did you tell about your plan to suck my blood?” I said smiling.

”No I did not Jenny replied “That is something only between us And you look terrible" she added, "you're getting sick too?

“No I said, well maybe, I am getting the feeling that something is going on”

“Sit." she said, patting the bed.

“I will take care of you. How’s that? Fair is fair."

“Yes,' I said sitting beside her “fair is fair.”

I sat beside her and she put her palm to my forehead and clucked like a brain surgeon," saying "looks like plague to me."

I laughed but it hurt my head to laugh and I winced.

"Yep, she said plague for sure. Lie down." she commanded.

I was getting a bit weak and obeyed.

She lay down beside me and in a very gentle voice said "Tell me where it hurts, and tell me about this Tantric thing.”

”It all about how two people" I said slowly, beginning to fade "have to get used to each other’s bodies before they even make love, do foreplay or any of that. Animals understand that, people have forgotten it. Sorta like Amish bundling." He paused.

"Bodies have to become friends even before love is possible."

“How is that done?" Jenny said.

“Oh," I said, drifting, finally I remember saying, “I will tell you later, feeling woozy.”

End of Chapter Nine of Eleven