Chapter 2: Chapter 2
We’re not boyfriends, although most people think we are when we’re together. Instead, we fall into the category of Just Friends. There aren’t any fringe benefits, dishonesty, or betrayal. We sometimes sleep together but not intimately, crashing whenever necessary during our travels. Usually, it happens when we drink too much at parties or go camping. It’s back to back stuff, pure innocence. Besides, I’m not Kel’s type, and he’s certainly not mine. Case closed.
I can say there’s almost always drama with the man since Kel sometimes likes to be the center of attention. It follows him around like a dog. He’s loud, somewhat obnoxious, but fun. Kel’s a good friend. Someone I always want at my side. Without his dramatic scenes, life will be dull. Case closed tighter.
Enough about Kel, though. Let’s get back to our situation in his BMW: he’s right about freezing to death. It’s shortly after two o’clock in the afternoon, and we don’t stand a chance of surviving through the night if we can’t find shelter. I’d say we have an hour to two hours left in the car’s heat. Any longer and we’ll turn into icemen.
In the meantime, as we slowly turn into human ice cubes, I take control of the situation. I find him more napkins in the glove compartment for his bleeding forehead. Honestly, the cut is minor, and it’s already stopped bleeding, but more napkins will calm the man down.
I tell him, “I saw a bed and breakfast about a quarter mile back.”
“The castle thing?”
I nod. “That’s it. I say we close up shop here and make our way there. Even if they don’t have rooms for us, we can stay warm in their foyer. Maybe they will give us a coffee to get warm.”
“Whiskey sounds better.”
“I agree.”
He looks out the side windows and studies the thick and blowing snow, concerned about the blizzard. “It’s a tundra outside this car. You think we’ll make it to the bed and breakfast?”
“I do. We might have frostbite feet when we get to the castle, but at least we’ll live through the night.”
He agrees with me. We shake on it. And before I realize it, we have our winter jackets on, gloves, hats, and gather our single bags from the trunk, ready for our unexpected trek through the bitter snow, heading to the bed and breakfast.
* * * *
I admit, it’s deep and pissed off cold that I’ve never felt before in my life. And Kel agrees with me. The trek becomes fierce as snow and ice rip into our bare faces, sting our cheeks, and attempt to push us over. Torrents of wicked wind force itself into us, making it difficult to walk through the almost knee-high snow. All I can think about is one of the wintry scenes in The Thing, a movie I watched twenty or more times as a kid. The flick blew me away as a boy. Loved it. And still like it today. One of my favorites.
Kel’s on my right side. He yells something I can’t hear because of the wind.
I simply nod, responding, but I have no idea what I’m answering.
Side by side, we trudge through the snow as the January tempest abuses us. We become victims to its fury, icy puppets. Our movements are snail-like. We huff, and our faces turn a blistering red. Crusts of ice form on our eyebrows and eyelashes.
Again, Kel yells something to me, but I can only hear the words rough, bitter, and something that sounds like onion, but probably isn’t.
I’m not surprised when he closes the space between us and yells at me, “I’m Elsa in Frozen!”
“You’re more like Olaf!”
Karma kicks me in the ass for being mean to him. I lose my balance and fall face first into the snow. My cheeks, nose, eyes, and neck become plastered in a chilly and wet mask.
I’m a little surprised that Kel/Elsa helps me up. He yanks on one of my arms and pulls me out of the hump of snow. In the process, he shakes me and yells/acts, “Stay with me, man! I don’t want to lose you now! No man will be left behind! We have to stick together!”
I give him credit. For as shitty the situation is, he’s positive. Or he’s just a boy in a man’s body, being immature, as usual. Who knows?
Upright once again, we cling to each other with our free arms, entwining them together. Slowly, we continue our trek as inexperienced Eskimos and battle nature to the best of our abilities, having forgotten our days in Boy Scouts and basic survival skills.
* * * *
The icy, snow-covered castle in the distance is a mirage. Neither of us can believe it’s real. Not the arrow loops, the ramparts, and two stone towers on either side of the three-floor structure. Not the keep, gatehouse at its front, or its many pinnacles. We’re hallucinating because of the cold, brain-frozen. Or we’re back in Pittsburgh, inside my cozy Tudor, and watching the 1956 epic Dr. Zhivago on my seventy-five-inch flat-screen.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone