“I’ll keep us warm as we walk,” he promised. “Let’s get you home.” He got up and took the flashlight from Zach, who knelt down to lift me. Odd, how Rio was smaller through the shoulders than Zach, but had seemed to lift me easier. Zach straightened and I clung to his neck, worried about my bare legs and the cold. At least it didn’t look like the wind was whipping anymore.
“Do you want to take your supplies with?” Rio asked, looking toward the kitchen and the stock of groceries.
“No,” I said. “I’ll bring you more in a few days. You’ll be okay? Keep the fire going? Stay warm?”
“I’m fine,” Rio said, not sounding fine at all. He went to the kitchen and handed Sean the empty cooler. “I appreciate the food.”
“I’ll bring more,” I promised as Zach carried me out the door, Sean following. I tried to smile at Rio in assurance, but he closed the door behind us. It hurt a little to have him slam that door closed, like he couldn’t get rid of me fast enough. I hoped it was the fact that people were in his space that bothered him, and not me specifically.
Sean pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, seemed to pretend to draw on it, then handed it to me. Instantly I was warm, even with the wind still swirling some snow around us. “Hold on to that while we make our way back,” Sean instructed. “And let me know if you get cold. I’ll have to renew it then.”
I stared at the paper in my hand. It didn’t feel like anything other than paper. “How…?” I had a dozen questions, but Zach’s grip on me tightened and we headed down the path, barely visible in the newly fallen snow.
“I won’t be able to get your car out yet. Not until they plow the roads,” Zach said. “Anything you need from it?”
I never left anything of value in the car. “Some groceries for Rio. It was too much to drag along the path. A few things for the manor.”
Odd how fast the trek seemed to be when I wasn’t dragging a bunch of food. That fast we were through the trees and I could see my car in the distance, and Zach’s truck.
“I’ll call my guys. See if we can get some repairs done. No one should live like that,” Zach said, sounding angry.
Behind us, a howl broke through the sound of the wind, a long wail of a wolf. Something else I’d learned from the classes at the manor, the difference between a coyote and a wolf. That was a wolf, close too. My grip on Zach tightened.
“Hungry wolves are not good things,” Sean said somberly.
“Will Rio be safe?” I asked. “There were wolf tracks near the path to his place. I recognized them from the classes.”
Zach kept us moving but looked at Sean. “We’ll get him more food,” he promised.
But would that keep Rio safe from the wolves? “He’s been out here for years,” I said more to myself than them. “He knows how to stay safe, right?”
“Sure,” Zach agreed. “Let’s get you home and safe.”
“Should I isolate now, you think? Rio didn’t seem sick, and no one has seen him in weeks…”
“He won’t be sick,” Sean said.
“Sounds like food is what he needs,” Zach said. “I’ll work on it.”
“I could use some spiced cider,” I said thinking of the blend of spices I had back home. Zach loaded me into his truck, Sean crawling in beside me. The slip of paper Sean had given me had almost completely dissolved. "Is this some kind of psychological thing? To convince my brain I’m not cold?” I held out the last of the fading rice paper for Sean, recognizing it now in the overhead light.
“It’s a talisman of warmth,” Sean answered.
I squinted at him.
“Psychological,” Zach said.
“Weird,” I starred at the slip of paper, which vanished moments later. Having used rice paper to cook with a lot in the past, I thought it a bit odd that it dissolved that fast. But it was cold and wet out, so perhaps that didn’t help. And I was too tired to push for more answers.
Zach took my keys and moved stuff from my car to the bed of his truck before getting in and steering us home. The roads were awful, covered in a thick layer of snow there would be no way my car could get through. I could hear the chains on Zach’s tires grinding through it and we moved slowly in the dark.
The scent of smoke and Rio still clung to me. Probably the hoodie I wore. I’d have to get it back to him. He probably didn’t have a lot of warm clothes. I started to make a list on my phone of things I would need to bring to Rio. Clothes, blankets, food, maybe one of those portable propane stoves.
“That man…” Sean began, but didn’t continue.
“He’s nice,” I said after he was quiet for a few minutes. “Was at the manor for Christmas dinner. Comes to the food bank a lot.”
“I hate that we still have a need for that,” Zach grumbled. “And worry it’s not getting to everyone who needs it.”
It didn’t. That I knew for sure, which was why I’d brought food to Rio. There were others closer to town that got deliveries from some of the volunteers. I knew there were a handful of the elderly that they checked on too, but the group could only help those they knew about. “I wish we could help everyone,” I said.
“How many more are like Rio?” Zach asked.
“What do you mean? Needing the food bank? Or having a house so broken down? I don’t know. The people at the food bank might know better. I help refill it every week and it’s emptied every week.”
We arrived at the manor and the entire cabin of the truck felt like brooding silence. I wasn’t sure how to read it. Zach wasn’t an overly chatty guy, though he’d always been friendly. And Sean was that very traditional reserved that a lot of Asian people were. I really hoped they weren’t judging Rio for his lack of money. Having spent some time in a homeless youth shelter myself, I knew how easy it was to go from something to poverty.
Zach parked the truck in the garage and closed the door on the cold behind us. The garage was a giant thing, big enough to fit at least five cars. Usually, my car was nestled off to the side. I hoped I’d get it back soon.
“I’ll get your car towed back tomorrow. Do you have snow tires on it?”
“Snow tires?” I asked. There was a special tire for snow?
Zach shook his head and got out of the truck. He came around the side and held his arms out.
“I can walk,” I protested.
“The ground is cold, even here in the garage. Let me drop you off upstairs so you can get your own stuff.” Zach waggled his fingers. “Don’t be a drama queen,” he teased. “Warm is better than frozen toes any day.”
I sighed and let him pick me up again. He carried me to the stairs that lead to my apartment over the garage. The stairway was cool, but not cold. He didn’t set me down until we were at my door. Sean handed over my clothes, keys, and phone. When I glanced at the time, I realized it was almost ten at night. Crap, I’d really missed the whole day.
“Thanks for rescuing me,” I said. “I mean I was safe with Rio, but the cold was sort of intense…” I limped the last few feet to my door and unlocked it.
“Call and get in to have that foot looked at in the morning. I’ll drive you down if the roads still aren’t clear. Everyone can fend for themselves for breakfast,” Zach instructed.