All recognizable characters belong to DC Comics, not DC Luder.
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"Snow provokes responses that reach right back to childhood."
Andy Goldsworthy
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For the last two years, Alfred woke me at seven on weekday mornings.
It would start with his entering the room, turning the overhead lights on before resorting to pulling back the thick velvet drapes on the bay windows. If visual stimuli had no impact, he would then resort to sound, announcing my name cheerily and rambling on about how beautiful it was outside. As a last resort, he would rip the down covers off of my body, hoping the change in temperature would force me to wake.
Alfred went through the routine every weekday so that I could share breakfast with Dick before he left for school. His intention to arrange bonding time between us that didn't involve masks was welcome in later hours of the day, but not at five after seven. I often made it to the kitchen nook just as Dick was finishing, treating myself to whatever was on a plate or in a glass. With Alfred glaring at me, I was forced to inquire about Dick's day, quizzing him on his studies and activities. It wasn't that I had no interest in his life during the daytime, it was simply that I was tired.
From there, Alfred would take Dick to school and leave me to choose between my two options. First, was accepting that I was awake for the morning and shower, dress and head into the office on time. The second was to climb the stairs back to the third floor and crawl back into bed, after locking the door. There was a third option during high profile cases and that was to trek to the Cave and spend the day laboring over clues and research materials. Then again, during those times, I rarely made it to bed in the first place…
That morning, Alfred didn't so much as knock on my door.
I had cut patrols short the night before in light of an encroaching winter storm. Just as the roads became slick around midnight, Dick and I had made the trek back to Bristol. Even had it been decent weather, I had preferred not to have him out for the entire evening on a school night. Often, I would return to the city until dawn but even criminals knew better than to be out in such treacherous conditions. By the time we had made it back to the Cave, there had already been a fresh inch of snow having accumulated in less than an hour.
Dick had quipped, "Maybe they'll cancel school tomorrow."
"Maybe," had been my only reply.
Where he had graciously accepted a late night snack from Alfred in the form of a turkey club sandwich, I had declined. Taking a seat before the computer, I brought up the weather radar and was surprised to see the storm coming up the east coast had nearly tripled in size. The American Weather Service had increased its projections to a foot of snow by morning instead of its original warning of four to six inches.
While Dick sat on a nearby workstation counter, Alfred had approached me, "A white Christmas… two weeks too late." When I didn't say anything, he had inquired, "Is it safe for one to assume you will not be returning into the city, sir?"
I had nodded, reluctantly reaching up to push the cowl off of my face, "Looks like it."
Dick had commented from a few yards away, "There is no way there's going to be school tomorrow."
"And you are excited for what reason, sir?" Alfred had asked.
Shrugging, Dick had replied, "We had a European geography quiz. And I can never remember the capital of Croatia."
"Zagreb," I had responded without looking away from the monitor. After a beat, I did glance towards him, "We can study for the quiz tomorrow, so you'll be prepared for the test the next day."
