In Times of War

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

When I wake up, I walk to my window and see something surprising.

A blanket of white covers the grass and more falls from the sky.

   I squealed and ran down the stairs to see Mama sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of coffee in her hand and another sitting on the table across from her. She gesture for me to sit down and says that classes have been canceled because of the snow. Today she still had to go in to work today but while she was gone I needed to shovel the snow away from the front walk and the driveway, even though we never used our car. Mama always carpooled to work and I walked to school. After she leaves and I finish my coffee, I dress warmly and walk out to the shed in the backyard. I walk around to open the shed door when I hear someone in the yard behind ours moving around. I look up and see Tony opening the shed in his yard, as well.

“You!” We shout at the same time and then start laughing.

“So you’re the one who just moved in!” I say as I get the shovel out of the shed and he does the same.

“Yes, I’m the one that just moved in. What are you doin’?” He asks.

“Snow duty.” I say and hold up the shovel in my hand.

   “Do you even know how to shovel snow?” He asks me skeptically. I shrug my shoulders. This is the first time I’ve seen snow in years. We don’t get snow very often in Georgia, and when we do it’s only a little bit. The snow doesn’t look like it’s going to stop falling anytime soon, either. Surely it can’t be that hard to shovel snow.  I couldn’t be more wrong.

   I’ve been trying to clear the driveway and the front walk for an hour, and I have hardly made any progress. As soon as I clear one of the areas the other one ends up covered again. I’m still working when someone walks in front of my house. The person walks up the driveway and lifts their head from the ground.

“Need any help with that?” Tony asks me with a smile. I hand the shovel over and he doesn’t start shoveling, to my surprise.

“You can spread some salt over the area because salt helps the snow to not stick.”

“One problem with that: we can’t spare our rations for this.” I fire back.

   “Then I guess you’re just gonna have to come back out here and shovel again throughout the day.” I roll my eyes and groan at the idea of having to come back out on my day off. “Or I could come back later and help you with that.”

“No, no, I couldn’t ask you to do that. I can do it.”

“Really, Maria, it’s no problem. I’ll come back in a few hours and do it for you.” He walks away, giving me no room for protest.

   I go inside and pretty much just sit and read the rest of the day until I hear scraping coming from outside. Worried that someone might be trying to break in, I go over to the window and peek through the curtains. I see a man in a black coat and a warm looking black hat shoveling my driveway. The snow is still falling heavily and it’s freezing outside. I stand on the doorstep with my coat wrapped closely around me.

   “Tony, you want to come in for a cup of coffee?” I call to him. He looks up and smiles at me, nodding his head. He puts the shovel down and walks into my house. Now I have a boy my age I just met in my house, alone, without any supervision. The gossip would be unbelievable, if anyone saw. Nonetheless, this boy is clearing my driveway in freezing cold weather and isn’t complaining at all. I make the coffee and set a cup down for him and for myself. We talk a little bit more and eventually going outside.