Member-only story
Beastly Winter — Chapter 22
Lily shivered as she negotiated icy patches on the sidewalk from the garage to her back door. She’d left work later than usual so she could first complete the chores Sheriff Harris had assigned her. After his phone call with Dr. Jacoby, the sheriff finally ordered her to go on home to her husband.
Abe was six years older than her sixty, and now an early-onset Alzheimer’s sufferer. Lily wondered how much longer she could work before she’d need to stay home full-time to look after Abe. She loved her husband dearly, but she knew his own memories were fading. His growing confusion had changed him from the easygoing partner she’d married over thirty years ago into a frustrated, cantankerous old man. But he was her old man, and she’d do whatever was now required of her.
When she left the station, constant sleet against the windshield had caused her to twice pull over to scrape away enough ice so she could see to drive home. She knew the route like the back of Abe’s hand, so she’d managed. It had helped that absolutely no one else was out and about, but it did feel really weird.
Lily shut and latched the door behind her, shook ice balls from her coat, and looked around. The kitchen counter was exactly as she’d left it, clean and free of dirty dishes. That was unusual.
