While Coach Z maintained that his boots and a heavy coat were enough we gathered everything that he could possibly wear and spread it out on the floor for everyone to see. Gloves, hats, coats, everything that could fit Coach Z’s large body lay in front of us. Most of it had come from our own collection but Sean had raided the lost and found boxes and found a few pieces of clothing that worked. They lay in their own pile thawing as best they could in the short time before Coach Z would leave. “Okay, how much can we send with you to make sure you’re safe if it starts snowing again and how much should we keep to ensure our safety?” Though everyone knew the task I felt it necessary to reiterate to make sure no one was confused.
“You have what on now Z?” Claire stepped over and began looking at the clothes he was wearing. Though Coach Z, Tim, Sean, and I all stood there feeling awkward as Claire seemed to rub her hands where she could she didn’t seem to notice. Or, at least, was enjoying the effect enough to keep up the effort. “Let’s see: heavy coat. Check. Sweatshirt. Check. Undershirt. Oh, wifebeater. You’re going to need a long sleeve shirt that will keep sweat away from your body.” Coach Z raised his eyebrow at her as she stepped away to look through the pile of clothes. “What? Johnny’s in the scouting program.”
“Don’t they teach that sort of thing to the old kids. He’s gotta still be a cubby.” Tim asked as he knelt down to help her in her search.
Claire glared at Tim for a second. “Who do you think got him into the scouting program in the first place?” Tim looked away to avoid any unnecessary conversation about deceased spouses. “Here we go.” Out of the pile Claire pulled out a long sleeved blue shirt from the lost and found pile and set it aside to dry faster. “You’ll have to wait a bit before it’s dry enough to wear, but I think we have the time.” She returned to examining the clothes Coach Z was wearing and the rest of us were back to averting our eyes as best we could, shifting our weight nervously. “We got gloves all ready for you and a hat. While I’m going to suggest something to cover your eyes that’ll be up to you, it could keep you warm, but it might also limit your visibility. The boots are nice, but you’re going to have to tuck in your pants. Jeans. No jeans. Or, at least something to go over your jeans.” She turned to Tim. “You got overalls or something that are water proofed?” He nodded and left the room, probably headed to the janitor’s closet.
Coach Z yelled out in surprise and had his hands on Claire’s shoulders before we could figure out what had happened. “My underwear is fine,” He said breathing hard from the sudden surprise. Even from where I stood I could see Claire’s wink. Tim walked back into the room, saw that something had happened and shook his head.
I saw his mouth move as me muttered something, but didn’t catch what he’d said until Claire yelled at him. “Don’t you ‘women’ me!” Tim chuckled as he placed the heavy overalls next to the under shirt.
They were inside out. I opened my mouth to ask why he’d put them out like that but he started explaining before I got a chance. “The outsides are gonna get wet either way if these are gonna be his outer layer,” Tim explained. “If we want to get Coach Z out of her as quick as we can we can’t wait for the entire thing to be dry, just the stuff that’s gonna to rub up against the rest of his clothes.”
I patted Tim on the back for his good thinking. “What’s going on Justin? Why are all the clothes out?” Jessica was poking through the pile of clothes on the floor and pulled out a small pink t-shirt that had gotten stuck inside one of the bigger sweaters. “Hey! This is mine! I thought I left it at the pool.” She smiled widely and immediately stripped off her shirts to change.
Tim was right there before she got completely naked, though most everyone turned away just the same. “I think you should wait until you get that t-shirt home before wearing it Jessica,” He said as he pulled the shirt out of her reluctant hands. “We…You don’t know where that’s been. Even the lost and found box has some interesting things in it at times.” While Jessica wasn’t watching he threw it under the bed and lowered his voice to whisper in my ear. “Interesting critters too.” I shuddered despite myself and was glad he’d had the sense to hide her t-shirt. Though it might have been one she liked there were others and if Tim felt it was unsafe for her to be wearing a t-shirt from the pile I had to wonder if the long sleeve shirt drying on the floor was any better.
I voiced my concern to Coach Z himself. “I’ve seen the creatures as well,” He said as he smiled. “I was planning on leaving that shirt in the next room, completely by accident of course.” I made a mental not to require that Claire wash her hands sometime in the near future.
As we waited for the clothes to dry I kept an eye on Mrs. Snowburn. She slept soundly and I couldn’t help but make sure she was still alive every few minutes. “Jessica, you asked me why Coach Z was getting dressed?” She nodded and I sat her on my knee. “Johnny and Dan, you should hear this too.” They both came over, though Dan clearly wasn’t interested. “Coach Z is going to go get help. As you can see Mrs. Snowburn is sick.” I looked at Dan specifically for the next sentence. “Harold isn’t doing much better.” Dan nodded his approval of the idea and I went back to my main point. “Tim and I have set up signs that he and Jessica made outside but we’re not sure if it will be enough. The heater’s going to di…break soon and we need help as soon as we can get. Coach Z is going to get us that help.” They all looked at Coach Z as he walked out of the room with the undershirt and the overalls in hand. “Because we’re going to be short one extra person I need you three to be on your best behavior. Dan, you’ve been doing good so far and I don’t want to see you do anything that might hurt someone. Jessica and Johnny, Tim and Claire are going to still be here but with Coach Z’s departure it means, besides trips to the bathroom, you’re going to have to stay in here for the rest our time here. Think you can stay calm?” The both nodded. “We’re almost done and everything will start returning to something more normal.”
Johnny and Dan walked away after I was finished with my explanation but Jessica stayed on my lap. I watched her for some time as she stared at Mrs. Snowburn sleeping. “Is that how my family died? Sleeping like that?” She looked up at me for an answer but there was none. I didn’t know and I wasn’t about to give her false hope. Thankfully it seemed like she caught on and leaned into my chest and sit there until she fell asleep.
When Tim eventually took her away I could feel the damp patches where her tears were already drying.
Everything from that point on is simply a blur in my memory. Mrs. Snowburn, Jessica, and Harold slept. Sean, Claire, and Tim kept their eyes on their charges and spent the rest of their time sitting or laying down in an effort to save their energy for when the rescue team came. Johnny colored and re-colored the pieces of paper left over, not really making anything specific but instead keeping his hand busy. Dan sat on the bed next to his father crosselegged and read the three books Tim had found. Ms. George took over the cards and played solitaire for the duration of the wait.
We heard the rumbling of the snowmobiles as they made their way down the street in front of the school. Tim and I met the paramedics at the door and everything and everyone was out within minutes after their arrival. After a few question we figured out that Coach Z was at the hospital and was fine save for a few patches of frostbite. “I knew he was going to leave without that shirt.” Claire muttered to herself as she dressed Johnny.
Mrs. Snowurn was placed on a sled that was hooked up behind one of the snowmobiles and she and Harold were the first to leave. I asked if I could travel with her, but since I wasn’t a family member they asked that I didn’t for insurance reasons or something. I was content with whatever reason, but I would have liked to be with her when she got to the hospital. They said her children were waiting and it would have been nice to make sure she got placed into their hands directly. She passed away a week later from the complications. Because the grave sight she was supposed to be buried in was frozen she was cremated and her ashes were scattered over the burial plot. Her tombstone reads:
Penny Snowburn
October 15, 1962 – January 10, 2008
Devoted Wife
Devoted Mother
Devoted Teacher
No comments:
Post a Comment