of her warmest clothes and headed for the stairs. When she got down to the kitchen, she saw Dory standing at the stove wearing a parka, boots and gloves, and wielding a spatula. Coffee was steeping in the glass push pot, and there was a pile of bacon and pancakes on a plate next to the oven. Dory was busy flipping eggs.
‘Wow,’ said Alex admiringly.
‘Snow day,’ said Dory amiably. ‘We need a good breakfast.’
‘So the range top works,’ said Alex.
Dory pointed the spatula at the piles of food. ‘As you can see.’
‘That’s great. I am hungry.’ She went over to the china closet and took out some plates. She set them down on the kitchen table.
‘I thought we’d eat in the living room by the fireplace,’ said Dory.
‘Oh,’ said Alex, in the mood to be agreeable. ‘OK. That’s a good idea. I’ll go get a fire started.’
‘Already did it,’ said Dory.
Alex’s eyes widened. ‘Really? Wow.’
‘What?’ Dory asked suspiciously.
‘Nothing, I’m just . . . lucky you’re here.’
Dory smiled and flipped an egg.
In truth, it was beyond the scope of the fireplace to heat up the room. If you stood five feet away from it, it was as cold as being outside. But Alex and Dory pulled their chairs near to the hearth and sat huddled with their plates on their laps, eating their breakfast. Alex ate twice what she normally had for breakfast.
‘I guess you liked it,’ said Dory.
‘It’s really good. Were you a girl scout or something?’
Dory shrugged. ‘My dad’s from Colorado – in the mountains. We’d drive out there sometimes to see his family, and one year we camped along the way. My mother and Lauren hated it. Lauren was always worried about her hair and manicure. But I liked it. My dad taught me how to build a fire and all that.’ Alex watched as Dory calmly related a family anecdote and asked herself the question she had asked herself a million times these last few weeks.
Did you kill her?
It seemed unimaginable that this slender, fragile woman who had just cooked her breakfast could have stabbed her own sister to death. She didn’t dare ask the question.
Dory frowned at her. ‘What?’
‘Oh. Just thinking that your camping experience came in handy today,’ said Alex.
Dory nodded and finished her breakfast. Alex took their plates into the kitchen and stopped to pull some extra blankets from the downstairs linen closet on her way back. She handed one to Dory, who was shivering by the fire. Dory put it over herself gratefully. Alex resumed her seat and did the same.
‘Did you ever go camping?’ Dory asked at last.
Alex shook her head. ‘My parents weren’t really . . . outdoorsy. They liked going to museums, restaurants. City stuff.’
Dory nodded and looked thoughtfully at the photo on the mantelpiece. ‘What was my mother like?’ she asked offhandedly.
Alex took a deep breath and thought about her mother. ‘She was . . . a wonderful person. She was very smart. She worked part time as an accountant. But I think what she liked most was just being home with us. She liked being a wife. And a mother. She had an easy laugh. You could tell her anything. She always made me feel . . . appreciated. Loved.’
Dory nodded. ‘She sounds nice.’
‘I wish you’d have known her,’ said Alex, meaning it.
Dory shrugged. ‘Just wasn’t meant to be.’
They were silent for a minute.
‘Do you think you’ll have kids someday?’ Dory asked.
‘I hope so,’ said Alex. ‘I mean, I’d like to get my career going first. And ideally, find the right guy to have kids with. But, yeah. Eventually. What about you?’
‘I don’t really think so,’ Dory said, staring into the fire.
‘You don’t like kids?’ Alex asked.
‘I just don’t think so,’ Dory said in a tone of finality, as if she wanted to close the door on the subject.
Alex nodded and then she shuddered. ‘Man, I hope the power comes back on. I don’t know how we’re going to keep warm all day.’
Dory straightened up and spoke in a no-nonsense tone. ‘We’ll go out and shovel. That will warm us up.’
Alex winced and looked at the icy windowpanes. ‘You want to go outside?’
‘Don’t be a wuss,’ said Dory, standing up. ‘It’ll be good for us.’
They stumbled through the snow to the backyard shed where Alex was able to find two shovels. Then they went out into the driveway and began to dig out.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before they were warmed up, and even though she got a