Chapter 33 - A Winter Retreat
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The stress of the year finally caught up with us, prompting an executive decision from Grace: a mandatory, electronics-free weekend at a cabin in the snowy mountains upstate.
"If I hear one more cell phone ring with a corporate emergency, I am throwing the devices into the fireplace," Grace had threatened as we packed the SUV.
The cabin was rustic, built of heavy timber, and smelled strongly of pine and woodsmoke.
On Saturday afternoon, a massive blizzard rolled in, burying the roads under two feet of snow and completely isolating us from the outside world.
Instead of panicking, we embraced the quiet.
Noah and I spent hours sitting by the large stone fireplace, playing a merciless, highly competitive game of chess.
"You're leaving your bishop exposed, Dad," Noah warned, taking a sip of hot cocoa.
"I'm executing a highly sophisticated flanking maneuver," I lied, moving a pawn to cover my disastrous mistake.
Grace sat in an armchair nearby, wrapped in a thick quilt, reading a murder mystery and occasionally offering unhelpful commentary on my chess strategy.
"He's baiting you, Daniel," Grace noted without looking up from her book. "He learned how to trap an opponent from watching Evelyn negotiate."
"I am a victim of my own excellent parenting," I sighed, watching Noah capture my bishop with a triumphant smirk.
The wind howled outside, rattling the heavy wooden shutters, but inside the cabin, it was impossibly warm.
I looked at the chessboard, then at my son, and finally at Grace. We were trapped in a snowstorm, miles away from civilization, and there was absolutely nowhere else I would rather be.
"Checkmate," Noah announced, sliding his queen across the board.
May you like
"Best two out of three," I demanded, resetting the pieces.
The storm raged on, but the cabin remained a fortress of light, laughter, and unbreakable peace.
