heavily. “I manage to keep dogs at bay all my life,” she said, “and I get snowed in with a giant, dewy-eyed, four-legged manipulator who can't tell the time.”
Domino wagged his tail.
“Those eyes...you sure know how to use them.” She turned away. “I'm going to have a shower.”
Domino lumbered to his feet and rounded the bed to follow her.
“Oh no you don't,” she said, making shooing motions with her hands. “There's no way you're going to watch me take a shower, even if you are a dog. And that goes double since you're a 'he' dog...and I'm talking to a dog again.”
As she closed the door, his sad eyes wrenched at her heart.
Morning ablutions complete, she quickly prepared and bolted down her breakfast. Then she threw on as much protection from the Alpine winter as she could and ventured with Domino out into the snow.
It took a moment or two for her eyes to adjust to the glaring light, boosted by the snow-covered landscape. Once her brain had calibrated the optimum dilation of her iris, Genie focus shifted to her ears. She suddenly realized how quiet it was.
The silence hadn't registered the previous day. And she certainly hadn't noticed it on that first night. Then nothing had been silent. The roar of the snowstorm had beaten the ambient silence into submission.
She stood still, closed her eyes and absorbed the silence. It was almost palpable. Eerie, almost. Only the virtually imperceptible whisper of the breeze wafted into her ears as it weaved its way among the distant trees. Even then, Genie wasn't sure if she was imagining it.
She also expected to hear sounds rising out of San Rafael in the valley below. Shouts from the skiers. Music. Something.
Nothing.
“I'm not sure I could get used to this quiet,” she told Domino.
“Woof,” Domino responded and wagged his tail.
No people babble. No traffic roar. No music. And that smell. There isn't one. Not even a farm smell. The air's so clean it was almost obscene.
“This peaceful, up-town Lorenzo-ville is okay,” she said “But, give me the bustling, noisy, polluted city anytime.”
Genie traced her line of vision along the wire fence separating Lorenzo's hideaway from the silent wilderness beyond. Other than the sections obscured by buildings, she could turn 360 degrees and keep the fence in sight. “This is one small farm,” she said, shielding her eyes and scanning the land around her. “All right for one man to manage, I suppose.”
His greenhouse loomed large in her vision. It was a major contribution to his self-sufficient lifestyle. A huge glass, edifice, extending from the house as the long stroke of the letter 'L' for some ten meters. Genie guessed it would be full of a wide range of vegetables. “For sure, he wouldn't be growing flowers in there.”
At the moment, the snow made every part of Lorenzo's land looked like every other part. She took to guessing the purpose of various sections. She saw a large area beyond the greenhouse which looked like a garden. Most likely it was used for growing vegetables during the warmer seasons. Next to his garden, fenced off, was a section shaped like a giant orange segment. Genie guessed it was a field. No doubt it was reserved for the cows to use and graze when the snow disappeared.
“Okay, now I know all about the farm,” she said. “I'm going to find your Dad, Domino. You do what you want.”
Domino woofed and sprang to her side.
“Am I ever going to be able to do something on my own in this place?”
She encountered Lorenzo in the barn.
“So, you are awake at last,” he said.
“All this fresh mountain air - it's getting to me. It got me up and out full of beans this morning – very unusual for me. And I've no idea what time it is. Those thieves took my watch.”
Lorenzo peered at the open doorway. “The sun tells me it's about six.”
“Six?” In the
Domino wagged his tail.
“Those eyes...you sure know how to use them.” She turned away. “I'm going to have a shower.”
Domino lumbered to his feet and rounded the bed to follow her.
“Oh no you don't,” she said, making shooing motions with her hands. “There's no way you're going to watch me take a shower, even if you are a dog. And that goes double since you're a 'he' dog...and I'm talking to a dog again.”
As she closed the door, his sad eyes wrenched at her heart.
Morning ablutions complete, she quickly prepared and bolted down her breakfast. Then she threw on as much protection from the Alpine winter as she could and ventured with Domino out into the snow.
It took a moment or two for her eyes to adjust to the glaring light, boosted by the snow-covered landscape. Once her brain had calibrated the optimum dilation of her iris, Genie focus shifted to her ears. She suddenly realized how quiet it was.
The silence hadn't registered the previous day. And she certainly hadn't noticed it on that first night. Then nothing had been silent. The roar of the snowstorm had beaten the ambient silence into submission.
She stood still, closed her eyes and absorbed the silence. It was almost palpable. Eerie, almost. Only the virtually imperceptible whisper of the breeze wafted into her ears as it weaved its way among the distant trees. Even then, Genie wasn't sure if she was imagining it.
She also expected to hear sounds rising out of San Rafael in the valley below. Shouts from the skiers. Music. Something.
Nothing.
“I'm not sure I could get used to this quiet,” she told Domino.
“Woof,” Domino responded and wagged his tail.
No people babble. No traffic roar. No music. And that smell. There isn't one. Not even a farm smell. The air's so clean it was almost obscene.
“This peaceful, up-town Lorenzo-ville is okay,” she said “But, give me the bustling, noisy, polluted city anytime.”
Genie traced her line of vision along the wire fence separating Lorenzo's hideaway from the silent wilderness beyond. Other than the sections obscured by buildings, she could turn 360 degrees and keep the fence in sight. “This is one small farm,” she said, shielding her eyes and scanning the land around her. “All right for one man to manage, I suppose.”
His greenhouse loomed large in her vision. It was a major contribution to his self-sufficient lifestyle. A huge glass, edifice, extending from the house as the long stroke of the letter 'L' for some ten meters. Genie guessed it would be full of a wide range of vegetables. “For sure, he wouldn't be growing flowers in there.”
At the moment, the snow made every part of Lorenzo's land looked like every other part. She took to guessing the purpose of various sections. She saw a large area beyond the greenhouse which looked like a garden. Most likely it was used for growing vegetables during the warmer seasons. Next to his garden, fenced off, was a section shaped like a giant orange segment. Genie guessed it was a field. No doubt it was reserved for the cows to use and graze when the snow disappeared.
“Okay, now I know all about the farm,” she said. “I'm going to find your Dad, Domino. You do what you want.”
Domino woofed and sprang to her side.
“Am I ever going to be able to do something on my own in this place?”
She encountered Lorenzo in the barn.
“So, you are awake at last,” he said.
“All this fresh mountain air - it's getting to me. It got me up and out full of beans this morning – very unusual for me. And I've no idea what time it is. Those thieves took my watch.”
Lorenzo peered at the open doorway. “The sun tells me it's about six.”
“Six?” In the
Similar Books
