“Don’t cry. We’ve both done enough of that. And beside, your tears will freeze and you’ll get frostbite lines down those pretty cheeks. Most unattractive.”

Eila began to giggle even as the tears continued to flow. She looked up and gently slapped the side of Matt’s head.

“I hate that you still make me laugh. How the hell am I going to live without you?”

Matt squeezed his eyes tightly shut and clenched his jaw but said nothing.

After a few minutes Eila pushed him away gently.

“You better get back to storing the ice before Jacob freezes to death.”

Matt turned away, walked over to the horses and led the nearest one by the bridle to the garage of an abandoned house in the next block. On the right side of the driveway there was a pile of sawdust sporting a nightcap of crusted snow.

Jacob climbed up onto the wagon with a set of large metal ice tongs and grasped a block on the top layer, digging the points of the tongs into the ice by spreading the handles. He lowered the ice block down to Matt who used another set of tongs to drag it into the back of the garage. Matt grabbed a shovel and spread sawdust over the garage floor before lifting and sliding the ice block into place. More blocks were dragged in and laid side by side with a small gap between the blocks. When the first row was complete Matt spread sawdust on top of and between the blocks before starting on the next row. Within about half an hour all of the blocks had been stored away in the garage.

The two men then led the team back towards the house where Eila could be seen looking out of the living room window. They were sweating with the exertion of unloading the ice blocks even as the cold had frosted their eyelashes and hair. After settling the horses in their shelter behind the house they entered the backdoor, stomping the snow and ice from their feet.

“Ya, someting smells mighty good, for sure!” Eila smiled at Jacob’s enthusiastic greeting.

“I thought you boys had earned a good pancake breakfast.” As she finished setting the table it occurred to her that this would be the last meal she would be making for them.

Matt sat down heavily into the chair at the head of the small kitchen table and started cutting up the pancakes on his plate.

“Thanks, sweetheart. This is delicious. I appreciate you going to the trouble.”

Once again he smiled at her. Once again there was sadness in his eyes. He gave his head a quick shake and turned to Jacob.

“So Jacob, are we close to having enough ice stored? I’m getting a bit tired of these trips to the lake. It’s impossible to keep dry and we are getting to the point where we have less than 7 hours of light every day.”

“Vell Matt, yes I think vee are close. Back in Pennsylvania vee are storing maybe 8 blocks of ice for each person to get through the summer. I don’t think it is any varmer here than dere. So vee are close now.”

Ever the practical one, Eila asked Jacob if there was any special equipment needed to keep food cold using ice.

“No, no, Eila. Normal fridge vill vork yust fine. Yust need to put the ice in a big bowl on the top shelf and replace it ven it melts. Frozen food needs to be packed in ice but Matt can use a separate fridge for that. He’ll have plenty to choose from.”

“I suppose” replied Eila. “They’re all being left behind from what I understand.”

She watched the two men eat for a few minutes and poured Matt a second cup of coffee. She was trying to pretend this was just another day. Finally, she noticed it was getting late and she reluctantly headed upstairs to get ready for school.

Eila was determined to look her very best for this, her last day in Oslo. She was meticulous in applying her make-up and chose to wear her best suit, emerald green with leather trim on the collar. She wanted to go out in style.

She finished packing the last few toiletry items into a large suitcase. Then she looked around the bedroom she had shared with Matt for the past 5 years.

It was not a very inviting space anymore, which made leaving it easier. All her artwork and nick-knacks had been packed into boxes and loaded into the orange container that had occupied one side of the driveway for the past month; the orange container that would be picked up this afternoon and taken to the transport ship. With a heavy sigh she picked up the suitcase and hauled it down the stairs to the front entranceway.

Matt waited by the door until she put on her outdoor gear and gave her a big bear hug as she got ready to leave.

“So this is it, then” he said with an artificial cheerfulness.

Eila nodded her head. For a moment she did not speak and when she did her voice was thin and shaky.

“Matt, I wish I was brave enough and strong enough to stay with you. But I’m not. I know that. The idea of having to deal with the drudgery of a world without power, and the fear of getting ill without any proper medical facilities – I can’t face that. And there is no way that I would want to raise a child in that kind of environment.” After that last sentence Eila bit her lip hard so that she wouldn’t break down.