Page 15 of Saving Mr. Bell

“You should have been a nurse.”

“Yeah?”

“Only… I’d suggest not kidnapping your patients. Let them come to you instead.”

I returned to give the pan of soup on the stove a quick stir. “I wish you wouldn’t use that word.”

“Nurse?”

I leveled him with a stare. “Kidnap.”

“Am I or am I not here against my will?”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“But it’s for my own good?”

“You don’t have to say it like it’s an absolutely outlandish concept.”

“Oh, trust me, I do. It’s been six years, Arlo. People don’t stay incommunicado for six years and then decide they’re the person to swoop in and save them.”

“Who else was going to do it?” Rudolf slipped further under the blankets, the action not quick enough to hide the wounded expression on his face. “I didn’t mean—”

“Yeah, you did. It’s fine. Poor little lost boy surrounded by people but with no one to talk to. Is that what you see when you look at me?”

I filled two bowls with the chicken soup, putting one on a tray and adding a couple of slices of bread and a spoon before carrying it over and positioning it carefully on Rudolf’s lap. “Is that what you are?”

He pushed the blankets down far enough that he could free his arms to hold on to the tray when I let go of it. “Who the fuck knows? I’m usually far too busy for that level of reflection. And friends are difficult when you’re in the public eye. You know that.”

I conceded the point with a slight inclination of my head. “So… take a break. Take some time to reflect on things. You might find it useful.” My soup, I carried over to the kitchen table.

Rudolf lifted a spoonful to his mouth, his expression saying it was nicer than he’d expected as he swallowed. “In case you haven’t noticed, I have issues with the way you went about it. That’s why I keep using the kidnap word.”

I thought hard for a moment. “Okay. How about I agree to take you back to town?”

“You will?”

I nodded. “I accept I did the wrong thing and that I can’t keep you here against your will.”

“But?”

“But…” I flashed a smile. “Although Iwantto take you back, I can’t because of the snow. Like it or not, we’re both stuck here until the roads are clear enough to drive.”

Rudolf let out a sigh. “And how long will that be?”

I shrugged. “A few days. A week. Two? There’s no way of knowing.”

Rudolf ate his soup in silence for a few moments. “I want my SIM card back.”

“I wasn’t lying about the lack of reception.”

“I know. You showed me your phone. I still want it back. Call it a guarantee that you meant what you said about taking meback as soon as the roads decide to play ball. There’s other stuff on there. Music. Photos. Messages. We’ve got the same phone, so I’ll share your charger.” He narrowed his eyes in a challenge. “Can I have it back or not?”

“Sure. I’ll find it later. It’s in the car.”

Rudolf nodded. “And how long before we starve to death?” His brow furrowed. “Can you eat wolf?”

“I suppose so. It’s meat. It’s probably one of the many things in the world that supposedly tastes like chicken. How are you figuring on catching one?”

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