The only thing Dwight has to keep him company on this soft winter morning is Mose’s snoring. Dawn is barely breaking over the woods and the view from the tree stand where they’re perched is perfect. The falling snowflakes blanket the forest like the downy fur of a long gone cat that caused him a lot of trouble.
Dwight is armed with a crossbow while Mose hugs a thermos of hot cocoa close to his chest. They haven’t spotted any deer yet, which is what led to Mose’s boredom and eventual nodding off.
Dwight thinks it’s just as well - the deer won’t be scared away by their voices.
He takes a deep breath, filling his lungs with the biting winter air. The cold doesn’t bother him much (superior genes), but the silence does. Without Mose’s chatter or the crackling of a fire, he gets lost in his thoughts. He does everything he can not to think of her, but it seems like the nerves in his brain are determined to connect her to every process of his life. Every neuron that fires carries a message of her behind it. Just thinking about it gives him a headache.
He sighs, rests his head against the rough bark of the tree and looks up at the slowly fading moon. He can’t help but wonder if she’s awake yet, puttering around the house in her big fluffy robe and making a to-do list for the day. Sometimes he wonders which one of them is being more selfish, but mostly he just tries not to think about it. He figures she’ll come around. She has to, doesn’t she?
Mose whimpers and kicks his legs in his sleep, disrupting Dwight’s thoughts as well as the bow that’s sitting snugly between them. Dwight pulls the bow into his lap and frowns. He really wouldn’t mind killing something right about now. The thrill of the hunt would no doubt take his mind off things (and the later taxidermy and jerky-making would fill up some of his free time).
He frowns and grasps the bow tightly. He aims at a tree then lets the arrow and his frustrations loose. The arrow zips through the air and slams purposefully into the tree.
He can’t really say he’s satisfied, but he’s got to get ready for work.
He nudges Mose awake and says, “Let’s go home.”
