Meat and Tater got back to town yesterday. If I hadn't seen them walking in their front door, I wouldn't have known they were gone.
"Hey SJ, things are looking pretty normal around here. Get through the ice storm okay?"
"Ice storm? Where have y'all been?"
"We've been in Vermont the last 3 weeks knothead. I told you we were going."
That, technically, is true. Meat did tell me they were going to the northern woods. I thought he meant an overnighter in the flatwoods between Sycamore and Dorton. Who in the world goes to Vermont at the first of February for "some fresh air".
Meat and Tater do, that's who. They were holed up in a cabin up close to the Canadian border enjoying two feet of snow, a blazing fireplace, and a few fifths of Kentucky's finest.
"You know, you'd think people who live in such cold places would come up with some tasty anti-freeze, wouldn't you? But no, between Canadian Mist and applejack, those poor folks are faced with bad and worse. Thank gawd for Kentucky."
Tater smacked Meat in the back of the head. "I don't want to hear one more word from you about your precious bourbon. What kind of person complains about free booze? It was good enough for you at the ski lodge, wasn't it 'Mr. Passed out in the Men's Room'?"
"We don't need to get into that now Tater. So what about the ice storm SJ, we heard it was crazy down here. Power out and wrecks everywhere. They don't get ice storms in Vermont, too much snow!"
"Well, the truth is, it missed us. Our electricity didn't even flicker. The Breaks got a lot of tree damage in the higher elevations. But most of the lowlands, at least south of Pikeville, just got rain. So what made y'all decide to go to Vermont?"
Meat got a look on his face and pointed to Tater still standing behind him. He then disappeared the house carrying a 3 week overnight bag.
"It was kind of a spur of the moment thing. We figured since it snowed here on Groundhog Day, that was a sign winter will be about over by the end of the month. We've had some winter here this year for a change, but I wanted to get my fill up home. Meat can lay around and drink in Vermont just as well as he can in Kentucky, right?"
"No doubt."
"Now don't tell him I said this, but I was ready to get back. I knew it'd be warming up here about now and it's time for some spring. I'm thinking it's going to be early here and I want to be ready with a new flower bed in March. I love my old home, but there's nothing like springtime in east Kentucky."
From inside the house, "I heard that."
She smiles at me across the yard and loud whispers "plus we were about out of bourbon and honestly, nobody wants to sip Canadian Mist by the fire."
I might not have known they were gone, but I sure am glad they're back.