An older married couple

The car stayed running and the driver got out. He stepped toward the house, then sees us in the hot tub. He yelled across the blowing snow, “Is this 742 Evergreen Terrace?”

I yelled back, “Yes!”

He stepped closer so he didn’t have to yell as loud, “We have a reservation at this cabin for our 20th anniversary.”

I called back, “We have a reservation as well, and a code for the locks.”

The man mumbled, “Shit.” The snow fell into his salt and pepper hair. “They must have double booked the cabin. It took us forever to get here. The roads aren’t safe. I don’t think I can drive us back.”

Monica came up to the side of the tub, keeping everything neck down below water, she said, “No. You shouldn’t be driving in this! Take your stuff inside, and get warm. We can share tonight, and figure it out tomorrow when the weather is better.”

“Oh my god, thank you so much! Seriously I was so stressed driving here, I don’t think I could go any further.” He walks back to the car and gets in to tell his wife the situation.

I said to Monica, “The cabin is only one open space with a giant bed. How are we all going to share?”

She looked me in the eye, “I don’t know. We’ll figure it out. We can’t send them back out in this. It’s snowed a foot since we’ve been in the hot tub, and my fingers are barely pruning.”

The man and his wife got out of the car, huddled in their coats. They dragged their bags through the fresh powder. The wife yelled through the blowing snow, “I’m so sorry this happened! But thank you so much!”

Monica yelled, “No problem! Get inside and get warm!”

I took a chug from the bottle of wine, watching them go inside the cabin. I watch every action they take through the window. Setting their bags down. Looking at the small room and the big bed, the discarded clothes on the floor. The husband went into the bathroom. The wife took off her coat, and found a spot to hang it up. She was still pretty far away but I could tell she didn’t have a bad physique: a short woman who ran everyday.

Monica said, “I know it’s like spying but I can’t take my eyes off them.”

The man came out of the bathroom and talked to his wife.

“I wonder what they’re talking about. Maybe they’ll have an idea about how we can share the room.”

The woman dug into her luggage, then disappeared into the bathroom. The man took off his shirt—in pretty good shape for someone twice my age. Grabbed something out of the bag, and pulled down his pants, exposing his bare ass to us.

Monica put a hand to her mouth, “Oh my I shouldn’t be watching!” But she didn’t look away. The husband pulled on another pair of shorts, covering himself back up. The wife came out of the bathroom wearing a bikini.

It was my turn to say, “Oh my!”

Monica watched them walk to the door, “Oh shit! They’re coming out here to join us and we’re totally naked! Oh my god, give me that.” She grabbed and finished what was left in the wine bottle.

The married couple trudged through the foot of snow to the hot tub. The wife combed back her blondish hair, and said, “Thank you again for letting us stay! This is such a mess.”

“And we brought a gift out here to share with you,” the husband held up a very nice looking bottle of whiskey.

“Oh it’s no problem,” Monica said. “You can just join us, but just a warning. We are nude.”

The wife replied, “That doesn’t bother us. Would it make you more comfortable if we were nude too?”