“Get off the damn counter!”  I place my hand on the side of Solo’s head and gently push him until he jumps to the floor.  “Training a cat is pointless.”

He whines and rubs against my legs.

“I don’t want him to start another fire,” Seri says, glancing up from her book.  “If he can learn to stay off the counters, he can learn to stay off the mantle, and we wouldn’t go through so much kerosene.”

“I still wish he was a husky.”

“If you want a dog, get a dog.”

“I didn’t say I wanted a dog,” I say as I place Solo’s food bowl on the floor.  “I just wish Solo was a dog.  Not the same thing.  If there were one more living creature in this place, I’d have to build an addition.”

Seri waves her hand dismissively and looks back down at the book.  It’s the mystery I bought in Yellowknife at the beginning of the winter season, which now seems like a couple of lifetimes ago.  We have both been reading the book, switching off after a couple of chapters and discussing our theories.  A few times, Seri read out loud to me.  Now, she’s reading the last chapter, and I’m still two chapters behind.

Solo finishes his fish, and I wash the dishes from his meal and ours.  Just as I get everything on the drying rack, Seri speaks again.

“Okay,” Seri says as she places the book down on the table, “I’m finished.  You have to catch up because that ending was—”

“No spoilers!” I yell, and Seri laughs.

“Read faster!”

“Later,” I say.  “We need to get the wood brought up from the barn before it gets dark.  You ready?”

“Yep.  Let’s do it.”

As Seri and I get our winter gear on, Solo meows and runs back and forth in front of the door.

“Solo wants to go out, too,” Seri says.

“I can’t believe how much that cat likes snow,” I say with a shake of my head.  “After his beginnings, you’d think he’d never stray more than ten feet from the fire.”

We make our way outside, and Solo prances over the snow, attacking little chunks of ice between the cabin and the barn.  As we load wood, Solo sits just inside the barn door and licks snow from his paws.

“Maybe we can make him some little boots,” Seri says.  “He’d be so cute!”

“I’ll make them,” I tell her, “but you have to put them on him.”

“Good point.”  Seri nods.  “That could be a very dangerous activity.”

We finish loading the sled with wood and the last of the fish.  Solo helps by jumping to the top of the sled and using the logs as a scratching post.  He tilts his nose up and sniffs the air with his mouth slightly open, and I wonder what it is he smells.

Can cats be taught to track game for a hunt, like dogs are?

I look over at Seri, and I see her looking out toward the rocks to the northwest.  She bites down on her lower lip and then looks away.

“Never should have told you where I buried them,” I mumble.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

She narrows her eyes at me but doesn’t press the issue.  At least now she’s wondering what I’m muttering about instead of thinking of Kyle McGuire’s gravesite.

We load up the sled and haul the wood back to the cabin in good time.  Solo rushes back and forth in front of the sled, occasionally jumping on top of it for a ride.  Once all the wood has been stacked up inside the cabin, I haul the sled back to the barn.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a bright golden glow.  As I walk back to the cabin door, I stare at the horizon as the gold slowly changes to green, and lights streaks across the sky.

“Hey, Seri!” I call out.  “Come back out here!”

“What is it?” Seri asks as she pokes her head out the door.

“Look.”  I point north and watch Seri’s expression as she stares up into the sky.

“Is that the northern lights?”

“Yep.”

“Oh my God.”  She takes a few steps out the door.  “You can really see the lights move!”

“It’s a good, clear night,” I tell her.  “We could get quite a show.”

As Seri stares at the sky with her mouth open, I head back inside and grab the bearskin rug.  I lay it on top of the snow, and Seri and I sit down to watch as the lights change from green to pink, dancing across the sky.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”  I pull her closer to me and press my lips to her temple.

“Fucking gorgeous.”

I glance at her eyes and bright smile.  Though Seri curses more often than she used to, it still catches me off guard, but there’s no sign of Iris in her expression.  Still, I wonder if there isn’t something left of her, buried deep down.

I miss Iris sometimes—Netti, too.  Then I think about how strange it is to mourn for someone who didn’t truly, physically die.  In fact, the physical form is sitting right next to me, smiling up at the horizon and pressing her body against mine.  The scar on her shoulder isn’t bad at all, especially considering the jagged edge of the hunting knife.  Going to the clinic had been risky, but I couldn’t take a chance on Seri’s well-being.

No one knows what happened out here but Seri and me.  I haven’t even told Margot about it—only that he came here and eventually left, never to be seen again.  She gave me quite a skeptical look, but she didn’t press for more information.

“This is really amazing,” Seri says.

“I’m glad you decided to stay with me before you saw it,” I tell her.

“Why is that?”

“Otherwise, I’d assume you’d just want to stay for the lights.  You know, there are people who travel all over the world just for the chance to see this.  Last year, the lights lasted for a full week, and I had the perfect view right there on the porch.”

“How do they last for a whole week?”

“Do I look like a fucking meteorologist?”

Seri laughs.  I grin as I grip her hand, but my grin fades.

“You do still want to stay?” I ask her.  “I mean, you aren’t reconsidering living here, right?”

“Of course I want to stay.”  Seri looks at me quizzically.  “Why would I leave?”

“I don’t know.”  I shrug.  At this point, I can’t imagine Seri not being here, and the idea that she could leave me is troubling.  Though I’m used to living with Seri, I still suck when it comes to expressing myself.  “It’s cold.  The food isn’t great, and you only have me for company.”

“We have Solo, too.”  Seri looks back at the sky.  “And don’t forget, you promised to take me to that Hand Game tournament next week.”

“I haven’t forgotten.”

I’m not sure if I’m looking forward to introducing Seri to everyone in the community.  People are going to recognize her from Kyle’s pictures and ask questions.  They’re going to want to know who she is and why that guy was trying to find her.  As Margot has said, small communities like to know everything about everyone’s business.  They’ve learned to leave me be, but I’m not sure how Seri will fare.

At least I won’t have to worry about Iris getting into another verbal sparring match with Margot.  Well, I hope not.  I can’t be positive, but sometimes I see this glint in Seri’s eye, and I think Iris isn’t completely gone.

Maybe she isn’t.  Maybe Iris and Netti are still in there, hidden deep inside.  Seri says they are not, but how can I ever know for sure?  I’m no more a psychiatrist than I am a meteorologist, and I don’t have many answers.  One thing is for sure—I love the woman sitting next to me just how she is, as a single or with the others.  I no longer think in terms of what’s real and what isn’t.  I’m not sure that it matters.  I’m happy.  Seri is happy.  Who cares about the rest?

I lean against the single woman in my life, and she turns her head to place her lips against mine.  The kiss is gentle and warm, and I wonder if we could keep warm enough to have sex out here under the brilliant spectacle of the aurora borealis.

Seri pulls away and snuggles against me with her head on my chest.  I wrap both arms around her and glance down.  Her eyes are closed, and she’s smiling—perfectly content in my embrace.

When I first found Seri and Iris and Netti, I felt outnumbered.  Over time, I got used to the idea of three women inside of one body.  Now that they have merged into one, adjusting has been easier.  Though I sometimes miss the others, I know I’ll be content with my one and only Seri.

I still have my demons, and I’m still a loner.  The bombardment of violent images that used to haunt me has abated.  With Seri in my life, perhaps they will disappear completely.  I still remain awkward and often unable to “open up” and express myself, but Seri understands and encourages me.  She’s there for me, and I am there for her.  That’s what a relationship is supposed to be about, isn’t it?

Hell if I know.

I’m just glad she’s here beside me on a bearskin rug.  I’m happy she’s satisfied to live a simple life with me in a tiny cabin surrounded by this beautiful, snow-covered landscape.

Just the two of us.

~~The End~~