The phone rang as I was hurrying to the door. I gave it a mild curse, since I'd just gotten off the phone in the bedroom, after talking to a nonresident for more than a half hour (on his dime) about chronic wasting disease, and the cranial abcess disease running through the deer in his part of the world.

The second caller was Chuck.

The manager of the movie theaters. Just letting me know that the movie the eldest son was watching (The Two Towers again, of course, for like time number 10 or 11 (literally)) would be letting out in about ten minutes.

Bet you don't get that kind of a courtesy call from the theater managers in your community.

'Course, it might also have something to do with the fact that this was the last movie of the night, and the longer the eldest son has to wait for his ride, the later Chuck has to wait to lock up.

So I got to tell Chuck I was headed to the door at that very second (and would have been outside already if the damn phone hadn't rung). Wife was probably more upset by the second ringing of the phone than I. It was nearing ten o'clock, and the first conversation with the hunter was still moving right along, so she had begun getting out of her bedclothes and back into street clothes so she could ferry the eldest son home.

There's fresh snow out there. She hates the cold. Hates driving in snow, and likes snuggling with the warm masked heeler at bedtime. So she was ever so grateful when the hunter call ended. And probably just as grateful that Chuck's call was brief.

That meant I got to go.

Stole her warm, masked heeler, though.

Chuck also mentioned that eldest son got in to the movie for free tonight. Seems he was standing around waiting for the theater to open about the same time Chuck was staring at all the new-fallen snow covering his sidewalks.

So they worked a trade.