moment the wind caught her from behind, catching at her jacket andmaking it cling to her back. When she got back to the two-lanehighway and turned north, the wind tried to tear her jacket off her, andeven when she zipped it closed, it cut through. The snow was comingdown for real now, falling steadily and sticking on the grass and on thegravel at the edges of the road. Her feet were getting wet and coldright through her shoes as she walked along in the weeds, so she hadto move out onto the asphalt. She walked on the left side of the roadso she could see any oncoming cars, and that made her feel like shewas a kid in school again, listening to the safety instructions. Wear lightclothing at night and always walk on the left side of the road, facingtraffic. Why? So they can see your white, white face and your brightterrified eyes just before they run you down.

She reached the intersection where the road to town slanted upfrom the Great River Road. There was a car coming, so she waited forit to pass before crossing the street. She was looking forward toheading southeast for a while, so the wind wouldn't be right in herface. It'd be just her luck to catch a cold and get laryngitis. Couldn'tafford laryngitis. Once she got that it could linger for months. Cost herhalf a million dollars once, back in '73, five months of laryngitis and acancelled tour. Promoter was going to sue her, too, since he figuredhe'd lost ten times that much. His lawyer talked sense to him, though,and the lawsuit and the promoter both went away. Those were thedays, when the whole world trembled if I caught a cold. Now it'd justbe Minnie Wilcox in the Harmony Cafe, and it wouldn't exactly takeher by surprise. The sign was still in the window.

The car didn't pass. Instead it slowed down and stopped. Thedriver rolled down his window and leaned his head out. "Ride?"