Snowed In

It is three o'clock in the morning at Maggie's Cafe, a small diner on a lonely road in northern Minnesota. Outside, the snow is falling and the wind is very strong. The radio says the roads have been closed since three o'clock yesterday afternoon.

Six strangers have been in the cafe for twelve hours: Maggie, the owner; a truck driver called Hank; a young couple from Chicago; an old man with a violin; and Rosa, a nurse on her way home from work. Nobody has slept yet.

"Has anyone seen a snowplow yet?" asks Hank. He goes to the window again. "No," says Maggie. "I've just called the police. The snowplows haven't left the town yet. Maybe in the morning."

Food is a problem. They have already eaten all the pie: apple, cherry and chocolate. They have drunk forty cups of coffee. Maggie has just made the last pancakes. "After these, we only have bread and peanut butter," she says.

But the strangers aren't strangers anymore. The young couple has told everyone how they met. Hank has shown everyone photos of his grandchildren. Rosa has taught them a card game from Puerto Rico. And Mr. Olsen, the old man, has already played the violin three times.

"How long have you played the violin?" asks Rosa. "For seventy years," says Mr. Olsen. "Since I was ten. But I haven't played for other people for a long time. Tonight is different." He picks up the violin again, and this time everybody sings.

At six o'clock they hear a noise outside. Big yellow lights are coming down the road. "The snowplow!" shouts Hank. "It has finally arrived!" Everybody runs to the window and cheers.

Before they leave, they write their names and phone numbers on a napkin. "Same time next winter?" says Maggie, and everybody laughs. They haven't decided yet, but they have already started a group chat. Its name is "The Pie Club".