There's a frantic knock on the door, Wendy peeks her head out of the tent she's built in the middle of the living room. She grabs her robe, the flashlight, and picks up the umbrella hanging on the hook close to the front door. She looks into the peephole which is dimly lit by the emergency hallway lights. 

"Hello?" a small voice on the other side of the door calls out. "Um, it's your neighbour, Irene," the voice continues. Wendy thinks of pretending she's not in. After all, this could be a ploy and she could end up murdered. Against her better judgement, she opens the door to find a woman the same height as her, bundled up in her parka. 

"Hi," Wendy replies, her hand gripped onto the handle in case this neighbour Irene turns out to be serial killer Irene. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I just came home and was wondering why the power was out?"

"Oh, I read on twitter that some truck slid into a transformer and knocked out power to a few blocks. Management sent out a message saying that the city sent out emergency crews to restore power but they weren't sure how long it would take. They said they would try to gather non electric emergency heaters but that might take a while."

The small woman across from Wendy just nods her head, taking the new information in. They've seen each other in passing and rode the elevator together a few times, but this was the first time they were exchanging more than a few salutations. 

When the woman wasn't making any moves away from the door, Wendy assumed maybe she was scared. An apartment without power can be eerily silent and not to mention cold. "Um, did you want to come in?" Wendy opened her door wider, letting her neighbour see the set up she had. 

In the middle of the living room couch cushions were spread out on the floor. The shell of the couch was being used to prop a bed sheet against two chairs that acted as posts. Two lanterns were giving a soft warm glow to the whole area. 

"I figured, the bedroom would be cold considering it's right next to the floor to ceiling windows and I thought the best spot would be in the middle of the living room. The couch cushions are great because they're soft but also provide insulation. I also have a duvet under the tent."

Irene couldn't help but smile. She didn't think they were too far apart in age but her neighbour's description of a "tent" was reminiscent of a child. 

"Oh, I don't want to be a bother," Irene said, slowly starting to walk backwards. "Well, if you change your mind, I'll probably be up for a bit. I'm a little bit of a side survivalist. So I have a lot of battery chargers, snacks and extra blankets."

Irene thanked her neighbour and turned towards her door. It was only when the cold air of her apartment hit her face that she realized she forgot to ask her name. Irene was too tired to eat and she couldn't even take a hot shower, so she decided to get changed and laid in bed with all the blankets she owned, but her neighbour was right, the windows were giving off too much cold air. 

It took an hour of convincing herself to knock on the door again. She thought maybe her neighbour had gone to sleep and as she was about to turn around and enter her cold apartment, the door opened. "You're back," Wendy said cheerfully. She noticed that Irene was mid turn when she opened the door, "sorry, I had my earphones in, so I didn't hear you knock right away."

"Oh, I'm sorry for bothering you again." Irene's hand was already on the handle of her apartment door when Wendy called out, "do you want some tea?"

Irene was about to say no when she felt her stomach decide differently, unfortunately Wendy heard it's objections, "I also have ramen." 

When she turned to face Wendy, she could see Wendy's warm eyes smiling back. "I haven't had dinner yet," Irene said, embarrassed for harassing her neighbour, with whom she still hadn't learned her name yet. Wendy opened the door wider and as Irene walked past her, she said "I'm Wendy, by the way. I think I forgot to introduce myself earlier."

"I'm Irene," she said and Wendy just smiled, "yes, I remember." Irene looked around the apartment and noticed the layout was similar, except it was reversed. "My kitchen is on the right and yours is on the left." 

Irene was perpetually cold, so she showed up to Wendy's with her toque, scarf, parka, thick wool socks and snow boots on, which she left beside the front door along with Wendy's other shoes. 

"When I read on twitter that a car had knocked out the power and the amount of blocks effected, I figured it was going to be a long night, so I dumped the water from my water boiler into like five thermoses, so I have plenty of hot water to make ramen. I also have," Wendy pointed to her cabinets which were neatly organized. "Feel free to pick anything you want." Wendy started pouring the hot water into the shin ramyun bowl and Irene thought nothing ever smelled as delicious as this. 

"Oh, no, this is fine, thank you." 

Wendy placed the steaming bowl onto the island. "Did you want to take off your coat? I have this amazingly plush robe you can use." Irene didn't want to be rude so she nodded yes and thanked her once again. When she took off her coat and placed it behind the chair, she was surprised when Wendy took off the robe she was wearing and draped it over Irene. "But, I didn't, you probably, I didn't mean," Irene was malfunctioning which only made Wendy's smile grow wider.

"Oh, I have another one, but that was honestly getting too warm, so you're really doing me a favour." Before Irene could object once again, Wendy was off, presumably to her bedroom to get a much colder robe. Irene peeled off the top of the ramyun and received a steam facial, she gathered one big bite against her chopsticks and was savouring every second. 

"I also grabbed an extra duvet that you can use," Wendy said rounding the corner. Irene was swallowing a big bite when Wendy entered and when she saw Wendy wearing a child sized Gudetama robe, she almost choked. 

"Oh my god, are you ok?" Wendy asked, running towards the cabinet to grab a glass before pouring water into it. "Here, please, drink," she said pushing the glass towards Irene. "I'm sorry," Irene managed to say, "I just wasn't expecting...that," she said, staring at the bright yellow robe. 

"Oh, don't you think it's eggcellent?" Wendy asked in a deadpan voice. This caused Irene's eyes to roll back so spectacularly Wendy was roaring with laughter.  "I'm so sorry," Irene said. God, why was this so difficult, she thought. Here she was, middle of the night, eating Wendy's food and she rolled her eyes at a joke, sure, it was dumb and definitely deserved an eye roll, but not on their first real meeting.

Wendy couldn't hear her internal monologue but she could see it being played out against Irene's eyes. "You say that a lot," Wendy says, grabbing the ramyun lid and throwing it in the garbage. "Say what?" Irene asked, shoving a smaller portion in . 

"You apologize a lot. I think that was your fifth one tonight?" 

"I'm so..." Irene started to say but was cut off by Wendy's laughter, which set against a power outage bounced off the walls. "Tell you what, I'll let you eat in peace, and when you're ready, come to the tent." Wendy, much like her laughter, bounced towards the middle of the living room. She watched as Wendy widened the bed sheet to accommodate more space as she placed the extra duvet down onto the couch cushions. 

When Irene stood up to clean up after herself, Wendy was right beside her, startling Irene. "Oh my god, for someone who laughs as loud as you do, you walk really quietly." 

"You're my guest, I'll clean up, just pick which side of the tent you want," Wendy said as she grabbed the bowl and rinsed it in the sink before placing it in the recycle bin. She grabbed two thermoses and extra tea bags and headed to see what Irene picked. 

"It's not really a tent, you know, it's more a fortress." Wendy couldn't help but feel a blush inside of her grow when she saw that Irene had picked her original spot. "Potato tomato" Wendy said as she placed the thermoses down in front of her tent. "That's not how that expression goes."

"My tent, my rules!"

"Fortress," Irene argued back. This was silly, they were both clearly in their 30s and arguing over semantics, but Irene being a lawyer couldn't back down so easily. "Tent," Wendy said, emphasizing the last t. 

"This is clearly a fortress," Irene said, annoyed at how Wendy popped that last t in tent. "And how do you figure that, apartment 618?" 

"Well, apartment 603, you do realize we're on an elevated platform, could it be because the floor is made of lava, and a, "tent" as you call it, would simply disintegrate." Irene felt smug. She out-logic'd her neighbour. 

"Oh, silly, silly apartment 618, you're forgetting something so crucial. In fact, I'm utterly amazed and quite frankly appalled at your flagrant disregard for the laws of nature." 

"And what's that," Irene asked, arms crossed sitting crossed legged with the duvet pulled over her lap. "Dummysayswhat," Wendy said so quickly, Irene only realized what happened after she answered with "what?"

Wendy's laugh echoed throughout the apartment. Irene grabbed the closest pillow she could and took a big swing towards Wendy, who luckily ducked at the perfect time, but the chair acting as a post took the hit and soon the bedsheet fell draping over Wendy. 

Now it was Irene's laughter filling the apartment. Irene only stopped when Wendy stayed still, not moving at all. "Ok, Wendy, very funny," Irene said. Still no response from Wendy. "I'm not falling for it," Irene said unconvincingly. "I'm going to hit you again if you don't say anything, I mean it!" Still nothing. "WENDY, I'M SERIOUS." Did she break Wendy? Why wasn't this tent loving dummy not moving. "WENDY, I MEAN IT," Irene's voice kept rising with each demand. When Irene shifted forward to check on Wendy, Wendy threw her arms around Irene and yelled out "you broke my tent!!! Prepare to die," and a screeching Irene fell back onto the couch cushions. She started slapping Wendy's back, "you're such a child. Geez, how old are you?"

Wendy threw off the sheet from her head, revealing her messy hair in utter disarray, and a smug smile plastered on her face as she rolled off of Irene. "Old enough that I'm going to sue you for destruction of property."

"Good luck with that, I'm a lawyer," Irene said. "Ooooh, spooky," Wendy said, mocking Irene. "You literally had a sheet over your head and pretended you were a ghost." 

Wendy smoothed her hair down, straightened her back, and calmly replied "I have no idea what you're referring to." This caused Irene to grab another pillow and beat Wendy senseless. In between fits of laughter, Wendy pleaded, "I give up, I give up, give me that sheet so I can wave it. I surrender."

The two of them sat in the middle of chaos with warm blushes spreading over their faces. Wendy stood up, extended her hand, "come on, let's build this..." she thought for a second before answering, "this tentfort." Irene grabbed onto her hand, letting herself be pulled up by Wendy who was surprisingly strong, "I prefer fortent."

--

"I think this is much more structurally sound, don't you agree?" Irene looked at her handiwork, a third chair added to ensure structural integrity and pillows lined against the couch for more comfort. "Yeah, you did great, the tentfort looks amazing." 

Irene just rolled her eyes, which even under dim lanterns Wendy could see vividly. "How long do you think this power outage will last?" 

Wendy grabbed her phone, checked twitter, "Toronto hydro says that they expect power to be restored within the next two hours." Irene checked the time, it was nearing 2AM and almost on cue, she let out a yawn. "I can't believe the power has been out for three hours."

"If you're tired you should feel free to fall asleep," Wendy said, pulling her duvet up to her neck. They were now laying face to face. It was quieter now. Irene let out another yawn. She had been working on cases for almost two weeks straight. "This fortent is really cozy, thanks for letting me crash. I'm just going to close my eyes for a bit."

Wendy knew what that meant. She wondered how long it would take for Irene to fall asleep. She made a bet with herself, if Irene could hold out for an hour, she would ask her out. When she saw Irene yawn a third time, she changed it to half an hour. 

"You mean you're going to fall asleep."

"No, I'm just going to close my eyes. There's a difference," Irene said, opening only one eye trying to get her point across. Wendy checked the time, 2:32. Irene just needed to make it past 3AM and Wendy would take it as the universe giving her the ok to ask her out. 

"Tell me a story," Irene asked. "What do you want to hear?" Wendy adjusted her pillow so that her arm was underneath it. She remembered how pretty she thought Irene was every time they crossed paths but she thinks now, this exact moment is the prettiest she's ever seen Irene, the soft glow of the lanterns illuminating her face, but it's Irene's voice that really emphasizes her beauty, it's soft, slow, and sleepy, and Wendy could hang on every word. She hopes to god time speeds up. When Irene takes off her glasses and places it away from her, Wendy checks the time, 2:34. Oh no, Wendy thinks. 

"What do you do for a living?" Wendy watches as Irene starts to take longer and deeper breaths. "I thought it was obvious. I make awesome tents for a living." Irene's eyebrow quirk up but her eyes remain closed. Oh god, she's not going to make it, Wendy thinks. 

After a beat Wendy asks, "did you fall asleep?" Irene doesn't respond with words, just grunts a "nuh uh." 

"I'm a music teacher." Irene grunts out another "mmhmm," and Wendy takes that as a sign to continue. "I've always been interested in music. I've loved it since I was a kid and when I realized people would pay you if you taught them, I knew that's what I wanted to do. Right now I'm a music teacher at an elementary school. It's really rewarding and I love all my students, but teaching kindergarten kids how to sing Santa Claus is coming to town, is really something to see. It's frustrating and they don't listen and more often than not, I have to play referee and tell them to stop bothering each other, but when they wave at me during the Christmas concert all proud and singing out of key, I can't help it, it's just so sweet and rewarding that I remember why I love music so much."

Silence fills the air. "Irene?" Wendy grabs her phone and it's as if the universe is laughing at her, as she watches 3:01 turn into 3:02.

Wendy lets out a sigh. She puts another blanket on top of her, "goodnight Irene, I'm really glad you knocked on my door tonight," Wendy says as she turns off the lanterns and tucks herself in. 

--

Wendy wakes up to her TV blaring and the living room lamp shining down on her. With half lidded eyes, she notices Irene is no longer beside her, she checks her phone and sees 6:48. She can hear shuffling near the front door and when she leaves the warmth of the tent, she sees Irene putting on her winter boots. "I didn't want to wake you but I should start getting ready for work."

Wendy walks towards Irene but in her sleepy haze she rams her pinky toe into the coffee table and starts cursing. Irene lets out a laugh while Wendy finds the remote control and turns off the TV while hobbling towards Irene. "Thank you for letting me stay last night, I really appreciate it," Irene opens the door as Wendy stands clutching her arms rubbing them up and down as the apartment starts to slowly heat up.

"Of course, anytime." Wendy feels a wave of sadness wash over her. She wishes they had more time together. 

Wendy watches as Irene leaves her apartment. She's leaning against her doorframe as Irene unlocks her door. Irene turns around, leans against her doorframe, "those kids are really lucky to have you as their teacher. I wouldn't have the patience to teach them Christmas songs." 

"Wait, you heard all of that?" Wendy asks as shock fills her voice. "I thought you were asleep." Irene just smiles. "I told you, I was only closing my eyes...have a great day, Wendy," and before Irene can disappear behind closed doors, Wendy quietly thanks the universe and asks, "did you want to grab breakfast?"

"Dummysayswhat?"

"What?" Wendy asks confused. Irene's laughter is the last thing Wendy hears before Irene closes the door. Wendy is left standing wondering if this is all a dream when suddenly the door opens again, revealing a grinning Irene, "let's meet in an hour?"

"You know, that's not really an answer," Wendy replies. Irene just smiles and offers Wendy a small shrug and says  "potato tomato," as she closes the door again leaving a dazed and blushing Wendy in her wake.