Elevation: A Novel

On New Year’s Day Scott calls his friend Mike, who owns the Book Nook, and makes up a story about potentially going to California to visit his aunt. The length of Scott’s stay there would depend on her health, but he could be gone a while. Scott asks Mike to take care of his cat, commenting that every bookstore should have a resident cat. Mike agrees—he wants to do Scott this favor because Scott made the town a better place when he helped Deirdre up during the Turkey Trot.

The next time Scott talks to Doctor Bob, he lies about continuing to lose weight at the same rate and claims to weigh 106 pounds. In fact, he probably weighs about 70 pounds, though he isn’t sure because he’s stopped weighing himself. Scott now believes “Zero Day” might come before the end of January. Two days later a snowstorm leaves the ground covered by a thin, icy crust. Scott doesn’t weigh enough to break the crust when he steps on it, so he slips and falls, sliding down his lawn and hitting his mailbox post. It takes him hours to get back to his front door and safely inside. Scott immediately goes online to order clamps, a ramp, and a wheelchair.