Cheboygan wakes to a north wind off Lake Huron with the whole width of the water behind it, and by first light the drifts have redrawn every driveway on the block. Mullet Lake Sealcoating LLC works those hours — plow down, headlights full of falling snow, the river running black through the middle of town while its banks go white. Snow gets pushed back to the grass line, walks are opened wide enough for boots and grocery bags, and salt goes where the ice likes to hide. Out toward Mullett Lake the drives run long under the pines, and each one is finished the same way, with square corners and nothing left to freeze into a ridge by afternoon. It is plain work, and it is the reason a car turns out onto the road at seven without a second thought.