Snowed in with My Ex
A Short Read Romance
_____________________
Sharon Michaels
Copyright
This is a work of fiction.
None of it is real. All names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Sharon Michaels
Snowed In With My Ex
© Copyright 2019 Sharon Michaels
Cover Art: Canva
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from Sharon Michaels.
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Table of Contents
Copyright
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue
More Fiction from Sharon Michaels
Meet Sharon Michaels
Chapter 1
Before…
I guess I fell in love with Thomas right after I finished giving my Secret of the Old Clock book report. He walked up and told me I was smarter than Nancy Drew and if there was a mystery, I could probably solve it faster. That was in the eighth grade.
Thomas and I came from different worlds. His family owned most of our town including the bank. His mother, Loretta, was a socialite and his father the president of the bank. They only had one child to dote on, and that was Thomas.
My father had a job in a factory making cars. My mother stayed home raising four children and worked to make ends meet. I wasn’t dressed in the latest fashion and I shared a bedroom with my younger sister. Our home was comfortable, clean and filled with laughter and love.
I was shocked when Thomas asked me to the Senior Prom. We saw each other occasionally with groups of friends, but never dated. He dated girls from his social circle, taking them to dances at the private country club. I dated guys who hardly had money to buy me a soda.
I never thought much about the differences between us until prom night. I hoped I was dressed nice enough and wouldn’t embarrass him. When he drove up in a long white limousine, I almost fainted. I didn’t want to go. I didn’t know how to act with a guy who picked me up in a limo.
Thomas was a perfect gentleman and I immediately felt at ease. I loved being with him. He was handsome in his black tailored tuxedo. He bought me an orchid corsage for my wrist. I felt like a princess. It was one of the happiest evenings of my life.
After high school, I went off to our local state college, and Thomas went to some swanky school out east. I thought I’d never see him again.
*****
Ginger Briggs was the most fascinating girl I’d ever seen. The girls I’d met at the club were stuck up snobs. They liked me because my mother told them to or because my father owned the local bank.
I was always quiet. More studious and into photography and writing than sports or dating. I guess looking back, I was shy in high school. I was tall and skinny and felt gawky and uncoordinated. Ginger always had a way of helping me feel like the smartest boy in the room.
When I asked her to the Senior Prom my mother had a fit. Yelled and screamed and threatened to disown me if I didn’t take Missy Palmer. Nope, I was going with Ginger Briggs. My father stepped in and gave me money for the limousine and corsage. I had enough of my own money saved from working part time at the bank that I could buy our pre-prom dinner at a nice restaurant.
Prom night Ginger looked gorgeous. A five foot four natural beauty. Her golden curls framed her face and her light blue eyes sparkled with excitement. I was honored to be her date.
Her older brother Drew, who had been a linebacker on the high school football team, came out to warn me to keep my hands to myself or else. I promised him I’d be the perfect gentleman and I was. There was no way I was going to disrespect such a kind and gentle girl.
Our paths didn’t cross again for seven years.
*****
“Ginger is that you?” Thomas Alexander shouts from the entrance of the town’s bustling coffee shop.
“Thomas, oh my goodness. How are you? It’s been years,” Ginger answers with a smile and a hug.
“Do you have time for a coffee?” he asks, smiling back.
“Sure, I have about half an hour before my next appointment. You grab the coffees and I’ll find us a quiet table. Regular with cream and sugar for me, thanks.” She heads to a small table in the corner. He’s even more handsome now than in high school. Black hair, dark eyes and muscles where there used to be skin and bones. If I had to describe him in one word, it would be hunky.
“You look happy and content,” Thomas says, setting two cups on the table and pulling out the chair across from her.
“I am. After I finished college I decided to start my own business. I’m an independent beauty consultant for a large company. I love it. How about you? What have you been doing these past seven years?” she asks, really wanting to know if he’s married or single.
“Got a Master’s in business and came home to work at the family bank. I enjoy working with clients and meeting new people. I still try to get up to the mountains to fish, hike and take pictures as often as I can. Are you married?” he asks, looking her in the eyes.
“No. Are you?” Ginger asks, holding her breath waiting for an answer.
“No, me neither. How about dinner Friday evening? I’ll pick you up around seven and maybe catch a movie afterwards.” He mentally crosses his fingers and hopes she’ll say yes.
“I’ll have to make it an early evening. I have several beauty parties booked on Saturday.” Ginger takes out paper and scribbles down her address and phone number.
“See you Friday. By the way, you are even more beautiful than the night we went to the prom.” He smiles as her cheeks blush pink.
*****
Friday night’s dinner turned into weekly dinners that turned into daily dinners that turned into getting engaged on Christmas the following year.
My brothers and sister weren’t exactly overjoyed with the news. They all thought Thomas Alexander III was stuck up and big on himself.
“Why can’t we call him Tom or Tommy?” wondered Melodie, as she watched me getting ready to meet Thomas’ parents for the first time, “why is it always Thomas?”
“That’s what his family calls him. His mother doesn’t believe in nicknames. He just got used to being Thomas,” I say, feeling the need to defend my fiancé. In reality, I’ve wondered the same thing.
“You’ve been dating him for over a year, don’t you think it is a little strange this is the first time you are meeting his parents? He’s over here all the time,” my younger sister wonders out loud.
“We just never got around to it. The Alexanders are a busy family and travel a lot to Europe.” I hear myself making excuses again.
“Ginger, your lover boy is here,” yells my twin brother Carson from the bottom of the stairs.
“I’ll be right down,” I yell back.
“Could it be because we aren’t as classy or as rich as his fam
ily?” Melodie says, walking to the bedroom door and looking back. “They do own the town’s only bank. We don’t own anything.”
Let me just say the meeting with my future in laws did not go all that well. Traffic was tied up and we were late for dinner. They started without us. Thomas’ mother refused to get up from the table to meet me and she did not look at me once during dinner.
After dinner we sat in the parlor sipping sherry. They sipped sherry and I had coffee. Both parents ignored me. That should have been a warning sign of things to come. I didn’t listen to my instincts. I was in love and that’s all that mattered.
*****
Our wedding was a small affair. Thomas had several disagreements with his mother over venue and attire. I won out. The wedding was in my church and the reception was at the local VFW hall. My new in laws did not attend the wedding nor the reception, they were in Europe.
Our honeymoon was their wedding gift to us. One week in the Alexander’s summer home on the ocean. We were waited on hand and foot by staff. It wasn’t as private or intimate as I had hoped. We spent our wedding night in Thomas’s childhood bedroom sleeping in a twin bed. Every time we turned around there was someone there with us. No privacy. Later I found out they reported daily to my mother-in-law on my words and actions.
Thomas and I set up housekeeping in a small condo. I made sure we financed our new home with our own money. I refused to accept the house Thomas’ parents offered. I knew there would strings attached.
Three months into our new marriage Mr. Thomas James Alexander II suffered a massive heart attack while at work and passed away. My husband was now the new bank president. Thomas did not want the job. He was more of a free spirit and hated the thought of being tied down. If he could, he’d have become the next Hemmingway and traveled the world writing about his adventures. That was never going to happen.
From childhood, Thomas James Alexander III was taught that family honor and tradition were more important than happiness. He’d already messed up by marrying me, his mother wasn’t going to tolerate him not stepping into his role as bank president. After all, she was already tolerating the fact her daughter-in-law sold lipstick.
Nothing was the same in our lives once Thomas became the bank president. There was no happiness or joy. We argued more than we loved. We were both miserable. The only person who seemed happy was my mother-in-law. Our misery seemed to bring her joy.
Chapter 2
Now…
“Divorce granted,” shouts the judge, banging the gavel so hard the handle breaks off, “I don’t know how you two stayed married for all of twelve months.”
“But Judge Denton, you didn’t let me finish explaining,” argues Thomas Alexander III.
“Mr. Alexander, I suggest you stop talking right now before I hold you in contempt of court.” Judge Denton’s eyes narrow into slits as she glares down from the bench.
“But,” Thomas opens his mouth to speak again.
“Stop!” the judge yells, “Bailiff, escort this now ex-husband and wife out of my courtroom before I have them both thrown in jail. They’ve actually given me a headache. We’re taking a fifteen minute recess.” She bangs the top half of the broken gavel as loud as half a gavel can bang.
“Thomas,” his attorney grabs his arm and starts pulling him toward the door, “it’s over. Let’s get the papers signed and move on.”
“You’re fired! I could have done better myself.” The angry newly divorced man storms out of the courthouse.
“Mr. Alexander you didn’t need a lawyer, you needed a miracle worker. It’s your attitude that got you into all this trouble.”
“I don’t want to be divorced,” Thomas moans.
His frustrated lawyer places divorce papers in front of him and hands him a pen. “Just sign the papers and go on with your life.”
*****
“He brings out the worst in me,” Ginger Briggs says to her lawyer as she signs the divorce papers.
“You didn’t have to scream back at him,” her best friend and divorce lawyer Heather Barr reminds her.
“These past six months Thomas has been an opinionated, negative and loud mouth bully. When I’m near him I turn into someone I don’t even like,” Ginger says, wiping tears from her eyes.
“Time for new beginnings. Let’s grab some lunch and talk about some fun things you can do to take your mind off of being a newly divorced woman.”
“Theresa offered me the use of her cabin this next week. I think I’ll borrow my brother’s truck and head up there. It’ll be good to get away and clear my head. Between this mess with the divorce and rebuilding my business, I’m exhausted.”
“If you want some company, let me know,” Heather offers, “It can get pretty lonesome in a cabin by yourself during the winter.”
“Nah, I want to spend time alone. That place has always been special to me. Thomas and I would spend weekends hiking and fishing before our marriage fell apart. Honestly, I’m still not sure what happened.”
“I’m done talking divorce. Let’s talk about pleasant things over a big juicy hamburger smothered in onions, a heaping plate of greasy fries and a gigantic chocolate milk shake topped with whipped cream.”
“Sounds great to me and it is my treat.” Ginger hooks her arm through her friend’s as they cross the street heading for The Burger Palace. It’s always good to have a friend who understands.
Chapter 3
It’s Sunday evening and that means supper with the entire Briggs family. Six o’clock sharp every Sunday has been a tradition for as long as I can remember. I walk in and my two brothers and younger sister are sitting around the kitchen table staring at me.
“I’m fine, really. Stop worrying. I have my condo and my business. Life goes on after divorce.”
“I told you I didn’t like Thomas,” says Melodie. She’s the quiet, studious one with honey brown hair and dark moody eyes. The total opposite of blond haired blue eyed me.
I ignore her comment. “Hey big brother, I need to borrow your truck this week. I have a chance to spend a few days in the mountains,” I say to my brother Drew, a six foot four former professional football player.
“I’ll make sure it has plenty of gas and chains for the tires. I hear there may be a major winter storm brewing. You don’t want to get caught up in the mountains without being prepared.” That’s Drew, always the older sibling watching out for us.
“I’ll be prepared before I leave Monday morning. I’ll be fine.” I smile, sounding more confident than I actually feel.
“Be sure you have your phone charged. If the power goes out you can still get ahold of one of us,” Carson my identical twin brother adds, hugging me close.
“I’ll be fine guys. I have new goals to make. It’s time to move on and start over.”
*****
“Aye, a week at the cabin. I really love that place. Theresa and Ginger did a great job decorating and making it homey and comfortable.” Thomas sighs, navigating through the narrow mountain roads and watching the tall pines bending sideways with each strong gust of wind.
Ginger, is now my ex-wife. How did our marriage fall apart so quickly? Twelve months – we’d only been married one year. I guess I should have listened to my mother. She disliked Ginger Briggs from the first day she met her. This all doesn’t make sense to me. Ginger wouldn’t do the things my mother accused her of. I was so angry I didn’t even confront my wife with the accusations, I just filed for divorce.
One week in the cabin, alone to piece my life together and face a future without being married. So many great memories aren’t easy to erase. How do you get over being stabbed in the back by the love of your life? The woman who said she loved me and wanted the two of us to grow old together.
The wind picks up and big wet snow flakes fly across the dirt road leading to the cabin. It looks like that storm of the century may be rolling in after all. I came prepared with junk food, my camera, wood for the fireplace and a couple novels to read.
/> Turning up the drive, the snow is now blowing sideways and sticking to the ground. There’s ice hanging on the tree branches. Looks like I’ll be snowed in for a while.
Is that Drew’s truck parked next to the cabin? No. Theresa said the cabin was mine to use for the entire week. I hope he didn’t come to beat the tar out of me. He should be having a serious talk with his sister, not me.
Chapter 4
The front door flies open with a burst of frigid air. I grab the fireplace poker ready to do battle with man or beast.
“What are you doing here?” I shout, as Thomas rolls in an oversized ice chest, back pack and suitcase.
“What are you doing here? Theresa assured me I’d have the cabin to myself for the whole week.”
“She said the same thing to me,” my eyes narrow, “are you telling me you plan on being here all week?”
“Yes. Do you?” Thomas rolls the cooler to the kitchen and starts unloading his food.
“I already filled the refrigerator with healthy food. You can take your junk food and put it back in the car.”
“Ginger please, let’s not start already.” Thomas moves her stuff around and arranges his food on the shelves.
“There you go again, taking over. You’re not even concerned that I don’t want you to stay.” I sit on the nearest chair and scowl at him.
“Well my dear ex-wife, have you looked out the window lately? Neither one of us is going anywhere anytime soon.” He points to the blizzard roaring around the cabin.
“This is my week at the cabin. I don’t want you here.” She stomps her foot.
“Yep, it’s all about you. Stomp your feet and throw a tantrum. If Ginger doesn’t get her way she pouts.” Thomas keeps moving things around in the refrigerator.
“I can’t stay here with you, I’m leaving. Drew’s truck has chains. I can make it down the mountain.” She grabs her coat, keys and heads for the door.
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