by Adele Huxley
“Chris?”
“A new maintenance guy,” he said with a wave of his hand. “Good guy, really been taking care of things around there. Bit of an odd fellow, but a hard worker.”
I groaned, reaching up to tug on my ponytail. Being away on maternity leave, I forgot the world continued to spin without me. “Right, well it figures. It’s been acting up all season. We have enough gas, but I’m not sure how much we can run on one generator. I’ll go look for him. Let me know if you need anything.”
I went a different way out of the kitchen, scanning every corner for… I’m not sure what. Why is there always a boogeyman lurking around trying to get me? I bumped into Bryan in the Great Hall talking with a man I didn’t know.
“Ah, Chris, this is my wife, Liz. I don’t think you two have met yet,” Bryan introduced us.
A weird sense of déjà vu hit me. He looked so familiar, like I should’ve been able to put a name to him. The familiarity was so intense, I actually felt a little guilty I couldn’t place him, like he might call me out on not recognizing him.
“Yeah, hi, nice to meet you,” he said, extending a grease-covered hand for me to shake. He was probably in his mid-30s, blondish red hair, and very thin. Even in his brown Carhartt jacket, he was all angles. It might’ve been my imagination, but he looked at me as if he were also trying to place where we might’ve known each other.
“So, that generator doesn’t sound like it’s doing too good. You said you think you can fix it,” Bryan said, continuing their conversation.
He tore the knit hat off of his head and ran his fingers through his hair in a gesture of practiced worry. “Yeah, I think I can strap it together,” he muttered, returning the hat to his head with both hands. “I wanted to make sure it was all right with one of you before I tried, though.”
Bryan shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck to release tension. “It’s not like I have a degree in mechanics. If you think you can fix it, by all means.”
He clapped his hands together and fidgeted in place. “Great! Good, great. I just need…” he said as he scanned around the ground. “I want to show you first, so you know what you’re saying yes to.”
“Chris, really. It’s what I pay you for. If it’s something you’re afraid might break it perman…” he started to say before Chris jumped in.
“No! No, no.” He had an odd air about him. He made me nervous, but I think only because he was so fidgety and flighty. It was like being with somebody who was over-caffeinated or under-medicated. Or both. He stood wringing his hands for several moments before finally jumping. “Great, thanks boss. I’ll get on it.”
“Nice to meet you,” I called out with a chuckle as he zoomed away. “Bruce was right, he is an odd one.”
“Eh, he’s good people. Look, you won’t like this, but I have to go into town. One of Walt’s friends apparently refused to come up with the plow escort and his house has electric heat.”
I groaned and rolled my eyes, putting my hands on my hips. “He’s gonna freeze to death down there.”
Bryan shook his head. “What are you going to do? They’re old men, set in their ways. Walt and I will take the snowmobiles down there to get him.”
A new wave of people came in through the front doors, all bundled up and weighed down with several days’ worth of supplies. A terrifying thought flashed through my mind. I smiled to the crowd as I grabbed Bryan by the bicep and pulled him to the side.
“It might be a good idea to get some protection, don’t you think? Just in case. With that girl missing and the fires last night, maybe there’s a chance…” I couldn’t finish my thought. I peered up into his eyes, silently willing him to put the rest together.
His eyebrows shot up. “I didn’t tell you! Dammit, I’m sorry. They found the girl.”
My breath came out in one fast whoosh. “They did? She’s okay?”
He laughed and nodded. “I was going to tell you and then that whole thing happened with Dani’s boyfriend…”
“I don’t think he’s her boyfriend…” I cut in for some reason, suddenly feeling protective of her.
Bryan squinted at me and continued. “I guess the girl got drunk at a house party last night and never came home. Had no idea the house had burned down or that her parents had sent out an Amber Alert.”
A deep relief flooded through me. I physically felt myself relax, releasing a tension I didn’t realize I was holding. It wasn’t just that I was happy the girl was okay. It was the horrific idea that another person could’ve died from this arsonist.
“Well, thank fuck for that,” I whispered. I involuntarily shivered. “We’ve had enough scary moments in our lives.”
Bryan pulled me into a big hug, his strong arms wrapping around my shoulders. I buried my face into the opening of his thick jacket and breathed in his familiar scent. “This is going to be a Christmas to remember, though, don’t you think?” he asked.
I thought about letting him know what Bruce had told me about the gas in the kitchen, but figured he had enough on his plate. It was probably just a kid messing around or something, I thought, not believing it myself. In any case, there wasn’t much he could do.
“Just, please get the guns. Just in case,” I whispered.
Before going back to pick up Jack, I took a small wander around the lodge. More and more people piled in as the town slowly evacuated. Everywhere I looked, friends greeted each other with big hugs and exasperated sighs, but spirits were still high. It was living proof of one thing I loved most about the people of Tellure Hollow. No matter how hard things got, no matter the difficulties, they got through the rough times with a gritty determination I identified with.
A fire burned in every fireplace, someone had built a bonfire on the back patio, and a few of the kids had organized a big snowball fight. An older guy with gray hair had settled on the piano and was playing Christmas songs on request.
I could finally breathe a sigh of relief seeing this blizzard as the adventure it was. Bryan’s right, I thought. This really is going to be a Christmas we will never forget. One for the history books.
Jack fussed in my lap when I reached the last page of the book.
“Come on, I’m not reading it for the tenth time,” I said as I tossed the book away. I scanned the lodge hoping to see Liz approaching, or at the very least Miah.
Jack let out a squeal and a little burble, his wordless warning that a tantrum was on the horizon. I picked him up, turned him around, and placed him on the floor in front of me leaning against a pillow.
“Okay, sweet boy, we’re gonna play with these blocks now. Do you want to help me build?” I asked as I gathered his plastic cubes. He was too young to be able to stack them by himself, so I’d build towers four or five blocks tall until he’d knock them down, laughing as if it were the funniest thing in the world.
A nervous tension filled the lodge, like people were putting on a happy face but just under the mask was terror. This evacuation was Tellure Hollow history. Christmas plans uprooted, people stranded, and all we could do was sit and wait for the storm to pass. It seemed to me that all the festive Christmas cheer was just a façade. All the adults were trying to make it all appear okay so they wouldn’t have to deal with panicking kids on top of everything else, but they were just as scared.
“I didn’t realize you were a teen mom,” a feminine voice said from behind. Marie stood smirking with her arms crossed.
“He’s actually my great-grandfather,” I replied seriously. “He has Benjamin Button disease, and we’d both appreciate it if you didn’t make fun of his condition.”
Marie held my gaze for a few heartbeats before breaking into a hearty laugh. “So what you’re saying is you regularly see your great-grandfather’s penis?”
“And you don’t?” I retorted with a laugh. “How long have you been here?”
“We just got here. We’re slumming it over there,” she said, pointing to the other side of the huge room. “I think Mom managed to pack n
early the entire house.”
I chuckled and stacked the blocks, only for Jack to knock them down again. After a quick scan, I didn’t see Miah and definitely didn’t want to appear as if I were looking for him. I also didn’t want to pry about the circumstances that led to the two of them living together. I figured it would come out organically. It helped explain why I’d gotten a weird vibe from her earlier.
“Hey, thanks for helping out with all that. That was good of you,” she said. She sat on the edge of the stone fireplace and regarded me with a rare serious look that made me feel self-conscious.
“Yeah, no problem, I would’ve…” I was cut off as Marie let out a holler.
“Hey, Sanders! Over here,” she yelled as she spotted Miah from across the room.
My heart leapt up into my throat. I concentrated on Jack, watching Miah approach peripherally, wondering at my reaction. I wanted to be blasé, like I couldn’t care less. When he was only a few feet away, Marie nudged my shoulder and grinned. It was like she could see my stomach doing flip-flops. I looked up, painfully aware that my cheeks were burning red, and gave him a small smile.
The smile he returned was anything but small. Immediately crouching down beside Jack and me, he leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “I can’t thank you enough for what you did,” he said enthusiastically.
“Yeah, no problem.” If my cheeks were red before, they were absolutely glowing now. “Is your mom okay?” I asked Marie, avoiding his eye out of embarrassment, but he still answered.
“She’s doing okay. Apparently, a nurse from the clinic is here. She had an extra oxygen tank and we brought her back-up respirator, so as long as the power hangs in there, we should be okay.” It wasn’t even his mom, so there was something endearing about the way he spoke about her. Whether I wanted to or not, I knew a great deal about respirators and understood their worry. I found it a little odd that he was more concerned about Marie’s mother than she was, but I shrugged it away. Hearing them talk made my heart lurch. I should probably call Mom and Dad, I thought.
The three of us sat for a few minutes playing with Jack until Liz approached. She looked calmer, almost happy. She greeted people as she made her way over, bent down to pick up Jack, and slung him on her hip. Her tight sweater might’ve had a high neck, but it was nearly pornographic. Standing there with Miah, I was very aware of the differences between our bodies for the first time.
“Hello there,” she said. She greeted everyone and then deliberately blinked at me.
With a start, I quickly ran through the introductions. Her smirk grew as I stammered over Miah’s name, but luckily she kept her mouth shut. I don’t think I would’ve been able to handle any joking.
“Mrs. Marsh, Merry Christmas. Is The Blizz…er, uh, Bryan around? I’d love to thank him personally,” he said kindly. For some reason, I burned up with embarrassment, feeling like I was introducing my boyfriend to my mom or something. I think Marie enjoyed the tension, happily standing there watching us talk back and forth as if she were center court at a tennis match. It wasn’t until Liz looked at her that she spoke up.
“Marie Goldberg,” she said, thrusting her hand out to Liz. “Tellure Hollow Snow Princess of 2009.”
Liz frowned at me, looking for clarification. I could only laugh and shrug. Marie’s sense of humor was certainly growing on me. “Nice to meet you, Princess,” she replied. Marie beamed as Liz rolled with the joke. “Bryan had to go back into town, but I’ll let you know when he gets back. Your mom’s all set, though?”
“She’s golden, thank you,” Marie smiled.
I felt a weird surge of pride. They were polite and friendly. I couldn’t imagine them embarrassing me like Fitz and his friends did. Miah was so adult, mature… and for the first time, those were traits I found attractive. Before I could trip down that weird road too long, I cleared my throat.
“Is it all right if I…”
“Yeah, absolutely, go ahead,” Liz said as she stepped aside.
I nodded to Marie and Miah. The three of us weaved around the makeshift campsites people had scattered across the lodge. It was interesting to see the differences. Some brought simple sleeping bags while others had grabbed small camping cots. I even saw a couple inflating a full king-size mattress, much to the dismay of their neighbors who only had a handful of blankets and pillows.
What made it so funny was that the rich tourists were the ill-equipped ones. They came to town for a vacation. Even if they owned camping supplies, they obviously hadn’t thought to bring them on a ski weekend in the middle of winter. Their tanned, snooty expressions were almost worth all the hassle of having to come up here.
It was weird being in the lodge, like walking through your school after hours. The walls felt different. We found a quiet spot in the rental area where a few of their other friends had gathered. The space was open and colder, which meant we were pretty much on our own.
Miah pushed himself up on the counter, heels swinging against the sides. I stood a few feet away with my arms crossed, trying not to be obvious about standing close to him. The new group was friendly enough and seemed cool, but they were definitely a few years older than me. I did my best to not draw attention to the fact I was still in high school.
“Do you want a hit?” Marie asked as she offered me a small pipe packed with weed.
I shook my head. “No thanks, I’m trying to cut back.”
Marie gave me a look from the corner of her eye that said, Yeah, sure. But thankfully, she didn’t press the matter. “You want a drink or are you going to AA as well?” she asked as she pulled out a bottle of vodka from her purse.
“Now that I will gladly take,” I said as I took a swig. Despite my earlier promises, I couldn’t pass up free booze.“Accept the things you cannot change, right?” I coughed as I passed the liquor to Miah.
Marie was the life of the party – a loud, hilariously self-deprecating girl. But there was something about her I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It was almost as if she was performing on stage, rather than being her true self. Maybe she wasn’t as genuine as I first thought. My impression of her rang true when she introduced one of her favorite drinking games.
“Let’s play two truths and a lie,” she grinned. A couple of people in the group groaned, but she ignored them, looking straight to me. “We can get to know our new friend,” she said suggestively, almost aggressively.
Miah nudged my shoulder and leaned closer. The proximity of our bodies not only helped warm me physically, but it also started to flush my cheeks.
“You don’t have to play if you don’t want to,” he whispered in my ear.
“No, I think it’ll be fun,” I said, nudging him back. I gave him a half smile before responding to Marie. “So how do we play?”
Marie strutted into the center of the circle, addressing everyone as if she were a ringleader at a circus.
“It’s simple. You say three things about yourself or your life, whatever,” she waved her gloved hand, “and one of them has to be a lie. We all try to guess which one it is. If we get it wrong…” she said as she grabbed the vodka bottle from Miah’s hand, “we have to drink.”
I glanced at Miah who gave me a sideways smile. “Like I said, you don’t have to play.”
“Yes she does,” Marie insisted with a twinkle in her dark eyes.
“She’s at a slight disadvantage being the only outsider,” he said.
I appreciated him looking out for me, but I wanted to blend in with them as much as I could. I didn’t want to be an outsider. “No, it’s cool. I wanna play!”
“Thatta girl,” Marie grinned. “Listen, I’ll go first and show you how it’s done. Since we do all know each other pretty well, you can’t give her any hints,” she said, pointing to the rest of the circle. She paced back and forth, tapping her cheek with a gloved finger in thought.
“I speak three languages, I lost my virginity while my dog watched, and I have an extra nipple,” she declared proudly. Everyone
looked at me almost at once, putting me on the spot.
“What? I just say which one I think is a lie?” I asked to stall for time.
“Yup,” Marie replied with her hands on her hips. “Which one do you think it was?”
I glanced to Miah for help, giving him a playful elbow in the thigh when he wouldn’t give me a clue. I searched the faces of the others for any hint but knew I’d have to guess. All of the options seemed weird, so I opted for the one I considered strangest.
“You don’t have an extra nipple,” I said slowly.
“Nope!” She swiftly unzipped her sweatshirt, and pulled up her shirt and bra. Lifting one of her large breasts, she pointed to a spot I was a little too far away to see clearly. “There!”
“Jesus, Marie,” Miah laughed beside me. “Any excuse to take that thing out.”
“I still don’t think that’s a nipple,” a girl named Drew insisted. She leaned forward and pulled her glasses up as she squinted. “It’s a mole.”
“The hell it is,” she replied as she returned her clothes to their normal positions. “Certified extra nipple by my doctor and everything,” she declared proudly. Thrusting the bottle in my hand, she said, “Drink up, sweetheart.”
I pushed away from the wall and knocked back another shot, the warmth of the alcohol finally taking the edge off the cold. I still shivered a little as the burning sensation faded and Miah took the chance to put his hand on my shoulder.
“This okay?” he whispered, blue eyes shining in the dim light. I nodded and snuggled in closer against his leg. More than okay.
“I know you aren’t smart enough to speak three languages,” Jessica, a waifish girl with short hair laughed.
“Fuck right off,” Marie yelled as she yanked the bottle from my hand and gave it to her.
“No, that’s actually true,” Miah defended. “Believe it or not.”
“That’s right. And I wasn’t losing my virginity when the dog watched that time, either.”
The rest of us mentally checked off the last option and collectively groaned. “Which dog?” Miah asked, sounding disturbed. “Not Jangles.”
