Surprise Under the Mistletoe

by Rita Hestand

  She cried and kissed him for all he was worth.

  But when Bubba Martinez knocked on his window, it brought them both back to reality.

  "Hey man, it's getting bad. You better get her home."

  "You're right man. Thanks Bubba." He rolled his window back up, but the parking lot was clearing out now and it was snowing so hard no one could see.

  Bubba gave them a strange look, then smiled big time. "What are friends for." He walked away, throwing an arm over his girlfriend Mary's shoulder and walking her to his truck.

  After a few minutes Mark looked at her. "Trudy, I've always tried to look after you, but tonight I want you. And I don't want to stop now."

  "We could back there…" She looked at the back seat.

  "Let's go."

  They got out and got in the back seat. She laid down and he came to her. "Tell me if you don't want this."

  "But I do…You said you brought condoms, right?"

  "Right."

  "The truck is warm now, take my dress off and do you have a towel or something?"

  He looked strangely at her, "For what?"

  She sighed heavily then grinned, "I am a virgin."

  "Oh, oh yeah. I wasn't thinking. Let me look back here."

  He found an old gym bag and there was a towel inside, so he brought it to her and, then took her dress off of her. She wore a lovely strapless bra and he took it off quickly. Then he pulled the rest of her clothes off and stared at her in the dim light.

  "Oh baby, I love you…."

  "I love you too…" She cried.

  An hour later they were snuggling in the front seat again. "Did I hurt you?" He whispered as he kissed her lips.

  "I really didn't notice…" She chuckled in his ear. "I was a little busy at the time." She sighed against him.

  "I'm so sorry I couldn't control things tonight. I wanted you so bad."

  "Was I okay?"

  "Honey, if you were any better, I'd be dead."

  Mark looked into Trudy's eyes that glittered now, "I better get you home. But I want you to know something. I really love you, and we are getting married somehow."

  "Of course we are." She smiled and nodded.

  "No, I mean soon. I won't have you pregnant and worrying whether I love you enough to marry you. I do. I just have to figure out how we're going to do it. But now it's important. We did this, knowing we love each other, but marriage is the only right thing for us. We both know it."

  She looked at him and nodded. "Okay…when you figure out a way, let me know."

  It was a long drive, because Trudy lived in the country. The road was only a two way, but thank God there was little traffic on it.

  Wrapped in each other's arms, they were laughing, stealing kisses and his hands were everywhere inside her coat.

  So when another truck whirled by, clipping them and making them slide into a ditch and nearly turn over, Mark's head hit the dashboard and she was nearly in the floorboard. It had hit so hard that it snapped her seatbelt into.

  When Mark raised up, he hollered for her, but she didn't answer.

  "Trudy…baby…are you alright?" She moaned a little, but she didn't open her eyes, he saw the blood at her forehead.

  "My God…. we've got to get you home…then to the hospital." He was in a state of panic, he took out his handkerchief and dabbed the blood away from her face.

  "Trudy, can you hear me…" His voice faltered with emotions unexpressed. Fear, concern, love and every emotion flooded him as he looked into her lifeless face. She was pale now.

  But she wasn't responding. That's what really scared him. His heart was hammering so hard he thought it might break out of his chest. God, he couldn't let anything happen to her. She was his life! It hit him like a rock descending on his chest at ninety miles an hour. She really was his life. She was that important to him.

  He tried to start the truck, but he'd been hit right in the front, and obviously it had done some damage. He got out after scooting Trudy down in the seat.

  He raised the hood and saw steam shooting out, looked like the radiator was busted from all the water dripping onto the side of the road. He had run the special heater for his engine while they were at the dance and it had kept his radiator from bursting, but now, it was shot.

  "Dammit!"

  He went back to the cab of the truck. Trudy hadn't moved.

  "Honey, can you hear me?" He tried to shake her a bit, she wasn't responding.

  Fear sliced through him again. Now what should he do. He'd never been in an accident; he was such a careful driver. The guy that hit him and kept on going, probably drunk or something, Mark reasoned.

  It was dark and only a pale moon shone on the drifts of snow. It was coming down hard. He got out again and looked around.

  But he looked back at her and realized he needed to get her out of that dress. He might tear it or she might get it dirty.

  He looked in his gym bag again. He had an old sweatshirt and a pair of cut off pants. Good. They'd be big on her, but at least she wouldn't be in that beautiful dress and mess it up. He knew how important the dress was to her.

  He managed to get the clothes on her, although she was not conscious, then he put her coat on her, and her gloves and hauled her over his shoulder.

  There was an old shack down by the railroad tracks, he'd take her there. It was a little bit of a walk, but it looked as though every farm around was gone to bed. There were no lights anywhere. If there hadn't been a bit of moon shining out from the snow clouds, he wouldn't have been able to see anything.

  Chapter Three

  He had to watch his step as it was slippery along the road where it had iced over first. He spotted the shack, and made his way toward it. He had to kick the door in, but he got them safely inside.

  He checked for a light, and found one dangling from the ceiling, he pulled the old chain on it and it came on. Then he checked for a heater and saw and old kerosene heater but he wasn't sure how much kerosene there was. He tried turning it on, once he got the light on.

  He put Trudy on an old dilapidated couch while he tried to get the place warmed up for them. The heater made some noise, then kicked in, but Mark couldn't be sure how long it would last. He tried to move the heater close enough to the couch so they could feel it. He was glad though that he remembered this old shack as he didn't know where to take her for shelter. They sure couldn't stay in his truck.

  He went to the small refrigerator and found some ice and decided to put that on her forehead.

  Luckily this shack was still used by railroad workers so everything still worked. But the light bulb began to blink as though it was going out, the heater made a lot of noise and he wasn't sure of anything. He was so rattled, so afraid for Trudy.

  He took out his cell phone, realizing that his brain wasn't working very fast right now, he was a little dazed himself, when he reached up to check his own head he found a big lump. He groaned and checked his phone, but it needed a charge and wasn't dialing out.

  Trudy hadn't made a sound.

  He was worried about her. He was half way between her house and town and he wasn't sure if he should try to go get help, take her with him or just sit tight and maybe someone would discover them. Surely they would see the wrecked truck on the road. Someone was bound to find them.

  He dialed his folks number, but it didn't go through his battery was down. He glanced around for Trudy's purse and tried to find her phone, but she hadn't brought hers with her. He forgot she never did bring them to the dances. She never carried her phone to a dance, she claimed she wanted to enjoy the dance, not her phone. She could worry about her phone later. Besides, all her friends would be at the dance, what was the point.

  Damn, if he only had a phone that worked he could call someone for help. By now, everyone was probably worrying about them.

  Unsure of what to do, he laid down beside her and held her close. "Baby, don't die on me, I couldn't live if something happened to you. I love you so much. I don't t
hink you know how much. We are so good together in every way. You’re the only girl I ever wanted to marry."

  He felt a tear fall from his cheek and realized just how scared he was. Not for himself, but for her.

  He held her close, unbuttoning her coat, he undid his and snuggled in close to her, letting their body heat keep them warm.

  He kissed her still lips, and another tear ran down his cheek.

  "God…please don't let anything happen to her. Please…. I'll do anything…"

  He cradled her in his arms as tight as he could and the heat from their bodies did keep them fairly warm, but when the heater went out in the middle of the night, things got much more serious, as they were stuck here in a blizzard, with Trudy injured, and no heat.

  He stayed with her all night long and by morning they were both feeling the cold. She felt so cold, he searched for blankets and found one that was really musty smelling but right now, he couldn’t be choosy.

  The more he got up, the colder she got. Finally, he gave in and cuddled her against him once more.

  Mid-morning a railroad worker came by and found them.

  "My, what in the world." The man said staring at them as they lay tightly against each other.

  Mark got up and shook hands with the man. "I'm so glad to see you. Did you see my truck up on the road? Someone hit us last night on the way home from the high school dance. She's been hurt. I need to get her to the doctor and get in touch with her mother, she'll be frantic." Mark was talking so fast the man could hardly understand him.

  "Why shore, we'll get her taken care of and do you have a phone?"

  "Yeah, but it needs charging, I can't call anyone."

  "No worries, I got one in my truck. You bring her on up the hill and we'll see she gets a doctor." The man told him.

  "My name's Mark Collins, and this is Trudy O'Bryan."

  "Jake Toller. Let's get moving now." The man told him as he realized the girl wasn't even conscious.

  When they got to the utility truck, Mark called her mother. "I'm so sorry, but someone swiped my truck out on the road last night. Trudy was hurt. We're on the way to the hospital now. We had to spend the night in the old railroad shack. She was knocked out when someone hit us. My truck wouldn't start, my phone needed charging. But I'll call you as soon as I know something. Please don't get out in this mess, the snow must be six inches high. I don't want to worry about you too, Mrs. O'Bryan." Mark told her.

  "Alright, do you have any idea how bad it is?"

  "No ma'am, but she hasn't really roused since we were hit."

  "Oh dear God."

  "Mrs. O'Bryan, I'm using a railroad worker's phone, could you call my parents and let them know what happened. We're taking her to the hospital right now. And I'll call as soon as I know something."

  "Sure I will Mark. Yes. And please let me know when they tell you something…"

  "I promise."

  Mark couldn't keep the worry out of his voice. He wished Trudy would respond to him. He held her in his arms all the way to the hospital.

  They finally got her to ER and it was a long while before the doctor came out to tell him anything.

  "We had to run some tests, it looks as though she'll be alright, but we want to make sure there's no real damage there, and we have to do a MRI before we'll know for sure. She's still unconscious."

  "Yes, of course. Can I see her?"

  "They are prepping her for an MRI right now. As soon as we are through running test, a nurse will come and let you know."

  "Thanks doc."

  He smiled. "When did this happen?"

  "Last night, we were going home from the high school dance, and someone hit my truck, knocking us to the ditch."

  "We really should check you over too." The doctor glanced at him kind of funny.

  "I just got a bump on my head." Mark told him.

  "Then we'll get an x-ray of you too. Just wait here and we'll call you back."

  "Yes sir."

  Jake looked at Mark. "Well, looks like they got things under control. I hope things work out okay for the two of you."

  "Thanks sir, so do I. We just got engaged last night."

  "No kidding. Well the best, son." Jake smiled and left.

  Mark's father came strolling through the hospital looking for him minutes later. Sam Collins was a handsome middle-aged man of fifty with hair almost as dark as Mark's and eyes a light blue. He was tall and muscular.

  "I'm glad you are alright, how is Trudy?"

  "Don't know much yet dad. They are running some tests. They want to do an x-ray on me, too. I got a lump on my head."

  "Are you hurt?"

  "Just got a lump on my head and a headache that won't quit."

  His father eyed him, "Then they do need to check you out. Glad I didn't bring your mother. She might be having an anxiety attack by now. She didn't sleep a wink last night worrying. Especially when you didn't call."

  "My phone went out, dad. I couldn't charge it. I left my charger plugged in at home."

  "It's pretty bad out there, I'll go get her mother, and check on your truck, get someone to tow it to a garage and bring her up here. Are you sure you are alright?"

  "Yeah, dad. Just worried about Trudy, she's been out of it since that truck sideswiped us."

  "Did you get a look at who it might have been?"

  "No, it happened too fast and was snowing so hard, I couldn't see for a few minutes."

  "Maybe you better have yourself looked at." His father looked concerned.

  "My air bags didn't work either. Might have saved us from all of this if they had."

  "We'll have that looked at. Well, her mother sounded pretty frantic, but I'm glad you talked her into not coming up here. I'll bring her up and you take care. If there are any problems, call me son. Glad you are okay. I'll get Jack next door, to bring Mom's car up here and leave it for you to get home in."

  Mark nodded. "Thanks dad."

  His father shot him a look, turned around and came to hug him. "Don't you worry, she's going to be just fine, son."

  "Thanks."

  Chapter Four

  When they finally let Mark in the room, she was awake and frantically crying. She was looking all over the night table, and the bed, and spreading the blanket tight, she looked like she was falling apart.

  Her hospital gown was coming off her shoulders and she didn't seem to care, she was so upset.

  "Baby, are you okay?" He ran to her side. Worried that she might be out of her head, he went to grab her and look into her frantic eyes.

  "No, I'm not. I can't find my ring. I must have lost it somewhere. Can you help me look for it?" She cried, tears were streaming down her face.

  "Honey, I have it. They gave it to me to keep until they were through with the tests." Mark smiled and took the ring from his pocket.

  "Oh, Oh my God! I thought I'd lost it." She cried.

  He took her hand and slid it on her finger. "Now it's back where it belongs." He smiled and kissed her tenderly.

  "How do you feel?"

  "Just got a slight headache, but I'm okay. How about you?" She looked at him and reached to stroke his cheek.

  "I'm fine, they did an x-ray, but it's just a goose egg bump on the head." He explained. "I was so worried about you. You were out of it for a while. Scared me witless."

  "I'm sorry. They said it was a concussion and they want to keep me here until tomorrow, to make sure I'm okay and not having dizzy spells." She told him.

  "Are you dizzy?" He asked with concern.

  "A little, when I move around." She looked at him now. He looked more disheveled than she'd ever seen him. His hair was mussed, his clothes wrinkled, but he didn't seem to care. He just had a goofy kind of grin on his face when he looked at her.

  "God, I'm glad to see you awake!" He cried. "Look, I had to change you out of that dress last night to take you to that shack, I didn't know what we'd find there, but I didn't want your dress messed up. I put you in my old clothes. I'll ta
ke them and your dress with me to have it cleaned for you. Your Mom is on her way up now. Dad went to get her. We didn't want her driving in this weather. It might be a while, he was going to stop and call a tow to take my truck into the shop."

  "Was it damaged bad?"

  "I don't know. I know the radiator is busted, don't know what else."

  "What happened, do you know?" She asked, holding his hand, her thumb rubbing the top of his hand.

  "Another truck hit us, knocked us into the ditch, the truck nearly rolled over. I was glad it didn't. I couldn't see who it was that hit us. But I couldn't rouse you so I remembered an old railroad shack down by the tracks and took you there, it was late and no lights were on anywhere out there. I couldn't start the truck."

  "Oh wow, I don't even remember any of that." She looked perplexed.

  "Everything in the shack seemed to work because some of the men still use it off and on, so I had lights part of the night and the kerosene heater worked for a while. Then one of the workers found us this morning and brought you and I here. My cell wouldn't work last night, so I couldn't call anyone until this morning. I was so worried when I couldn't get a rise out of you."

  "Where did we sleep?"

  "On a couch together." He smiled.

  "Oh wow, and I missed that?" She grinned.

  "Yeah, well, I wasn't feeling any too romantic there. I was so afraid you were hurt bad, all I could do was pray and wait. But it got pretty cold and I had to snuggle up to you to keep you warm. Just think, that was our first night together."

  "Yeah, and I had to miss it." She chuckled.

  He bent to kiss her again, "Don't worry, there will be plenty of those to come, I can promise you."

  "Promise?" She smiled.

  "Promise." He kissed her again.

  She moaned, "Don't get me stirred right now, this is a hospital."

  "Mmm, I know. Wish I could join you in that bed right now. I'd show you how glad I am you are alright."

  She chuckled and looked at the ring again, "I was so worried that I had lost the ring somewhere. I didn't tell you last night, but that ring…it's so what I wanted."