Holiday Magic

by Tl Reeve

  “I thought you knew everything.” He crossed his arms.

  “Well, in my mind’s eye, I pictured a red car, not white, and a much newer model.” With her dig still hanging in the air, she got out of the truck.

  Of course, Slick followed her, reached into his pocket, and pulled out his keys. “Can you handle this by yourself?”

  She snatched the keys out of his hand. “All by myself.” Perhaps he would take the hint.

  “Since I’m here, I’ll help you.” He went to his car door.

  “Why don’t you go look for a cell site or something?” His key in hand, she unlocked the door. After realizing the battery was shot, she popped the hood and got out of the car to inspect the engine.

  “The car sputtered to a stop.” He came along beside her and peered into the engine with her.

  Though the man had only woken a short time ago and hadn’t showered or shaved before insisting he go with her, he wafted of clean soap and costly cologne. He turned to her. “Steam came out.”

  “Did your temperature gauge go into the red?” She asked the obvious.

  “How did you learn about cars?” he asked.

  “Apparently we don’t pay attention to gauges, though you paid a pretty penny for a ton of them.” She shook her head and slammed the hood closed. “Your battery is shot, and you most likely have a blown water pump.”

  “You know that just from looking in the engine?” His tone dripped with disbelief.

  “Call it mechanic’s intuition.” She prepared the sling and wrapped it around the front of his car.

  He watched while she worked. “I know my car isn’t red or new enough for you, but shouldn’t it be on a flat bed?”

  As she finished tightening down all the fastenings, she grunted. “Why don’t you call on that fancy cellular telephone of yours and get one of those newfangled high-tech tow trucks?”

  “I’ve been trying to get a cell site since last night.” He lifted his phone high into the air and walked around in a circle. “Is there a certain provider for out here?”

  “If you walk twenty miles in any direction, you should be able to get something.” She walked over to the truck and put her hand on the winch lever. “Maybe you should take a walk.”

  “I can’t.” He stopped his pacing, put his hands on his hips, and stared at her.

  “Why not?” Trying not to give this man a second glance, she pulled the lever and the sick sports car rose up on its rear wheels.

  “Because I can’t stop watching you.” There, on the side of the highway, his words hung in the air.

  Every nerve in Eden’s body fired off a warning. He didn’t even know her and was only entranced by someone a little left of center. How many times had she been taken in by smooth words and the glamour of a life she’d never known? “Perhaps you should keep your eyes on your gauges.”

  “I think from here on out that’s going to be impossible.” A little smirk flickered on his lips.

  Back in the day, back when she’d thought there was someone for her, she would have blushed, shifted her weight from one foot to the other, possibly invited him to dinner or found a way to delay his repair, all in hopes the man would see her for something more than an out-of-the-way tryst. A secret.

  Though she admitted she’d scanned his hands for the telltale sign of a wedding ring—there wasn’t one—more than once, she would never put herself in the position of watching someone leave again. Too many times she’d watched the dust trail as the next car pulled out of Eden, taking a piece of her heart with every departure. “I think you need to find out what is possible and put your efforts into that.” She got in the truck and slammed the door.

  Slick got in the passenger side. “The world is rife with possibilities.”

  “The first one being the possibility that we are getting this jalopy fixed and you on your way before sunset.” She threw the truck into gear.

  “Maybe there’s a possibility I could stay past sunset and we could celebrate the second night of Hanukkah together.” His voice lowered.

  As she headed back to town, she made sure to take the faster paved road. They had no time to spare. “That is impossible.”

  In the clear light of day, the town of Eden was definitely not a town. It was more like a place, a dot on the map.

  Boasting one fully paved road, appropriately named Eden Road, this place was a collection of quaint buildings all lined up like sweet posies in a garden, including the boarding house he stayed in, an antique store, a diner, a barbershop, and a doctor. Every independent building possessed its own white picket fence and a little garden blooming with flowers, even out here in the desert. It was a perfect little microcosm of a town. Something to pass by, not somewhere to stop in.

  Of course, the namesake of the town was something completely different.

  Perry watched his new mechanic expertly tow his ride back to her garage, aptly named Eden’s Garage. Without accepting any help, she pushed his car into the spotlessly clean work area and performed a series of diagnostics to come to the crux of his issue.

  Though the woman obviously held something against him, or outsiders, or sports cars, something about her excited him, woke his curiosity and interest. He hadn’t lied when he told her he couldn’t stop watching her. In fact, it was one of the first truths he’d told in a while.

  Actually, there was a second truth. One he would tell when he made it back to civilization. When he told his partner Lyle he hadn’t called because there was absolutely no cell site, he wouldn’t be lying. No matter how he positioned himself, he couldn’t even get a courtesy dot with a sketchy connection.

  Of course he could ask to borrow a phone. Surely somewhere in this no-stoplight town there would be a landline. However, for the moment, he enjoyed being out of touch. Not that it mattered—he had no one to call and tell he was all right. That thought chilled him a little.

  Eden came up from under the car, and like any movie that featured a girl doing any sort of manual labor, a little dirt smudge graced her cheek. She stood up, pulled off her gloves, and wiped her brow.

  “What’s the verdict, doctor?” He leaned back against the wall.

  “As I suspected, a blown water pump and a new battery. Let’s get these parts ordered, and we will have you out of here.” A spring in her step, she trotted into the office section of her garage.

  Perry followed and took the seat clearly designated for customers, the chair that determined one’s automotive fate. In this case, he knew it would cost him quite a few coins to become roadworthy again.

  While she took down a huge book and thumbed through it, he strummed his fingers on the corner of the metal desk and glanced around. All the typical mechanic things were scattered about: the calendar from a battery company, pictures of tires, various racks of parts and pieces, but something seemed off.

  What was it?

  He grasped the arms of the chair and turned left, then right, then back to Eden.

  Rather than plunking away at a computer and staring at a screen, she picked up a pencil and wrote something down on a piece of paper.

  Confused, scared, horrified, and speechless, he sat up and glanced at the magic book where she’d retrieved her numbers. A catalog? Really? “Excuse me.” His throat dried out.

  “Hold on, we only have a few more minutes for afternoon delivery.” She held up a finger, then turned her back to him and started tapping at something. Tapping, not typing or talking. Tapping. Did he say tapping? Yes, a rhythmic tapping without a computer monitor in front of her.

  With slow, careful movements, he pushed himself out of his chair, stood up straight, and looked over her shoulder. His breath caught, and he swallowed. In a flash he spun around the office and then back to Eden.

  Eden tapping away on a telegraph. At least he thought it was a telegraph—all the history books had that exact picture except instead of the gorgeous girl, there was some old guy with white hair leaning over the antiquated device. “What are you doing?”
r />   His outburst made her jump. She whirled toward him and pressed her hand to her chest. “What is wrong with you?”

  He pointed at her. “All right, all right, what kind of game are you playing?”

  She stood and put her hands on her hips. “You caught me. I’m trying to get your auto parts. I win.”

  Before he could respond, the machine went off on its own, and a little piece of white tape rolled off a dispenser.

  He backed away from her, from the gizmo, from all of it. Either he’d died on the road and landed in some horrible alternate universe, or Lyle had got wind of what happened and was playing the best punk of all time on him. “I give. What’s the deal?” He looked up to the ceiling. “I’m sorry!”

  Rather than react, she stared at him and crossed her arms.

  No way would he let this go. He had to figure it out. “Where are the computers? Where’s the switch to turn the Internet back on? Where are the cell phones? Where is the technology?”

  “We don’t have that.”

  “No Internet?” He shot the words at her.

  Eden shook her head.

  “No cell site?”

  His question was followed by another headshake.

  “No technology?”

  She jutted her jaw out. “I suppose that depends on your definition of technology.”

  “A telegraph?” He focused on the horrible device as if it were a monster about to come to life.

  “It gets the message across,” she growled.

  “Are you serious?” This couldn’t be real.

  “Do you want me fix your car or not?” she challenged.

  He stomped up to her. “What I want is a cell site, an Internet connection, and a phone.”

  She stared him down. “Then I say get walking. You won’t find that here.”

  The strangest tingling took over his body, a heat mixed with a chill, and the walls undulated right before his eyes. He had to be dead or worse, and the need to run overcame him.

  He gave into his body’s urges and rushed out of the garage.

  Outside, he found himself in the middle of this town, the middle of the street, the middle of nowhere. Everything past the scant few buildings was desert with a little brush scattered about.

  The whole thing was a scam, a joke, and he took out his cell phone and held it up.

  No service.

  Never wanting to see those two words again, he threw his phone and ran away from the garage with its little office and convenience store and rushed into the first building, an antique store.

  “Hello, Perry!” The woman behind the counter waved at him.

  How did she know his name? Why did she know his name? Everywhere he looked was filled with pieces of yesteryear, nothing modern. What kind of hellhole had he fallen into?

  Without saying a word, he left as fast as he’d entered. No one was in the road. No one. He was alone and nowhere. Acting on automatic, he ran to the next building and entered the diner.

  “I was going to bring some lunch over to the garage for the two of you.” A man dressed in a chef’s outfit complete with the white hat trundled toward him.

  “I don’t want lunch.” He put his hand on the door handle.

  The man came closer.

  “Stay away from me!” His own yell echoed in his ears, and he dashed off again.

  At the sight of the barbershop, he put his hand on his head and kept going, finally ending up in the doctor’s office.

  He was met by a man and woman both in white coats. They must be doctors, or he’d entered a funny farm.

  “Perry?” The woman walked forward. “Are you all right?”

  “No!” A fire coursing through him, he ran forward and collided with the front counter. “Why do you know my name?”

  “You said it yesterday when you showed up at the boarding house.” The woman’s voice came out soothing, sweet.

  All right, that made sense. He swallowed. “I have a problem.”

  “What can we help you with?” she asked.

  “Where’s the technology? What is this game? I want a cell site, I want a computer, I want Internet.” With each of his demands he pounded his fist on the counter.

  “You are sweating. I think you’d better come back to an exam room.” She went to a door and opened it.

  “I don’t need an exam! I need the world.” Still, he followed her. “I think someone is playing a trick on me, or I’m going crazy.”

  “You’re not crazy, and there’s no trick.” The man guided him to the exam table. “Eden is in a bubble, a pocket, so far out and with conditions that make a lot of modern technology impossible.”

  Perry didn’t have time for fairy tales. “That makes no sense.”

  “Try to calm down.” The woman put her hand on his shoulder. “You’re not the first person to have this reaction, but you may find it quite calming to be untethered. Perhaps a tranquilizer?”

  He shook his head. All he wanted was his tethers back. “I need to get out of here.”

  “There you are.” Suddenly, Eden appeared.

  In all the crazy, he still took a second to appreciate the beauty that joined them.

  “I hear you have been all over town creating havoc.” She shook her head.

  He slid off the table and went to her. “You were right—I need to go today. What are the damages?” Not sure what card would work, he pulled out his wallet and handed it to her. He might be alone, but that didn’t mean he had to be stuck in purgatory.

  “That’s why I tracked you down,” Eden huffed. “The part won’t be in until tomorrow. You will need to spend another night here.”

  Another night.

  Another night alone in the dark with no sound. His knees went weak, and he braced himself on the table. “I’ll take that tranquilizer.” He needed to be tethered, and he needed to figure out the game. This had to be payback for all his past lies.

  Family.

  At the end of the day, there was no better place to be than surrounded by family.

  As Eden’s father finished lighting the second night of Hanukkah candles, she turned left and right, then reached out and put her arm around Leah, her little cousin. Everyone who mattered was right there—they were always there, where she was safe and needed no one else.

  She watched the candles. In this case, the town did give her what she needed, and it was all right there.

  Long ago, she’d given up trying to find someone. Yes, she had delved outside, spent a summer in the city, and had no better luck at dating there than here. Somehow the rest of her family had managed to find their significant others. Some left, but most stayed here in Eden, named after her great-great-grandmother, not her, as most city boys thought. After nearly three decades of living there, she figured she was too set in her ways to veer off her path.

  The prayer over, everyone dispersed to the dining room at her parents’ boarding house. For a moment she stayed and watched the flickering lights.

  “Should you go wake up our guest?” Her mother joined her and gave her a hug.

  Eden inhaled. It was the same anytime anyone semi-eligible came to town. Her whole family viewed it as an opportunity. She saw it as another failure in the making.

  Only her luck would have it that the damn parts needed to be ordered. She’d even gone as far as to try to get his car out of her garage by arranging to have it towed, with no luck. All her contacts were swamped. The holidays always provided a busy time for breakdowns as people rushed to or from their families.

  “Let him sleep off the tranquilizer.” Eden shook her head. Their visitor had positively panicked at what he perceived as their backward way of life. When he drove away tomorrow, he would laugh at their town, never realizing who was truly progressive.

  After he’d freaked out, he’d taken the medicine her aunt had offered him, then with quiet resolve, had gotten his suitcase out of his broken-down vehicle. Calm and collected, he’d returned to the boarding house and disappeared into his room.


  “He must be starving.” Her mother gave her a gentle push.

  Eden shrugged her mother away and went to join everyone. “Then I’m sure you will feed him.”

  Her mother caught her arm. “He’s different.”

  “You always say that.” She shook her head again.

  “This time it’s true.” Her mother spoke into her ear. “This one stayed.”

  At her mother’s words, she stomped away, only to stop at spotting a form at the top of the stairs.

  Slick.

  A less-slick Slick with wet tousled hair and in a pair of comfortable sweatpants and a T-shirt, appearing relaxed and serene and, dared she say, gorgeous.

  No. She didn’t say. Instead she turned away.

  “Perry!” Her mother clapped.

  Eden rolled her eyes. The tone in her mother’s voice dripped with potential.

  “You must be starving!” she continued. “Come, join us for dinner.”

  Eden remained with her back toward the action, stuck between wanting to go sit with the kids and go back to the garage and fabricate a water pump by hand. Part of her admired him for having let his true feelings out before, and another part admired him for staying, but of course the biggest part of her wanted him out of here.

  “I am starving.” His deep voice echoed around her.

  “Come,” her mother said again.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she watched her mother corral him toward the dining room and hook her arm in his. “Come on, Eden.” Her mother did the same with her arm, and they joined the rest of the family.

  Everyone clapped when Perry entered, and he bowed, causing the laughter she had come to associate with her family to fill the room.

  “Here.” Her father pointed to one of the free seats at the table. “You can sit next to Eden.”

  Rather than argue and cause a scene, she sat down next to her father and let Slick take the seat between her and Leah.

  With everyone finally seated, the chaos of their meal began. Along with roast chicken, her mother had made potato latkes and about five thousand sides. Dishes were passed, and it seemed as if each woman in the room took their turn piling Slick’s plate with some delicacy. By the time they were done, food was actually dangling off the side.