The Chardon Chronicles: Season Two --- The Winter
Page 48
Chapter Five
Francis took his young driver Mark Pettite on a shopping spree in Lake Placid in spite of his mom’s objections. Francis needed clothes for himself, anyway, and a new phone. They bought new skis for Mark and a new ski jacket for Clara. Francis thanked him for the ride and waved goodbye. He watched the car drive out of sight down Main Street of Lake Placid. Winter was in the air, and big fluffy isolated flakes drifted down to the ground. The people in town were on vacation, every face he saw was smiling and a feeling of festivity filled the air. He wrote a terse email to Seth, “Taking a break. Let me know M&T condition.” When he clicked “SEND”, he sloughed off his worries. There was nothing more he could do except hope they made it.
He called his parents house. He’d been incommunicado since they moved to the Lodge. “Hi Mom! Sorry I’ve been out of touch for a long time. I was working on a secret project and couldn’t even write a letter.”
“Francis!” She exclaimed. “It is so good to hear from you. We were starting to worry.”
He laughed, “Sorry! Oh, by the way, I met a woman, Clara Clark. She knew you in high school. I ran into her out here in the middle of nowhere in upstate New York!”
His mother laughed. “Oh my god. I remember her. Well, I remember the name anyway. It is a small world! Are you coming home for Christmas?”
“Yeah!” He said enthusiastically. “It’s been such a long time! It’s completely ridiculous how long it’s been. I’m getting a car today. I’ll probably be there tomorrow afternoon.”
He found a cafe with a nice view of the town and the mountains in the distance and ordered a tourist town expensive beer and lunch. He ignored all the reports streaming into his phone and finally shut it off. He’d done his bit, and was ready for a break. He felt really chatty and social so he moved to the bar and started making small talk with the vacationers.
The rental car company delivered his vehicle right to the cafe. He hadn’t driven a car in months, and the sensation felt really strange and good. He laughed at the power at his disposal. The novelty of the sensation made even the mundane compact car a joy to drive and he decided to indulge heavily in the road trip experience. He stopped at an ice cream stand and bought an extra large chocolate malt, then continued on his way. The road was clear and the snowbanks were already piled high on either side of the pinkish black ribbon of mountain asphalt. He cranked up “Carry on My Wayward Son” and headed out of town and made the long trip out of the mountains on the winding two lane road.