“Can I help you?” a young woman with lime green hair and a tattoo running around her whole neck asked.
“Yes.” Carol fumbled to set her items on the conveyor belt, and the girl rang them up. She had just finished paying when she received a call from an unknown number. The cashier bagged her multitude of random purchases, while an urgent care nurse let Carol know that Maria was ready to be picked up. Promising they’d be there as soon as possible and, with loaded bags in hand, Carol hurried out to tell Victor.
“Don’t forget what I said,” Victoria called out sweetly as Victor took some of Carol’s bags. They headed back toward the Grange.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Carol told him.
He assured her it was no problem and then mumbled something about pulling the pickup around. Then he took off, leaving her with the bags. Feeling somewhat abandoned and weirdly dismayed, she watched him run down the recently shoveled sidewalk, hoping he wouldn’t slip and fall.
Neither spoke as Victor drove them to the other side of town. By the time Carol could think of anything to say, he was pulling into the urgent care parking lot. “What about locking up the Grange?” she blurted out as he parked right next to the entrance.
“I locked it,” he informed her in a no-nonsense tone. “This is where we pick up Maria. They’ll bring her out in a wheelchair.”
“A wheelchair? Is she okay?” She opened the passenger door.
“Well, she did break her arm, but I’ve brought Dad here before. The wheelchair is routine. You get her. I’ll wait.”
It took a while, but eventually, they were all back in the cab. Maria looked worn-out. “How are you feeling?” Carol asked tentatively.
“A bit tuckered out.” Maria sighed. “But that might be the pain meds they gave me. At least I’m not in pain right now.”
“Do you think you can do any grocery shopping?” Carol glanced at Victor. “We were going to stop and get a few things.”
“I’ll be fine.” She patted Carol’s arm with her good hand. “Now tell me, how did it go at the Grange?”
Carol briefly described what they’d accomplished as well as what she hoped to do next. “I guess the rest will have to wait until tomorrow. But at this rate, I’m sure it’ll be done in time for the big night.”
“That all sounds wonderful.” Maria looked relieved. “Thank you so much.”
They were able to complete their grocery shopping before poor Maria ran out of energy. Carol wasn’t surprised to see her aunt dozing on the way home. Nobody spoke.
At the farmhouse, Victor helped Maria inside, but whenCarol invited him to stay a bit while she prepared a late lunch, he made excuses about needing to get his groceries home. Carol didn’t buy it since his perishables would stay cold in the pickup. But she thought she understood his reasoning. His friendship with her had turned awkward at the dollar store—right after Victoria entered the picture. Well, there wasn’t much she could do about that!
****
The next morning, the day before the big Christmas Cotillion, Carol drove Maria’s fully loaded car into town. Along with the bags from the dollar store, she had numerous lamps from Maria’s house and some that Victor had dropped by on the porch late last night. She’d also put in a box of mason jars, a bag of tea lights, some carefully selected antiques, and even a portable CD player that Maria asked to bring to play Christmas music from. This time she even put in a neatly packed lunch that Maria insisted would be needed. She’d also insisted on coming along. Obviously curious about what her niece planned to do with all these miscellaneous items, or maybe just bored, Maria refused to take no for an answer but promised to remain on the sidelines while Carol finished the decorations.
“I really think I can wrap things up today,” Carol said as she carefully drove down Maria’s snow-packed driveway.
“Have you driven on snow before?” Maria asked.
“Not much.”
“Well, the best advice I can give is to react slowly and smoothly. If the car should slide a bit, gently go with it and steer. No jerky moves. That can be disastrous.”
“Right.” Carol felt even more nervous now, and they weren’t even on the real road.
“Have you ever been skiing?”
“Yes. I used to ski a lot in college. My roommate and her family were really into it.”
“Well, think like you would if you were skiing. I never skied much myself, but that’s what my Don used to tell new drivers. Relax, give yourself plenty of time, and make slow, smooth moves.”
“Okay.” Carol nodded. “That makes sense.”
“Mind if I put on some Christmas music?”
Carol smiled. “Not at all.”
