“Hello?”
“You aren’t driving in this, are you? They say this will be the worst storm in a long time. Better just stay home.” Mom’s condescending tone echoes all around me.God forbid I take a little time to figure out myself.
I roll my eyes, but keep my voice neutral. “You must have talked to Annabel. I’m already over half-way, it will be fine. I’ll keep going slow and get there eventually.”
“Well…” She fumbles, flustered that I don’t bend to her will, I imagine. “Well. Just be careful. If it gets too bad, you’ll have to find somewhere to stay.” Her tone gets higher in pitch as she tries to dictate more of my life. Each year she seems to be getting worse, ever since Dad left for his big European adventure. I feel bad that she’s alone now. I just wish she would put all of her effort into her own life instead of trying to invade mine.
I huff out a breath, trying to keep my cool since I can barely see the lines on the road and I don’t want to end up in the ditch. Especially while talking to my mom, that would be the real tragedy. “The plows are still out. Roads are fine, it’s just coming down harder. It will be just fine. You worry too much. I’ve got to go though, you know, focus on driving. Love you, bye.”
“Love you….”
I hit End Call before she can try to keep me on the phone.
Letting out a breath, I play some light tunes and focus on driving.
It takes an hour longer to get to the cabin than it should have, but when my GPS finally tells me to turn right on a tiny road surrounded by trees with snow covering the drive, I almost cry.Great.
I try not to slow down while correcting the car as it slides. I donotwant to get stuck far away from the cabin and have to walk through all this shit. The single car-width-driveway starts to curve into a wider opening for parking but here the snow is piled even higher, causing my low-sitting car to slam to a stop.
I press the gas pedal harder. The car vibrates, snow flying in all directions, but I stay stationary.Fuck.
I shift into Reverse, hitting the gas. I try to rock the car to get more momentum to get through the snow, but I just dig myself in deeper.
I smack my hands against the steering wheel. “It’s stuck. Great. I guess I’m walking from here.” I groan looking at the knee-high snow I need to drag all my stuffthrough. I aggressively shove the car into Park. Definitely should have packed less or planned better. Let’s be honest, neither of those options would have ever happened, but whatever.
I wiggle back into my coat, zipping it up to my chin and pull on my hat, gloves, and scarf. I can barely see with the sliver I’ve left myself between my hat and scarf, but my face will be warm.
I hike my purse over my shoulder and shove my door open as hard as I can, sliding out when I get a gap big enough to squeeze through. I trudge my way to the trunk, my socks and pants already soggy from the snow sticking to me. I want to throw myself a pity party for the large suitcase I decided to cram all my shit into or maybe just throw myself into a pile of snow and let it take me. My legs are already freezing.
Glancing at my route to the door, I can see where the owner had moved snow earlier. It’s coming down so hard that the walkway is covered again, the level slightly less than where I’m currently stuck with my car blocking the entire driveway.
I heft my bag into the snow and start pulling it through to the walkway. I’m no longer cold by the time I get to the wrap-around porch. Breathing heavily, I hunch over my bag handle to give myself a moment to breath in the humid air coating my face from my scarf.
I made it!I’m wet everywhere, either from sweat or snow, lucky me. I need a shower after this, or a bath with wine.
The smell of a fire burning mixes with the frigid air whipping around me outside. Glancing up through the falling snowflakes, I see the lights on through the cabin windows and smoke billowing through the chimney. I soak up every piece of the sight, from the way the light streams through the windows, to the trees surrounding it, covered in an even layer of snow. If I could reach my phone, I’d take a photo, but I’ll just have to burn it into my brain for now.
A sigh escapes me. I can’t wait to get inside and curl under every soft blanket stocked in the cabin after I’m clean. “I. Hate. Winter.”
I stand at the bottom of the steps, trying to figure out how I’m going to climb them with my giant bag without falling. I decide to leave my bag at the bottom of the steps and at least get the door open. I climb the stairs, knocking the snow off my shoes the best I can along the way. I jiggle the doorknob, but it’s locked. A keypad sits above the handle, mocking me.
“Shit. What was that stupid code I was emailed?” I slap my hands on my pockets looking for my phone. Of course I wouldn’t put it somewhere easy. I rip my purse off my shoulder and open it.
“I thought I heard someone out here,” a man’s voice says.
I scream and throw my purse at him on instinct.
“Shit. Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
I blink, my eyes heavy with snowflakes. Everything is blurry from the steam of my breath coming up from myscarf. The voice sounds familiar, but I can’t pinpoint where in my soggy state. I look down as I try to hide my face from the wind.
“Let me get that bag for you, so you can warm up inside.”
I hesitate. “Why are you here? Am I at the wrong cabin?”Please don’t be that because my car is not going to move.I rub my eyes and try to figure out what is happening. I look up at his face and stutter. “What the fuck? James! What are you doing at my cabin?”
He squints at me like I’m crazy, but then I realize he can’t see what I look like given my entire face and body are covered in winter gear. I throw my hat and scarf off.
“Alex? Uh. That’s not what my reservation said…”
