Christmas 2020
Reagan was carrying too much.
Her overnight bag and groceries, plus a glass pan of Jell-O salad—too muchJell-O salad—because she didn’t have a smaller glass dish, and Grandma had always made it in a glass dish, so you could see all the colors.
Reagan was carrying too much, and the driveway was slick as fuck. There was snow on the ground, and her grandpa hadn’t salted the driveway or shoveled his walk. She couldn’t really blame him—he never went anywhere. Her parents dropped off his groceries once a week.
She walked extra slow, taking small steps.
“Hey there!” a man called.
Reagan looked up, and her foot hit a patch of ice. She went down quick, landing on one knee—and then on her hip, and then on the groceries, twisting the whole time to keep the glass pan in the air.“Fuck.”
“Holy shit!” the same voice swore. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine!” Reagan shouted from the ground.
“Don’t move!” Whoever it was was getting closer.
“Youdon’t move—are you wearing a mask?”
“Oh ... no.”
“Then stay where you are!” Reagan set the Jell-O salad on the ground. “I’m fine!”
She pushed up onto her knees. She could see him now, the neighbors’ son—the quiet one with no chin. Standing about ten feet away from her. He had his arms out like he was still about to help her up.
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
“No.” She was alittlehurt. Her knee felt scraped, and her hip was already throbbing. She lifted herself up onto her feet—
Then hit another patch of ice. The guy darted toward her. She caught her balance and pointed at him. “No!”
He stopped, his hands still up. She could see his breath.
“I swear to God, Mason”—Reagan didn’t even remember that she remembered his name—“I have been quarantining for two weeks, and I amnotgiving my grandpa Covid because you can’t listen.”
“Okay,” he said. Then he pulled his scarf up over his face—and Reagan thought at first that he was trying to hide his nonexistent chin. But then she realized he was trying not to blow germs at her. “Just be careful,” he said.
“I wasbeingcareful before you tripped me!”
“Before I tripped you?”
“You yelled at me!”
“I was saying hello so that I didn’t startle you.”
“Well, good work!”
“Reagan?” someone new shouted. “Are you okay?”
She looked up. Her grandpa was standing at the front door.
“I’m fine, Grandpa!”
“Did you fall?”
“No, I’m fine!”
