Page 40 of Single Dad's Christmas Cookie

“No, no, no, no,” I yelled at the wipers as they continued to streak the road dirt across my windshield. At least the truck driver had cleared a bit of a path for me. I was slightly more confident and drove with more speed knowing where the road was under all that snow.

I could do this. I was driving in the snow. Bryan was right, this wasn’t a big deal. I’d get back to the house before the worst of the storm hit. Once I got the food unpacked, I was going to make a big pot of hot chocolate and cinnamon toast. Cold weather comfort food. Maybe I’d make tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch.

A deer, and not one of Santa’s reindeer, darted across the road in front of me. I slammed on the brakes. My little car slid to the side. I tried to make a correct turn. Did I turn the steering wheel in the opposite direction of the spin, or did I turn into the motionof the car? I couldn’t remember what the rule was. Not that I had time to think. I had to react. My car was going all the directions at once. It didn’t matter what I did because I completely made the wrong decisions no matter what.

I spun too many times to count. I was completely dizzy and lost all orientation until the airbag went off and smacked me in the face. The car finally came to a rocking stop.

The only sound I could hear was the screaming in my ears, soon replaced by my pounding heartbeat and my labored breathing.

Coughing, I pushed the airbag out of my way and pushed open the car door. The car was at a funny angle. It was off the road and in the ditch.

“That’s just perfect,” I complained.

I climbed back in and realized the engine was still running. I attempted to put it into gear and back up. The car complained and the wheels spun. It went nowhere.

I reached into the passenger seat to grab my bag and dig out my phone. My purse was missing. I rummaged around the floorboards and the back seat until I found it. With my phone in hand, I paused. Who did I call? I needed a tow truck, but it was snowing. And I had just driven off the side of the road. “Mom?”

“Nova? What’s the matter?” she said as she answered the phone.

“I got into an accident.”

“Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened?”

“A deer jumped in front of my car, and it’s snowing.” I started crying as my nerves gave up trying to be brave.

“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry. Do you have roadside assistance?”

“Yeah, Dad made sure I got it with the car insurance.”

“You need to call them. And when they ask if you’re safe, tell them it’s snowing and you’re cold. Does the heater work in your car? You have blankets?”

“Yeah,” I whimpered.

“Wrap up in a blanket, turn the heat on, and call roadside assistance. And then call me back,” she directed. “You’ll be fine. Maybe call that man you work for.”

“Okay. I love you, talk to you in a bit.” I ended the call and sat there feeling sorry for myself. She was right. I needed to call the tow truck. I wanted to call Bryan.

I set the phone down and rummaged in my purse until I found my wallet and pulled out the roadside assistance information card. With my card in hand, I picked the phone back up. The screen went black before my eyes.

“No!”

18

BRYAN

“Nova!” Amelia yelled as she ran into the kitchen. “We’re back!”

“I don’t think she’s here yet, sweetheart,” I said as I followed her into the kitchen. I hadn’t seen Nova’s car.

“But she said she would meet us at home,” Amelia pointed out.

“And she will. She said she had a lot of grocery shopping to do. I’m sure she’ll be home soon.”

“I wanted to surprise her with her lunch.”

“You still can. Just because we’re here before she is doesn’t mean that she knows we bought lunch for her,” I pointed out. “Do you want to eat yours now, or do you want to wait for Nova? Your French fries will get cold if you wait too long.”

I pulled out the items from the paper bag and set them up in front of Amelia on the kitchen table.

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