Page 32 of December Wishes
“…Didn’t give away all your coffee, I see. Well, I gave away all my tea. So, uh… could I have one of those cups of coffee? I’m so tired. I don’t care if there’s no caffeine in there. I’ll tap my inner placebos…”
“…See? I told you those wreaths would come through! They look so good, too! Kevin, come over here so I can take a picture of you under the wreaths. Kevin?Kevin!”
“…Yeah, I came by myself tonight. Carrie had to work at the pizza place because she had an appointment earlier today. So what if it’s Sunday? You can’t have appointments on Sunday or something? It’s not only with Jesus!”
“…AVENGERS ASSEMBLEEE!”
“…Wonder Woman isn’t in the Avengers! You’ve got it all mixed up again! Sal? Sal, where’d you go?Sal!Oh, hello, young man. Are you looking for your mom? Hesper, right? Tucker! Tuck! Get over here and help this young man find his mom!”
“…Will you marry me, Mik?”
Skylar pivoted on her foot, for that was the one soundbite that drew her away from her mindful reverie. There Ariana was, down on one knee and presenting Mik with a simple, solitary diamond ring that looked like it came from a tasteful antique shop.
Mik’s hands were clasped over her mouth, her eyes so wide they would dry out and freeze in that thirty-degree night.
Wow.Skylar couldn’t take her eyes off the scene. Nor could half the people hovering nearby. One by one, women and children turned around, gasping in delighted shock as they realized a proposal was happening in the picturesque nook between the city hall and the lighted Christmas tree.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Skylar muttered. Somehow, she knew that this was what Ariana planned whenever Mik wasn’t looking. The questions about their relationship. Moving in together. Being cagey with plans. Tears streamed down Mik’s eyes when she finally lowered her hands and flung her arms around Ari’s shoulders. Skylar didn’t hear what they said. All she knew was that those were tears of happiness, and everyone around them applauded.
Skylar couldn’t force it. She would offer a smile and a hug when Mik finally came to embrace her and exclaim, “Can youfuckingbelieve it?” but Skylar was content to go home, get in bed, and sleep forever.
Or maybe get in her car and drive. Keep driving until she met the end of the road and had nowhere else to go.
***
The rain splattered against her windshield on her way to the only 24-hour convenience store in that part of the county. The gas station at the intersection of two major highways was supposedly where Jalen and her celebrity girlfriend Fleur met for the first time, but no such luck struck Skylar as she pulled up to the door a little after eleven and bought a weekend’s worth of snack food and soft drinks.
And a few bottles of beer. When the old man with long, greasy hair gave her a big, half-toothless grin about it, she mentioned she was throwing a Christmas party and a few unexpected guests were showing up. “Ran outta stuff for everyone,” she muttered, throwing down her credit card.I’m so glad I have the day off tomorrow. Gonna sleep all day and hope I don’t hear the endless squeals of Mik in love.
It wasn’t that Skylar was bitter, really. Or jealous, for that matter. She wastired.Did anyone know how hard it was to be there for one’s friend when all the energy was sucked out through a cosmic vacuum?Fuck me. I must be depressed.Time to look for a therapist. Although, knowing that part of the world, she’d never find one on her insurance, let alone someone who wasn’t filled to the brim already. There were a couple of therapists in the area, after all. Neither of whom took Skylar’s insurance.
She took her bags out to her car and sat in front of the heater while the rain continued to pound. After checking her phone for any messages, she pulled back onto the highway.
Skylar didn’t turn on the radio. The only sounds to serenade her on her late-night drive were the shudders of rain and the scrape of the windshield wipers. Her headlights illuminated the empty highway for a whole mile before she saw another soul.
There, on the side of the highway, was an old black Lincoln pulled over. Lights flashing. Driver standing by the road, arms waving.
Shit.Skylar may have been off in her own world, but she didn’t have the heart to abandon this person to the fate of a rainy night. Not when there were so few people around.
She pulled to the side of the road and flashed her lights. Already she saw the driver of the broken down car hustling toward her, probably to get out of the rain.
“Hey! So sorry! But thank you!” A feminine voice broached the window on Skylar’s driver’s side. “I really hate to bother people like this, but my stupid car broke down and now I’m stuck a whole mile out of town!”
Skylar didn’t instantly recognize this woman by her voice. Was she a resident of Paradise Valley? It was hard to tell with her black rain jacket and hood.
“No problem. Do you need a lift somewhere? Everything in town is closed, but I could take you back to the gas station. I just came from there, so I know it’s open.”
“Thank you so much! That would be a huge help!”
The passenger side door opened and closed. Soon, Skylar was joined by a total stranger who dripped water all over the front seat, but her smile in the darkness of the car warmed the space faster than the air conditioning system could.
“My name’s Amy,” the stranger said, extending a wet hand. “I’m supposed to be visiting my sister for Christmas. Do you know Hayley Gordon? She owns the food truck in town.”
“Oh. Yeah. Well, not personally, but I know who you’re talking about.” Skylar checked the road before whipping a U-Turn. “I’m Skylar. Sorry to hear you’re having problems.”
“You don’t know the start of it! I was supposed to be here from Boise hours ago, but I had to swap cars at my cousin’s house in Burns and… oh, my God, you don’t care about this at all. I’m sorry.”
“You’re fine.” Skylar squinted, making out the sign of the gas station she had been coming from ten minutes ago. “This is a really bad time to be stranded in this part of the world.”
