Page 8 of Through the Snow Globe
Diana stood on wobbly legs and reached out to shake Mr. Powell’s hand. When she did, her arm bumped against the crystal picture frame on his desk—the one she’d briefly considered throwing. It wobbled in slow motion as she watched, paralyzed by her thick disbelief and disappointment. Then it fell to the floor at her feet, shattering into tiny pieces that looked like slivers of ice.
Maybe IamElsa, the ice queen.
Diana gasped and looked up at Mr. Powell. “I am so sorry.”
He lowered his arm and his smile vanished. After a moment, he cleared his throat. “Don’t worry about it, Diana. I’ll call someone to clean it up. Frames can be replaced, but good employees can’t. Thanks for all your hard work here at the company. It hasn’t gone unnoticed.”
But ithadgone unnoticed. She was a good employee while William was getting her promotion. His patient caseload would be cut to twenty-five percent so that he could focus on supervising the staff, interviewing and hiring new employees, and handling in-house issues. Those were all things Diana could do. Things she was already doing.
In a daze, she walked out of the facility. The cold air stung her lungs as she stepped onto the sidewalk and sucked in a shaky breath.
Don’t cry.
She hurried through the parking lot, wishing she’d worn a coat. It was freezing out. Snow Haven was nestled in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. It was often cold enough to snow during the winters, but the white stuff rarely made an appearance in this valley town. The last time Diana remembered it snowing here, she’d been eighteen years old. Her grandmother had just passed away, and Diana had worn snow boots with her long black funeral dress. Grandma Denny would have approved. She was a very practical, no fuss kind of lady. Some might call Denny “curt.” Most people, in fact, would probably describe her that way.
Diana’s stomach clenched painfully as she approached her car and clicked her key fob. Had she turned into her grandmother without meaning to?
Holding back tears, Diana plopped into the seat behind the steering wheel and closed the door behind her. She cranked the engine with a turn of her key, listening to the soft hum of the motor while her thoughts ran rampant. She’d been looking forward to interviewing for the management position for over a month, mentally prepping and taking on extra work with patients and new hires to prove that she was management material. She was the most experienced, responsible, and, in her humble opinion, she possessed every quality a boss might look for in his choice for supervisor.
But apparently, she was wrong.
Diana sat in her car, clutching her steering wheel and wondering how she could have done that interview better, to prove to Mr. Powell that she was the right candidate for the job. What did it matter, though? It was too late. Mr. Powell had already made his decision before she’d stepped into his office, and there were no second chances in life.
After a few steadying breaths, Diana shifted the car into DRIVE and left the rehabilitation center’s parking lot. She’d already taken the rest of the afternoon off because she’d had no idea if Mr. Powell would want to show her the new office that was now going to go to gum-smacking, loud-laughing William.
Diana didn’t know where she was going. She could stop in and see Linus at the Toy Peddler, but he was working, and he kept telling her what a busy month December was for him. Maybe she should just give him space and go back to their apartment. She could have a glass of wine, take a hot bath, and maybe do some online shopping for the people on her Christmas list. She could pretend this day had never happened.Yeah,that sounded like a good plan.
Diana’s phone chirped from the center console as she drove. She tapped a button on her steering wheel to answer.
“Are you going to meet me or not?” Rochelle asked.
Oh, crap.It was Rochelle’s thirtieth birthday, and Diana was supposed to meet her at Sparky’s for their traditional celebratory drinks.
“I, um, I’m actually not feeling well,” Diana said. It wasn’t a complete lie. She did feel pretty awful after the events of the day, which was proving to be even worse than yesterday.
“What? You’re canceling? What’s wrong?” Concern layered in Rochelle’s voice. As a counselor, Rochelle always wanted to know what was wrong, and she got just as frustrated as Linus did when Diana insisted there was nothing.
“Everything’s fine,” Diana said.
“F-word alert.” Rochelle had been calling Diana out on saying “fine” too often lately. “And, if everything’s fine, there’s no reason you can’t have a birthday drink with me. Come on, Diana. I’m single and I need someone to toast me on my next several decades of being lonely on my birthday.”
“You won’t be alone for several decades.” Diana rolled her eyes as she slowed behind a STOP sign and looked both ways. Seeing that it was clear, she pressed the gas and continued forward. “I’m sorry, Rochelle. Rain check.”
Silence stretched out on the other line. Diana hated disappointing the people in her life. Linus last night and now Rochelle. William probably didn’t have this problem. He probably never needed a moment alone with a glass of wine.
“Fine,” Rochelle finally said, her voice quiet. “I hope you feel better.”
“Thank you. Happy birthday, Ro.”
“I don’t know how happy it’ll be since I’ll be drinking alone at the bar. Talk to you tomorrow, Di.” Rochelle disconnected the call without waiting for Diana’s response.
Diana blew out a breath as she turned left onto Oakwood Drive. She slowed to a stop at a red light. All her thoughts—of Linus, Rochelle, Mr. Powell and her patients, one who’d called her an Elsa and another who’d labeled her curt—jumbled together as she sat there numbly. She needed to fix a lot of areas in her life, starting with her relationship with Linus. They were engaged, which meant they needed to set a date. Perhaps she could push the ceremony out until next Christmas to give herself time to prepare. This was their first Christmas together after all. Even though every other milestone in their relationship had been fast, it didn’t mean this one had to be. They could take their time and Diana could adjust to Linus’s world, which was far different from her own.
The car behind Diana honked. She blinked and saw that the light had changed to green. “Sorry,” she said even though the driver behind her couldn’t hear her, and she started driving again when something jutted out in front of her. Diana yanked her steering wheel left to avoid hitting a boy on a bicycle and then yanked it right to dodge a delivery truck whose lane she’d just merged into. It all happened in a quick flash, and then she was back in her lane and breathing heavily.
That was close!She glanced in her rearview mirror to check that the little boy was okay, spotting him pedaling hard and fast, heading in the direction of Linus’s toy store. Expelling a breath, she pressed the gas pedal more heavily. She just needed to get home. There was something off about this whole day. She needed it to end, and end soon.
She was still shaking by the time she walked inside the little apartment that she and Linus shared. She slammed the door behind her, peeled off her winter coat, and carried it to the hook in the laundry room. After tugging off her boots, she headed straight for the wine in the kitchen. It was only four o’clock. Having a drink with Rochelle would have been acceptable, but maybe not enjoying one on her own.
