Page 6 of The Mistletoe Bluff
Paul would probably think I did it on purpose to spite him, but I wasn’t that clever. Though, the mental image of him jumping at the noise and then scowling gave me a bit of satisfaction.
The note on the napkin was hard to read, the handwriting like chicken scratch, and it took several attempts to decipher it.
Sorry about your car, mate! I promise I’ll pay for the damages. Give me a call and we can figure things out! Happy Christmas!
The number at the bottom was almost illegible.
The whole reason why I never even considered contacting the person responsible for the damage was because I had a hunch about who it was, and I wanted nothing to do with him.
Oliver Lewis was the only British person in Meridel, Iowa, and definitely the only person who would’ve writtenmateon that napkin. After the photography class had ended last year, I had heard he went back to England, but was it possible he was back now?
My stomach filled with dread. What would he do to upend my life this time?
But…was it even Oliver? Or was I just being paranoid, jumping to the worst-case scenario?
Only one way to find out, Maya.
I hated being at the mercy of other people. I had learned early in my life not to rely on anyone but myself. I worked hard to be independent, and I despised that I couldn’t deal with this car damage by myself. I hated that I was reduced to having to contact my archnemesis to pay for the damagehecaused—assuming it was him, that is.
Digging my phone out of my coat pocket, I opened a new text thread, entered the phone number, and then…stared at the screen.
What did I even say?Hey dude, you ruined my car. You owe me two thousand dollars. Please Venmo me ASAP!
I rubbed at my temple. No, definitely not that. My fingers hovered over the screen, nails clicking as I painstakingly typed out a message, deleting it at least one hundred times before settling on a final draft.
ME
Hi. This is the person whose car you scratched and then left a napkin on the window. Seeing as you were the one to damage my car, I think it’s only fair you pay for it. Please text me back at your earliest convenience so we can get this sorted out, preferably before Christmas. Thanks.
I didn’t bother signing my name because if itwasOliver, I didn’t want him to know it was me. I didn’t need him sabotaging anything else in my life. For all I knew, he’d come back and key the other side of my car just to annoy me some more.
With another sigh, I backed out of the parking lot and turned onto Main Street, heading toward Dina’s restaurant and my eight-hour waitressing shift.
One of the things I loved about Meridel was that it was small, most of the businesses fitting on the entirety of Main Street. There was everything from a restaurant and bakery, to a coffee shop, and a little ma and pop grocery store called Wally’s Market.
When I was younger, I had only ever wanted to leave Meridel. I wanted to explore new places, take pictures, and live as big as possible.
But that was when life hadn’t beaten the joy out of that idea. Before my mom lost her mind after my dad left us, leaving me to fend for myself more often than not. My big dreams shifted into a smaller dream of just surviving, trying to enjoy the small things in each day so I wasn’t heartbroken that my great plans for life would never come to pass.
I parked in the back lot at Dina’s and hurried inside. Thanks to the holdup at Paul’s, I only had two minutes before I needed to clock in. I preferred to be early to everything so that I could ease into it without the anxiety of being late. With a frustrated exhale at how this day had already gone, I slipped into the back and donned my blue apron, sliding a notepad and pen into my pocket and went to work.
Maya
By the time I clocked out of work, it was dark outside, and my stomach was growling something fierce. I grabbed my to-go box of chicken tenders and fries, with a side of fruit because I wasn’tentirelyunhealthy, and made my way out to my car, ready to go home and collapse on the couch with my food and a good old-fashioned holiday rom-com on Hallmark.
My best friend Elsie had gotten me addicted to them two Christmases ago and now I couldn’t stop, even if they were unrealistic. Most of the time love didn’t happen like that. There was no love at first sight, no mistletoe kisses after fighting your attraction for one another, no house swapping and falling in love with the owner’s brother, and definitely no such thing as Christmas magic.
It was all fiction.
But still…I couldn’t help but wish for the butterflies and soft smiles and the warm arms of a man to hold me on a cold December night. But I had zero prospects, so Hallmark movies it was. My imagination would have to do for now.
Fresh snow littered the road as I drove home, white knuckling the steering wheel. I despised driving in the snow, and thanks to the poor conditions, it took longer to get to my apartment than usual. By the time I made it inside, my food was cold.
Figures.
Five minutes later, I was spread out on the couch, movie playing on the TV, stuffing my face with glorious fried foods…and a side of fruit.I was so engrossed in the fiery chemistry of the main character and the love interest in the movie that when my phone vibrated on the table next to me, I jumped so high I almost lost the rest of my fries to the floor.
I stared at the phone, half expecting it to grow horns and try to bite me, unable to tap the screen to see if it was the car scratcher. But then another notification came through, lighting the screen up, revealing a text from an unknown number.
