Page 9 of Snowed in with My Pucking Ex
She taps on a few arrows on her screen, expanding each item, then she shakes her head. “Someone must’ve stolen my information. There are several charges on my bank card not from me, and they’ve drained every single penny all in the matter of a few minutes. I had over five thousand dollars saved in there!”
I rack my mind for what could’ve happened, and then it hits me. The warning my bank always emailed out to its account holders, especially around the holidays. “Did you fill up with gas on your way here and pay at the pump somewhere?” I’m asking as I reach for the napkin dispenser and offer her a few for her tears and sniffles. I’d love more than anything to gently wipe her tears with my thumbs, but I doubt very much she’d tolerate it at a moment like this.
She nods, brow furrowed at what probably sounds like a random question. “Yeah, and I even went inside to use the bathroom and grab a drink. Why?”
I continue, “Call your bank and tell them. More than likely, a thief had a card reader on the gas pump and stole your card information. Thieves and scammers do it all the time; my bank sends us several warnings per year about how to avoid it.”
“Part of that money is for my rent next week. What am I going to do?”
She’s still crying, her tears silent but loud all in the same, and I feel terrible, I’m not putting her at ease in any way. It seems she’s on a streak of tough luck since I’ve seen her, but I won’t point that out. I’m sure it’ll only upset her further.
I lay my hand back on top of hers again, knowing I should move it away, but I don’t want to. I haven’t earned the right to touch her, yet, but whenever she’s around, I can’t seem to stop myself. “We’ll make a plan.” I suggest and take a sip of my coffee before continuing, “First things first. Call the bank. Then, call your landlord next, and tell them what’s happened with your account. Ask for a temporary extension, and pick whatever date is furthest that they’ll offer you, so you have plenty of time. When do you get paid next?”
She shakes her head, teeth sunk into that luscious lower lip, and in any other situation I’d want to pull it free, but there’s a time and place for it, and the Tipsy Sip is not it. “I just got paidtwo weeks ago, on top of what I was able to save after I did some of my Christmas shopping, and I had just enough cash in my bank to cover my other expenses while I took time off. You don’t understand how bad this is…” She pauses, glancing around, and then finally takes a sip of her drink.
I’d bet there’s a silent war going on inside her head right now as she decides what she will and won’t share with me. I remember there once was a time she didn’t hesitate to confide in me, and a pang hits me straight in the chest over her not feeling the same sense of safety with me in this moment. I could fix this right here and now if she’d let me, but I know it’s merely wishful thinking and she won’t allow it.
“Talk to me, Winter Wonderland.” I revert to one of the nicknames I called her when we were younger, hoping it helps her feel comfortable enough to open up. “Let me help shoulder this burden you’re obviously carrying around inside. You know it’ll help talking through it.”
We stare at each other for a moment, silent, with both of us too stubborn and generally helpful to back down and close off this conversation. She’s upset, and if I can solve it somehow, I want to. Finally, she takes another drink of her sugar overload confection and divulges, “I can’t go back to work early. I don’t know if you’ve already heard, but my dad is hurt pretty badly. I have to work the farm for him. We’re already behind schedule on festival prep, which is why I was in here in the first place. I need all the extra energy I can get because I’m supposed to start on it all today.”
My coffee’s long forgotten now, as I admit my mom has filled me in a little bit. “Mom mentioned he was injured falling off his horse. She’s taken dinner over a few times for your folks when your mom had to work a long shift at the clinic. She didn’t tell me much past that, you know, with patient confidentiality and all.I’m sure people around town know by now, too, but I’m not one to pay attention to their gossip.”
“Oh, God,” she bursts out suddenly. Her eyes grow wide as she rushes to say, “My parents can’t know about this, okay? If they find out my account has been drained and I’m panicking, they’ll insist on my going back home early. I can’t let that happen when they obviously need me here. They’re selfless enough that they will suffer in silence, so I won’t have to worry about my bills, but I absolutely can’t allow it to happen.”
I nod, already agreeing with her. “You got it, I won’t utter a word. This conversation is between you and me, and if anyone talks about it, I’ll shut them down on the spot,” I promise with a protective growl, flashing my determined stare at each of our nosy table neighbors. I have no doubt they’ve all seen my games, so they’ll know firsthand how well I can smash people into the walls around the rink if they get in my way. Hopefully, it’s enough to keep their tongues from wagging and this information from eventually getting back to her family.
As for the bank issues she’s having, I know there’s no way she’ll let me give her any money. All I can do right now is hope the bank ends up reversing the fraudulent charges and gives her the funds back so she can forget all of this ever happened in the first place. Otherwise, I can listen and try to help out however she’ll allow it, but I doubt it’ll be much. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so I’ll be seeing her again when Mom and I go to her parents’ place.
That’s it!
I’ll wait until we’re eating dinner with everyone around us. I’ll bring up how the farm and festival are a lot of work, and then innocently suggest to the table that I help her out in my off time. It won’t be much since I have to practice and travel for some games, but it’s one way I can pitch in to help shoulder some of the load off of her. I know if the bank doesn’t return her money,she’ll be completely stressed out trying to navigate it all on her own, and I’m not going to sit by idly while not doing anything. Her parents have always liked me, especially her father, so I know he’ll surely back me up when I offer the help. They had a few farmhands to pitch in during the busy season since Winter and her siblings moved away, but I haven’t seen them around this year since I’ve been home. I’m guessing either they moved away, or things could possibly be a little tighter around the farm this year with Winter’s dad being hurt.
She hangs up from her call with a sniffle. She manages to keep her tears at bay now, but I wish we were somewhere more private so she wouldn’t attempt to put on a brave façade right now. “They opened up an investigation. They cancelled my card and are sending me a new one to my parents’ house. A lot of good that’ll do me right now, though, with the negative sign haunting me.”
“Hey, it’s the first step. Take a deep breath and try to visualize it all working out. Then say it out loud so I can hear you. Put the positive energy out into the world by speaking it into existence.”
Her head tilts. “What kind of Voodoo Zen sort of stuff have you been into the past several years?” She asks, and I can’t help but smirk. With my lip tipping up in response, she complies, inhaling deeply, then exhaling slowly. “The bank is taking the first step, and this is all going to work out. I’ll find a way to handle everything, I always do.”
My brow is furrowed when she opens her eyes, the deep sienna sparkling depths trained on me once again. What does she mean by she always finds a way to handle things? What else has she had to deal with since we’ve both gone our separate ways? And why does the thought of her dealing with anything alone bother me so badly?
I stand suddenly, my chair scraping against the floor as I shuffle to my feet. My hands clench and then release as myemotions begin to bubble up inside of me. She’s already upset, and she doesn’t need to deal with any sort of vibe coming from me right now. I can’t allow my feelings for her to get in the way of the problems she’s facing; she doesn’t deserve the added pressure. “I have to go. Coach expects us to practice hard today since we’ll be off our restrictive diets tomorrow.”
“Ah, yes. For a moment there, I almost thought you were normal and forgot that you’re actually a famous hockey star. I’m sure my problems are the last thing you want to deal with today, and now I’ve ruined your jacket in the process. I hope you won’t be too cold on your way to practice.” She stands as well, the table between us acting as an island. Her walls are slamming back up, and I hate every moment of it.
“You know it’s not like that. I’ll be by tomorrow. Let me know if you need anything.”
She turns away, but I’m not finished.
I grab her wrist, commanding her attention as I say, “And Winter? I mean it. Don’t stress yourself over something that I can grab on the way over or whatever. I have my truck; it’s no big deal.”
She nods, and I wince, suddenly feeling like an even bigger jerk. I just unintentionally reminded her that her car’s still stuck on the side of the road. So much for not bringing the mood down any lower.
“Thanks, I’ll be sure to let you know.” With her hands full of both of her cappuccinos, I lead us to the door and hold it open for her to go out first. The next time we step foot in this coffee shop, it’ll be loaded down with Christmas decorations, but for now, the fake amber fall leaves still adorn the homey feeling entrance as we leave. The sweet smells from the freshly baked goods escape around us, following us outside and down the two steps, making me hungry even though I already ate earlier.
The frosty chill in the air hits us instantly, and my muscles clench from the cold and my lack of a jacket. Thankfully, I have a spare in my closet at Mom’s. Now let’s hope the old thing still fits me. “I swear it got colder from the time we went inside.”
“Right?” she agrees. “Brr.” And now I’m wishing my jacket were dry for an entirely different reason, because I’d offer it to Winter in a heartbeat to help her stay warm. “See you tomorrow,” she says and takes off down the sidewalk.
