Christmas short story for 2023

 

Hayter for December 24, 2023

“Twas a Dark and Seriously Cold Night”

A Christmas Short Story

          He was sitting on the tailgate of his pickup atop the peak of a low hill just west of Spokane. Only in his dreams had he ever felt this cold. But it would be worth it, because the weather lady had predicted that the northern lights would appear on Christmas Eve as far south as Oregon.

          It had something to do with an abnormal amount of solar flares causing the release of electrons that yadda, yadda… A view of the northern lights had been predicted a couple of months prior, yet never appeared. But this time? This time… oh, yeah! He was emotionally feeling giddy about the prospect. Physically he was freezing his keester off.

He felt the need for coffee but wasn’t up to wrestling his thermos while wearing his double-layered, fleece-lined gloves. What’s more, he already felt the need to take a leak, and the process of making that happen would sap all of his energy and patience. But now was the time for him to be a man and take care of business.

He took a deep breath before forcing his rear off the tailgate. As he tried to grasp his zipper tab with his gloved fingers, headlights from an approaching vehicle captured him in the act.  Surely the occupants of the approaching Jeep Cherokee could not determine his intent.  

The vehicle approached slowly, eventually coming to rest about 15 feet from his pickup. Two of the doors opened quickly. The person exiting the driver's side was an athletic-looking young man and his front seat passenger was a petite female.

“Have you seen anything, yet?” the boy asked, as he proceeded to shake hands with the stranger. He suddenly recognized the stranger. “Oh, my word! Mr. Henry!” He turned to the young lady approaching beside him and said, “Elaina, it’s Mr. Henry!”

          Elaina ran up and hugged the man. “Mr. Henry! Mom, it’s Mr. Henry my Political Science teacher! Remember? What are the chances?” --  “What indeed,” Stuart Henry thought.  – “Mom, come here. Mr. Henry, this is my Mom, Sharon. Sharon Graves.”

          Sharon, too was overly clothed with a knee-to-head thick woolen coat over an assortment of bulky fabrics. The only visible part of her body was a lovely face hiding inside a fleece-lined woolen hood. She stood with her arms folded. “I’ve heard a lot about you, sir. I can’t bring myself to believe a lot of it, but it’s good to finally meet you.”

          “Hmm. I have no response for that, Mrs. Graves,” he said. “Look, I can imagine why y’all are here, but what I can’t imagine is why you came to this particular place to see the lights.”

          Elaina’s boyfriend Lyle said, “Mrs. Graves wanted to go alone to a remote area to see the northern lights, but Elaina didn’t want her to, so I was forced to drive them both. And, now I’m glad I did.”

          Stuart helped Lyle with one of the three lawn chairs in the back of his jeep. They placed them to the side of the tailgate of his truck, at which point Lyle took hold of Stuart’s coat sleeve, pointed to one of the chairs, and told his ex-teacher to take a seat. Before Stuart could decline the offer, Lyle and Elaina both climbed on the tailgate. Elaina’s mom looked over at Stuart and rolled her eyes. Stuart mimicked her look and said, “Uh, I see what they’re up to Ms. Graves, but please know that, like you, I’m ticked off at your daughter and Lyle for forcing me to sit in one of the lawn chairs. I obviously failed them as a teacher.”

          “Right. Your wife is apparently snuggled up in the cabin of your truck?” she said. Elaina explained to her mother that Mr. Henry was a widower, ‘causing him to ask how on earth she knew that.

 “Ms. Kraven, my Senior English teacher told our class,” she said. “I think she’s got the hots for you, Mr. Henry.”

           “Yes, she gave me every indication. I finally managed to quell Ms. Kraven’s misguided attempt toward matrimony. She is now keen on Coach Forest.”

          “Bless her heart,” Elaina’s mom said. “Look, Mr. Henry, I don’t know why you’re here, but I came to see the northern lights. Please tell me you weren’t expecting us.”

That remark spurred a discussion that ended with the daughter and her date driving off, leaving two of the lawn chairs behind. After the Jeep exited the hill, the bumfuzzled, middle-aged couple stared at the last glow of the tail lights. While maintaining her view of the Jeep-less dirt road, Sharon said, “So?”

Stuart turned and said. “So, I have got to pee. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll do just that.”

“Go! Go do your thing,” she said and walked back to the tailgate where she grabbed his thermos.”

When he returned, he apologized for his crude exit and offered up an excuse for why it took him so long. Something about having to find a way through his outerwear.

“Men. You have no idea how blessed you are. Had I been in your situation, I would have to just wet myself.”

He nodded and said, “Well, Ms. Graves, if you drink the rest of my coffee, you’ll likely get your chance.” His comment won him a smile. A lovely smile, that was even noticeable from what little he could see behind the fur-bearing hoody she was wearing. Of course, it didn’t spark any romantic feelings in him. He merely considered it pleasant. His pleasant thought dissolved immediately when he asked about her husband. He’s a jerk.

The only good thing that came from their marriage was Elaina. Following the divorce she made it a point to encourage Elaina to visit her father and his girlfriend. She deserved an Academy Award for her acting. “Do you have any idea how hard that was for me? I had to play the role of an angel. I could wring his neck, but I hate to show her that side of me. And, me telling you all of this is beginning to upset me because I don’t share my feelings much with others, but I don’t mind being angry in your presence. So, what about your wife?”

Stuart reached over, grabbed his thermos, removed the lid that she had neglected to tighten, and took a sip of cold coffee. After a failed attempt to reinsert the stopper, he placed the small cup on top of it, and handed the thermos to her.

“Oh, where to start? I guess I’ll just try to forget the part about you feeling comfortable expressing your anger while in my presence. That being said, were I your psychiatrist, I would encourage you to forget your husband. The guy’s been gone for however long, yet, you continue to let him rule your thoughts. That’s on you.”

She said, “Well, I never thought of that, Dr. Spock. Now, about your wife?”

He looked down and slowly shook his head. “Oh, no. Look, uh, okay, she died of cancer three years ago today.”

“What? Today is the anniversary of her passing? I’m so sorry. What kind of cancer did she have?”

“Brain. It’s called glioblastoma.”

 “I’ve heard of that. A friend of mine died of it several years ago. So, you came here, not so much for the northern lights as to be with your wife. This is your old stomping grounds, wasn’t it? And we ruined it for you. Look, I’m getting in the cab, you put away the chairs and take me home. I’m sorry about all of this.”

“No, no. This was Renee and my stargazing spot. We never did see the ol’ aurora borealis, though. From Iceland you’re supposed to be able to see the lights between the two “A” months.”

“Between March and November. Interesting,” she said.

Stuart grinned. “You’re very astute, mother of Elaina. However, I feel it necessary to caution you that you’re beginning to remind me of me.”

“Well, you’ve done nothing to remind me of Raymond,” she s

aid, “so that’s a good sign. Try not to lose it.”

          “I’m sure when Raymond dated you, he wasn’t himself either. Not that this is a date. This is… uh. -- When you finish with my coffee, would you please put the lid back on?”

          “No. You established no rules about your coffee. It was quite good, too, which means it’s your fault I finished it off. That was me being my husband. Unfortunately now I have to pee, so we need to forget the Borealis lights and leave. Now! While I’m getting in the truck, load up the chairs. – Again, that was my dear Raymond speaking.”

          Without running any red lights, Stuart made good time getting her home. He would’ve made better time had she been more precise with her directions. – His brakes squealed at the curb in front of her house. He hurriedly grabbed the lawn chairs and moved quickly toward the house. At least he did until he noticed her standing by the truck, patiently searching for the keys in her purse.

While holding the chairs by his side, he whispered, “You didn’t have to go, did you?”

          While giving him a smug look, she said “No. I don’t have to go now, because I wet myself on the way over.”

          He didn’t know what to say, so he merely shrugged and started walking toward her porch. While following him, she whispered, “Look, I didn’t know what to say, so I went ahead and just wet myself, so there is now no rush. By the way, beneath this hoody I’m wearing three different outfits. The last one is still dry.”

As soon as they stopped laughing, she informed him that her church had a “Grief Share” program that was starting up again the second week in January. She said she would go with him on his first visit.

He said, “I’ve been to a couple of those at my church. I was uncomfortable sharing my grief and listening to theirs. You’re more like me. Renee wasn’t like me, and I loved her for it. We just happened to love the differences in one another.”

Sharon said, “Well, that’s crazy. But, sweet. Look, I’m hosting this year’s Christmas family gathering, and I’d invite you, but I have a different personality around my family, and I don’t want you to see it. Yet. But, if you come over in the evening I’ll have a plate of leftovers for you. Just come to the door, I’ll hand you a covered dish and you leave if you wish. It’d be rude of you, but I can deal with rude. In fact, I was married to rude.”

“Well, it may be a bit early for a visit. I feel a need to hire an investigator to do a backround check. Maybe interview your ex. Find out what his slant is. I’ll get back to you early next year.”

She grinned and said, “You’re a riot. So, drop by tomorrow evening around sevenish. Stay or take the food and run. Believe me, I’m not after anything. You’re pathetic and I might can help. So, uh… okay then.”

He smiled and leaned the lawnchairs against a holly bush in her flowerbed. “The leftovers sound good. Maybe you can attend my New Year’s party. Perhaps we can play dominoes until you catch on that I hate playing dominoes. So we’ll talk or watch ‘Witcher’ reruns. Until midnight when we’ll have to kiss, because it’s bad luck if we don’t.”

As he turned to go, she whispered, “I love Henry Caville.”

Without turning around, he said, “Who doesn’t?”

As soon as Stuart started his truck, he said aloud to himself, “Renee loved Henry Cavill too.” He grinned and said aloud to himself, “What a doodle.”  

The northern lights failed to appear near Spokane on that Christmas Eve night. No matter. God was there and he touched the hearts of a couple of his lonely children who needed the gift of one another.

The End

 

Happy Christmas 2023, from Mark and Kay!

 

hayter.mark@gmail.com