Sheila Roberts - The Lodge on Holly Road

“It’s been a sucky day. I just want to get a good night’s sleep in my own bed,” she continued, further bruising his ego.

Yeah, God forbid she’d want to cuddle up to him. They were serious, an item. Weren’t they supposed to want to be together?

“So I’ll see you up there tomorrow. Where are we going again?”

“The Icicle Creek Lodge,” he said, but not grumpily. He was not grumpy.

“Okay, see you there,” she said, and ended the call.

No matter what Holland said, he wasn’t going to go off and start their romantic getaway alone. “This reeks,” he grumbled as he tossed his phone onto the seat next to him and drove home.

Home was a one-bedroom apartment in Seattle’s Belltown. He guessed he’d find some Bruce Willis movie on Netflix and kick back with a beer.

And let that room at the Icicle Creek Lodge sit empty?

Yeah. That was the gallant thing to do because what kind of turd-brain went off and started a romantic weekend without his girlfriend?

A pissed one.

The car was all loaded with the champagne in the trunk, along with his suitcase. And, as Holland had pointed out, the room at the Icicle Creek Lodge was paid for. So, he could go home to his apartment and sit around feeling grumpy or he could go on up to Icicle Falls and check in to a really cool place, get everything ready for when she came up tomorrow. Hmm.

No, it didn’t feel right.

Still, he’d already paid the money. He called Holland again.

“What?” she snapped.

“Are you positive you don’t want to go up tonight? I’ll give you a back rub when we get there,” he promised. Holland loved his back rubs.

“No, I don’t. I’m not sure when I’ll get done and I’m tired from having to come in early. And I told you, I had a sucky day. I’ll see you up there tomorrow. Okay?”

Well, there was no reason to get snappy. Oh, except for PMS. And if that was what was going on he’d be better off letting her get a good night’s sleep.

“Fine,” he said, a little snappish himself. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow,” she said in a quasipatient tone of voice, as if she was dealing with someone who was a severe trial.

He knew when to give up. If she wanted to take two cars and waste gas, fine. “Okay.” He wanted to urge her not to take all day getting up there, but then he remembered that possible PMS thing so he didn’t. Instead, he said, “See you when you get there.” He added, “I love you, babe,” but she’d hung up. Well, he was the more romantic of the two of them. Weird, but there you had it.

He was also the thriftier of the two, probably because he didn’t make as much as she did. There was nothing wrong with being thrifty, and hey, if she was determined to bring her own car, then he’d go up tonight.

He turned toward I-90, brought up Pandora and got the Christmas music going. Once he hit Icicle Falls he’d maybe enjoy a late dinner at Zelda’s restaurant, where he’d planned to take Holland, just to check it out. And wish she was there.

She’ll be there tomorrow, he reminded himself. And then everything would go according to plan.

He made good time until he neared Snoqualmie Pass. Then the sleeting rain that had started around Bellevue turned to snow and traffic slowed down. There was a veritable logjam of cars in the spot designated for putting on chains, and with the way the snow was coming down, he could see why chains were required. Maybe Holland wouldn’t want to deal with that. Damn. He knew he should have waited and come up with her.

He quickly called her and got an impatient hello. “Hey, chains are required.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Uh, you okay with doing that?” This was their first time going to the mountains together. What if she couldn’t put on chains?

“I do know how to put on chains, John,” she said.

“Okay, fine. You home yet?”

“Yeah, and I’m about to take a bath.”

Oh, there was an image to make a man smile. “Get good and relaxed,” he said. “See you tomorrow.”

“Okay, bye.” And then she was gone.

He pulled up behind a Honda that had seen better days, where a woman in a black parka and jeans and tennis shoes was struggling to get chains around one of her rear tires. Unlike Holland, who was leggy and svelte, this woman filled out her pants with a well-rounded bottom. She wore glasses and had curls of blue hair escaping from a red knit hat. Two little kids, a Latino boy and a cute little girl with big brown eyes and cornrows, were hanging out the back windows, trying to catch snowflakes in their mittened hands. Meanwhile, the woman was still struggling with the chain. It wasn’t hard to see why; she wasn’t wearing gloves. Her hands had to be frozen. She stopped to blow on them and glared at the chain.

Here was a job for Super John. He got out of his car and came over. “Can I help you with that?”

She looked up at him gratefully and rubbed her hands together. “That would be great. I just can’t seem to get these stupid chains on.”

“It’s hard when your hands are cold.”

“I forgot to pack my gloves. Here we are, going to the mountains, and I forget to pack gloves. Can you believe it?”

“Looks like you were packing for more than yourself,” John said. The girl had joined the boy at his window and was now regarding John. She was cute as a button with her big brown eyes and that goofy tiara on her head. Her parka was a little frayed but clean. The boy’s coat looked too small for him but it, too, was clean and his mittens looked new.

“My mom needs help,” said the boy. “I could’ve done it.”

“I’m sure you could,” John agreed. He wondered what had happened to these kids’ dads. This woman sure wasn’t alone because she was a dog. She had a round face and blue eyes and Angelina Jolie lips. Cute, he thought. Not that he was interested, of course. It was just an observation.

He introduced himself to the mom and learned her name was Missy Monroe. Cute name, too. “Where are you guys headed?”

“To Icicle Falls,” she said. “We’re going to spend Christmas up there.”

“No way. Really? Me, too,” he said.

“All I want is to get there in one piece. I’ve never put on chains before,” she confessed.

She had them laid out properly, with the connector facedown. Unfortunately, she was putting them on the wrong tires. “Well, you made a good start,” he said, “but I’ll bet this is a front-wheel-drive car, which means you need those on the front tires.”

She took that in. “Oh. Oops.”

“Easy to fix,” he said. “Let’s move the tires off the chains and try again.”

She nodded and hopped behind the wheel. Moments later the chains were matched with the correct tires.

“Gosh, I’m glad you came along,” she said as he hooked them up. “Even if I got them on, they would’ve been useless.”

“No problem,” he said. Yeah, good thing he’d decided to come up today. Otherwise, this poor woman would’ve worked away at those chains until her hands turned as blue as her hair. “So, where are you staying in Icicle Falls?”

“We’ve got reservations at this place called the Icicle Creek Lodge.”

“No way,” John said again. “That’s where I’m staying.” That made her face light up like a Christmas tree. Uh-oh. Maybe she thought he was single. “Uh, with my girlfriend,” he added.

Her face reddened. “Oh.” She looked over to his car, where there was plainly no girlfriend.

Now he felt embarrassed. “She had to work late. She’s joining me tomorrow.”

The woman nodded slowly, taking that in. “Oh.”

“And are you, uh, meeting someone?”

“No.” For a moment she seemed a little sad, but that was replaced by a forced brightness. “Just the kids and me. We’re going to have a perfect, old-fashioned Christmas.”