Evangeline pondered for a moment how long it would take to die out there, what freezing to death would feel like. She wondered how much time was needed before her blood would freeze, before her heart stopped beating entirely. Just as quickly, the morbid daydream vanished, and she focused on the tiny snowflakes sparkling along the window, marveling at the uniqueness of each one, desperately trying to think of something to cheer herself up.
It was Christmas Eve. The last thing she wanted to do was think about death.
They would stay on the small two-lane road for almost an hour according to Google Maps, but Evangeline knew the constant swerving along the curved paths would make her car sick in less time than that. She reached into her purse and pulled out a bottle of ibuprofen, shaking out two little pills and downing them with a swig from her water bottle.
Roger cast a sideways glance at her from the driver’s seat. “You okay?” he asked.
She nodded silently, turning away from him so that her long blonde hair covered her face, and pretended to be fixated on the passing landscape.
What had she been thinking, agreeing to this?
A mass of emotions flooded her senses… anger, sadness, frustration. There was so much that needed to be said, but neither of them could ever bring themselves to say the words.
Coming out here had been Roger’s idea. He was certain a holiday just the two of the them would be exactly what they needed.
Evangeline hadn’t been so confident. The thought of not being with her babies on Christmas morning seemed impossible to fathom. Her parents had graciously agreed to babysit the kids for the weekend. But she wouldn’t get to watch them open the gifts she had gotten them, wouldn’t get to hear their little exclamations of delight as they tore at the colorful wrapping paper and shiny bows.
Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without them.
Besides, what did Roger hope to accomplish in one weekend? A miracle where he somehow won back her affections? Inadvertently, she scowled at the thought.
He had rented a cabin in the mountains, nestled in some tiny town that he claimed embodied a Norman Rockwell painting of Christmas. She’d stood beside him as he showed her the pictures from the website. Maybe before, she would have been excited, the thought of spending the holidays snowed in, a crackling fire in a cozy cabin just the two of them, incredibly romantic.
But that was a long time ago, and a lot had changed since then. Sometimes she wasn’t sure if she had wasted a decade of her life being married to someone she didn’t know anymore.
It was then that he turned on the radio, rotating the dial until his fingers hovered over the knob, uncertain. Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” streamed cheerfully through the speakers.
Evangeline could feel his eyes on her. It had been one of her favorite songs, and each year, every time it came on when they decorated the tree or drove around to look at the Christmas lights, she would sing it with gusto. Roger used to tell her that she should have been a professional singer.
He reached over and put his hand on hers, and she stiffened for a moment, the gesture surprising her and momentarily sending warmth throughout her body. Then her fingers fell slack against her lap, not affectionately wrapping around his as they used to do when they were younger.
This year, she didn’t sing; this year, she was quiet.
Bing Crosby’s “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” started playing next, and Evangeline sighed, changing the station to another channel. Roger inhaled deeply and moved his hand to the gear shifter instead.
“Are you sure you unloaded all the kids’ gifts?” she asked, cutting through the awkward silence.
“Yeah, I got it all.”
Evangeline turned in her seat. “Then what are those sitting on the backseat?” she responded accusatorily.
Roger met her gaze. “Those aren’t for the kids.” He smiled, but it was tinged with sadness. “Those are for you.”
Swallowing hard, Evangeline crossed her arms. “I didn’t know we were getting each other gifts this year.” She fidgeted with a loose thread on her pink sweater. “I didn’t get you anything.”
He shrugged. “You didn’t have to. I wanted to get you something.”
She groaned and threw her hands in the air. “Well, now I feel bad.”
Roger smiled again, and this time it reflected genuine happiness. Evangeline couldn’t help but remember how she used to feel when he would smile at her like that, when he would look at her like she was the only person in the room, like she was beautiful, important, and special.
“Don’t feel bad. Just say thank you.”
She shook her head subtly and turned back to the mountains outside.
Wind and snow swirled past them, partially obscuring their vision, and she was grateful that she wasn’t driving. Roger was an excellent driver, and even though she was frustrated with him, she knew he could navigate the narrow road. There was no sign of life in these mountains, and Evangeline had yet to see another car since they’d turned off of Highway 147.
Of course she wouldn’t. Everyone was home for the holidays, enjoying time with loved ones, basking in the romantic ambiance the season provided. Meanwhile, she was stuck with Roger for the entire weekend, just the two of them, holding a bottle of ibuprofen and nursing car sickness while trying not to think about having to relieve her bladder. It was going to be a phenomenal weekend.
“Roger, I need to pee,” she said, pressing her thighs together. “How much farther?”
“Probably another forty-five minutes. Can you make it?”
Evangeline looked outside. The idea of pulling over and finding some tree to squat behind while she froze was entirely unappealing.
Suddenly she jolted upright in her seat, pointing ahead. “There!” She unbuckled her seat belt and pulled on her down jacket.
A small gas station sat amidst the pines, the red lights of the sign nearly covered with snow.
Roger turned the car into the tiny lot, sidling up to one of the two gas pumps. “I’m going to fill up while we’re here.”
“Okay,” she answered, grabbing her purse and opening the door. Icy wind pierced her skin, and she winced, shrinking into the fur lining of her hood. She ran across the empty parking spots, nearly slipping in her heeled boots, but thanks to her gymnast days in high school, maintaining some semblance of balance on the slick ground.
Shoving the door open, a bell above the entryway announced her presence. A man wearing a red and black plaid shirt was putting cigarette cartons away, and he turned to her when she came in.
“Merry Christmas,” he greeted her.
Evangeline blushed. He was tall and ruggedly attractive, dark brown hair and thick stubble spread along his jawline.
“Merry Christmas.” She looked around, pushing her hood down. Snow fell to the floor as she did so, and she looked at him apologetically. “Where’s the restroom, please?” she inquired, trying to appear somewhat composed even though she was about to lose control of her bladder.
He pointed behind her, and she thanked him and dashed off, quickly opening and closing the door to the single stall.
When she was done, she walked to the sink and washed her hands. As she dried them with a paper towel, she caught sight of her reflection. Her cheeks were rosy, her hair tousled about her face messily, sexily. But she had forgotten how to feel sexy, how to feel loved. Her green eyes held a sadness in them that didn’t seem to go away. She was always smiling when around her family and her friends, especially the children. That was what they needed, and so that was what she did. Only in complete solitude, with no one else around, did her face match the devastation in her heart. Then she would cry, she would scream, she would battle the torment that had been plaguing her for so many months. Evangeline just wanted to be happy again.
Her thoughts drifted to the man in the store. It was hard not to; he was handsome in a way that was difficult to ignore.
What if…?
Her heart started thumping ha
rder, faster. This wasn’t the life she had planned for herself, being married to a man who didn’t even notice that she was sinking further and further into despair.
What if she ran away with this handsome stranger? What if she left Roger and never looked back? Maybe a fresh start was all she needed to feel whole again. Then she thought of their children. She could never abandon them.
But sometimes she wished she could do something for herself and not worry about the consequences. She knew it was terribly wrong to think like that, and she felt like an awful human being for doing so, but Evangeline had been putting the needs of everyone else ahead of her own for so long that she didn’t even remember what made her happy anymore.
She closed her eyes.
It didn’t matter that this stranger had noticed her. The one man in the whole world who should have didn’t even look up from his phone when she came into the room. He didn’t bother kissing her good night before bed. He would rather watch hours and hours of television than ask her about her day. He didn’t appreciate everything she did for the family, for him. She couldn’t even remember the last time they’d made love. Did he even want her anymore?
Still, in spite of all of this, Roger would always have her heart. It didn’t matter how much she resented him, that love didn’t fade. And it wasn’t just because he was the father of her children. His neglect had caused her a great deal of pain. But Roger held the key to her heart, body, and soul, and no matter how hard it was to stay married to him, to remember why she loved him, the negatives could not overshadow the precious moments they’d created for over a decade.
Guiltily pushing her hair away from her face, she threw the paper towel away and left the bathroom. As she stepped through the aisles, bright orange wrapping caught her eye. Reese’s peanut butter cups were Roger’s favorite snack.
Evangeline paused for a moment in front of the candy. Roger was trying. He was trying to fix things and somehow win her back. He knew as well as she did that it would probably be impossible, but here he was, planning a romantic weekend in a Christmas town.
Impulsively, she grabbed a couple Reese’s and walked to the register.
She hadn’t gotten him a Christmas present this year. But maybe, just maybe, she could stop being bitter, and she could start trying, too.
Chapter II
THE TOWN IN THE MOUNTAIN
P op!
The car began to thud rapidly. Turning the wheel to the right, Roger could feel the vehicle starting to veer. Evangeline sat up straight, groggily looking around, her hands clutching the sides of her seat in alarm.
“What happened?” she murmured.
“I... I don’t know. The tire…” He struggled to keep the car on the road as it thumped along. “We must have hit something.”
Evangeline groaned in dismay, fully awake now. It was becoming harder and harder to see the lines on the road with all of the snow covering the gravel.
Roger pulled the car over as far as he could on the two-lane road and switched on the emergency lights.
“We’ve got a spare in the back; don’t worry, Evie. This should just take a second.”
When he got out of the car, Evangeline opened her door and followed him.
She looked around. They were so high in the mountains. Her ears felt heavy and full, almost like she was flying on an airplane and trying to adjust to the altitude. She opened and closed her jaw a few times to pop her ears and relieve the pressure. When that didn’t work, she let out an exasperated sigh.
Roger glanced at her as he opened the trunk. “I told you not to worry. I’ll take care of it.”
Evangeline crossed her arms. “I’m not worrying!” She pulled out her cell phone. “Let’s just call roadside.” She waved her phone around. “Phenomenal. I don’t have any reception.” She looked at Roger. “Check yours.”
Roger fished his iPhone out of his pocket, then turned it to her to show her the unwelcome wording across the top of the screen: “No Service.”
She grabbed it out of his hand and waved both phones around impatiently. “You just weren’t holding it high enough.”
Roger knew that her stubbornness was a double-edged sword, slicing into his patience while also reminding him why he loved her. His thoughts were interrupted by a barrage of sharp, tiny snowflakes colliding into his eyes. He squinted and rubbed them away with annoyance.
“When is the last time you checked the spare?” Evangeline asked, this time worry trailing each word noticeably.
As they walked to the back of the car, Roger shrugged, half grinning. “I’m sure it’s fine. I mean, it’s been a couple years,” he added as he fumbled with the car keys to open the trunk, his hands shaking from the cold.
Several bottles of wine, two suitcases, and a laptop bag, all essential items for the upcoming weekend, were packed together snugly, but Roger shifted everything aside to get to the spare tire.
Evangeline heard him mumbling to himself.
Something was wrong. He only did that when he was nervous.
“What is it?”
“Okay, so there is good news and bad—” Roger couldn’t finish his sentence before Evangeline pushed through to see for herself.
The spare tire wasn’t there.
She stared hard at the empty space where the tire should have been, disbelieving.
“So I think I know what happened,” he began. “A while back, I had a flat tire and had to use—”
Evangeline reached around him and grabbed a bottle of wine and moved back toward the passenger side door. She hastily got into the car and slammed the door shut behind her.
Roger stood by the trunk of the car, alone, wishing he’d replaced the spare tire when he had used it last. He didn’t want to mess this trip up. While neither of them would acknowledge it, he knew deep down that this was their last stand, their Alamo, one final effort to save their marriage before they called it quits for good.
He dusted the snow off the top of his head, then meandered to the edge of the narrow mountain road. In the distance where the sun was setting, he could make out an ethereal glow.
“That’s probably it. Damn, we almost made it,” he muttered.
He hurried back to the car, opened the driver side door, and grabbed his beanie. “The town is about a mile down the road. I can see it from here.” He tossed the keys to her. “Stay warm; I won’t be long.”
Evangeline waved the bottle at him and rolled her eyes.
“If I am not back in an hour.... keep waiting,” he said with a smile.
Chapter III
THE TOWN IN THE MOUNTAIN
W ith every step that Roger took, he could feel his socks wringing out the water that had made it past the protective soles of his shoes.
He was clearly unprepared for the amount of snow that had accumulated, but it was just a little water; it wasn’t going to kill him.
Roger was trying his hardest to stay positive; he knew that things with Evangeline were not what they used to be. He had to admit it was difficult to be away from their kids this Christmas, but he knew this trip just needed to be about them.
“This is where it all turns around,” he kept telling himself as he mushed along.
He’d been walking for a little over twenty minutes when he looked up and saw that he was right on the outskirts of the town.
Instantly, he noticed the twinkling Christmas lights, lights that adorned every house and storefront, radiantly beaming, bathing the snow in a wash of warmth and color.
“Whoa,” Roger murmured in awe. He began walking much faster then broke into a jog, excited in spite of their vehicle being stranded and his wife most likely drunk by now while she waited for him.
This town was everything Roger had wanted for a romantic holiday getaway for the two of them. Cherryton looked identical to the photos on the website, something that seldom happened in his traveling experiences.
Anyone who had ever visited their house during the holidays knew that Evangeline loved Christmas. She l
iked most every holiday, but she really went above and beyond for this one with three full-sized Christmas trees and more lights than the whole neighborhood put up altogether. There were always delicious cookies to enjoy in the cookie jar in the kitchen and the aromas of pine and cinnamon wafting throughout the house.
So when the website advertised that Cherryton was “THE BEST Christmas town in the entire state,” there was no question in his mind that he had to take her there.
He marveled at the welcome sign that greeted him once he arrived. “Welcome to Cherryton, where Christmas is a state of mind!”
And that it was. Main Street was lined with quaint little stores, most of them white with brown wood paneling, like a Swiss ski town nestled in the Alps. The lamp posts, the awnings, and the windows were lined in all variations of Christmas lights, some of them the old-fashioned bulb lights like his grandmother had that he fondly remembered from his childhood.
And in the backdrop were more glorious mountains, framing Cherryton in all of its holiday splendor, towering out of the darkness like snow-covered monoliths.
As Roger went on, he noticed that one building in particular, the town hall, was far more decorated than the rest. It stood out like a blinding beacon amidst an ocean of light.
He kept walking, drawn to something faint and familiar. It was music, echoing merrily through the town to the tune of Bing Crosby’s “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”
Flashing lights above peppermint-colored awnings further down the street caught his attention. “Ye Olde Christmas Taverne,” the sign said.
Roger thought back to Evangeline sitting in the car with a bottle of wine. Knowing her, she had probably finished it. They would certainly need more for the trip.
He wouldn’t exactly call them alcoholics, but they both could throw down with the best of them when it came to adult beverages. And as such, he felt slightly guilty that he was considering the tavern as his first stop. Even though no one loved a good, full-bodied wine more than Evangeline, she would be angry with him for not calling a tow truck first.
And Soon Comes the Darkness Page 7